Cotton Mather and Harvard
Cotton Mather was one of
the first American Evangelicals. He was a family man and known as an energetic
do-gooder in colonial America. Mather was the long-time paster of the Second
Church of Boston. Cotton Mather’s father, Increase Mather was the President of
Harvard. Cotton Mather worked diligently with the college in hopes of filling
his father’s shoes in the future.[1] In the 1690s the leaders
of Harvard College wanted to attain university status. This led to the construction
of new buildings and bringing a wider range of books and ideas into the college
curriculum. Cotton Mather worked with Charles Morton to negotiate a way of
cultural accommodation, personal holiness, and intellectual sophistication that
was biblically authorized. This perspective is recognized today as being
evangelical.[2]
In the 1690s there were
unique ideologies regarding the local population and the ideas of witchcraft. This
ideology spread quickly against colonists and ultimately led to the Salem Witch
Trials of 1692. Mather believed that God had chosen the colonists had the duty
to spread Christianity in the New World. Most colonists believed that the New
World was formerly the Devil’s territory. Mather wrote about his views and experience
throughout the trials.[3] His works further
demonstrates the complexity which arose around trials and the impact of religion
on cultural ideologies in colonial America. After the trails Cotton Mather traveled
from Boston frequently to continue his work to influence Harvard. However, not
everyone agreed with Mather’s ideologies. This led to Samuel Willard being
appointed as the college’s Vice President. Although Willard was never formally
the president of Harvard, he acted in the role of the President from his
appointment in 1701 till his death in 1708.[4]
Mather wrote his work
“Important Points” shortly after Willard’s death. The twelve points are an
assessment of the tenure of Willard. Mather did not describe Willard in a
positive light. He reflects on the direction Willard worked to move he college
and how it did not align with the church’s values. Mather argued the importance
of teaching Latin and ensuring teaching aligned with church values. When it
came time to appoint a new president of Harvard Cotton Mather was not chosen to
fill this role.[5]
Cotton still worked with Harvard and enrolled his son to attend. He sent instructions
to his son on how he could make his undergrad years successful. Although Mather
was consistently passed over to be president of Harvard, he was still dedicated
to improving the college. Cotton Mather worked in his role as a holy messenger
to serve his country and church. Mather will be remembered for spiritual
dedication and strong moral values. Cotton Mather’s life was dedicated to God and
his work with Harvard. Harvard was heading in a direction that did not entirely
align with the church’s values. This led to Mather creating several different
works discussing the importance of teaching in a manner that aligns with church
values. Mather was passed over to be president of Harvard. However, he
maintained loyal to the college and enrolled his son to attend.[6] Mather was not afraid to
express his values or show someone in a negative light.
Bibliography:
Mather, Cotton. Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions: A Faithful Account of Many Wonderful and Surprising Things, that Have Befallen Several Bewitched and Possessed Persons in New-England. Boston, New England 1697.
Minkema, Kenneth P. “Reforming Harvard: Cotton Mather on Education at Cambridge.” The New England Quarterly 87, no. 2 (2014): 319–40. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43285079.
Peirce, Benjamin. A history of Harvard university:
from its foundation in the year 1636, to the period of the American revolution.
Cambridge: Brown, Shattuck and company, 1833. Sabin Americana: History of
the Americas, 1500-1926
[1] Rick
Kennedy. The First American Evangelical: A Short Life of Cotton Mather.
(Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015).
[2] Kenneth
P. Minkema. “Reforming Harvard: Cotton Mather on Education at Cambridge.” The
New England Quarterly 87, no. 2 (2014: 319–40. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43285079).
319-320
[3] Cotton
Mather. Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions:
A Faithful Account of Many Wonderful and Surprising Things, that Have Befallen
Several Bewitched and Possessed Persons in New-England. (Boston, New
England 1697). 1-63
[4] Kenneth
P. Minkema. “Reforming Harvard: Cotton Mather on Education at Cambridge.”
[5]
Ibid.
[6] Peirce,
Benjamin. A history of Harvard university: from its foundation in the year
1636, to the period of the American revolution. (Cambridge: Brown, Shattuck
and company, 1833. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926).
134-144
Comments
Post a Comment