The Reverend Increase Mather (June 21 1639 — August 23 1723) was a major figure in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay (now the Federal state of Massachusetts). He was a Puritan minister who was involved with the government of the colony, the administration of Harvard College, and most notoriously, the Salem witch trials. He was the father of the equally influential Cotton Mather.
Early life
Increase was born in Dorchester, MassachusettsVorlage:Ref on June 21, 1639 to Rev. Richard Mather and Kathrine Holt MatherVorlage:Ref, who had taken part in the general Great Migration from England due to nonconformity with the Church of England.Vorlage:Ref He was the youngestVorlage:Ref of 6Vorlage:RefVorlage:Ref brothers, Samuel Mather, Nathaniel Mather, Eleazar Mather, Joseph Mather and Timothy Mather.Vorlage:Ref
His parents were notoriously religiousVorlage:Ref, and three of his brothers (Samuel, Nathaniel and Eleazar) also became ministersVorlage:Ref.
Education
In 1651 Mather was admitted to Harvard where he roomed with and studied under John Norton.Vorlage:RefVorlage:Ref When he graduated the next year (1565) with a B.A.Vorlage:Ref, he began to train for the ministry and gave his first sermon on his eithteenth birthdayVorlage:Ref. He quickly left Massachusetts and went to Dublin, where he studied for a M.A..Vorlage:Ref He graduated with it in 1659Vorlage:Ref and spent the next 3 years as a chaplain attached to a garrison in the Channel IslandsVorlage:Ref.
Harvard was to later award him the first honorary degree in the New World, a S.T.D., in 1692Vorlage:Ref.
Establishing himself in Massachusetts
In 1661, with the advent of the English Restoration and resurgance of Anglicanism, Increase returned to Massachusetts, where he married Maria Cotton.Vorlage:Ref She was his stepsisterVorlage:Ref by virtue of his father Richard's wedding Sarah Hankredge, the widow of John Cotton and mother of Maria.Vorlage:Ref She gave birth to Cotton Mather in February.Vorlage:Ref
He was ordained minister of the Old North Church, whose congregation included many of the upper class and governing class,Vorlage:Ref on May 27 1664. He held this post until he died.Vorlage:Ref By virtue of his position he quickly became one of the most influential people in the colony, both religiously and politically.Vorlage:Ref
In June 11, 1685 he became the Acting President of Harvard University (Then Harvard College) and quickly worked his way up. A little over a year later on July 23 1686 he was appointed the Rector. On June 27, 1692 he became the President of Harvard, a position which he held untill September 6, 1701.Vorlage:Ref
He was present little in the town of Cambridge, Massachusetts,Vorlage:Ref especially during his term of Rector, as he was out of the Colony for all but two years of his term in office.Vorlage:Ref Despite this he did make some changes: Re-implementing Greek and Hebrew instruction, replacing classical Roman authors with the Bible and Christian authors in ethics classes, requiring students to live and eat on campus, implemeting strict attendance, and outlawing hazing by seniors.Vorlage:Ref
Getting involved in politics
While politics and Puritan religion were closely related during Increase's life time, his first direct involvement with politics occured as a result of James II of England's manipulation of the New England governments. In 1686 James both revoked the Charter of Massachusetts and created the unresponsible Dominion of New England.Vorlage:RefVorlage:Ref. Further, the Dominion was headed by Edmund Andros, who was considered haughty, disliked Puritanism, the Puritans, and what were considered basic parts of social and political life (EG. Town meetings).Vorlage:Ref Also disliked by the Puritan status quo was the 1687 Declaration of Indulgence, prohibiting discrimination against Catholics.Vorlage:Ref When Mather sucessfully roused opposition to the charter revokation, he was nearly framed for treason.Vorlage:Ref He then traveled to London (Eluding spies out to catch himVorlage:Ref), to petition the King.Vorlage:RefVorlage:Ref
While there, in addition to his offical petitioning, he, like Benjamin Franklin after him engaged in building popular support via publishing. Two examples are A Narrative of the Miseries of New-England, By Reason of an Arbitrary Government Erected there Under Sir Edmund Andros (1688) and A Brief Relation for the Confirmation of Charter Privileges (1691).Vorlage:Ref
While there he attempted to get the old charter restoredVorlage:Ref, however he abandoned that course and changed his petitions to a new charter not lacking any of the rights previously granted.Vorlage:Ref Following the Glorious Revolution and subsequent overthrow of Andros, the House of CommonsVorlage:Ref and William and Mary granted a new charter to the colony.Vorlage:RefVorlage:Ref The 1692 charter was a major departure from its predecessor, granting sweeping home rule, establishing an elective legislature, enfranchising all freeholders (Previously only men admitted to a congregation could vote) and uniting the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony.Vorlage:RefVorlage:Ref William Phips was appointed as Royal Governor and he and Mather returned to Massachusetts, arriving on May 14 1692.Vorlage:Ref
Following his return, the administration of Harvard grew increasingly insistant that he reside nearer to the institution. Not wanting to leave his Second Church, he didn't, eventually resigning the Presidency.Vorlage:RefVorlage:Ref.
Involvment in the Salem witch trials
As an influential member of the community, Increase was involved in the notorious witch hysteria of Salem, Massachusetts. As the court of oyer and terminer was beginning to hear cases of suspected witchcraft, Increase published "The Return of Several Ministers Consulted", which urged moderation in the use and credence of "spectral evidence".Vorlage:Ref In June and July 1692 as the trials and executions began to increase, Increase made a number of sermons interpreted as a plea to cool the heated atmosphere.Vorlage:Ref In September he published Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits, which defended the judges and trials, but strongly denounced the spectral evidence used by them. It contained his famous version of Blackstone's formulation, that "It were better that Ten Suspected Witches should escape, than that one Innocent Person should be Condemned". His reputation was not improved by his involvement, nor by his subsequent refusal to denounce the results of the trials. He was also defamedVorlage:Ref by Robert Calef in his harshly critical More Wonders of the Spiritual World.Vorlage:Ref His refusal to repudiate the judges involved is likely because of his long time frendship with them.Vorlage:Ref
Later life and death
Following Maria's death in August 1714, he remarried.Vorlage:Ref On September 27 1722 he had a fainting spell and was then bedridden.Vorlage:Ref In August of 1733 he suffered bladder failure and died three weeks later on August 23, 1723.Vorlage:Ref
Beliefs
Throughout his life Increase was a staunch Puritan, opposing anything openly contradictory to it or mutually exclusive with it. He was initially opposed to the Half-Way Covenant, but later supported it.Vorlage:RefVorlage:Ref His dislikes seem distinctly like something found in blue laws: intoxication, unnecessary work on the Sabbath and ostentatious clothing. He firmly believed in the direct appearance of God's favor or disfavor in everyday life, EG. the weather, political situations, attacks by "Indians", etc.Vorlage:Ref
He was strenuous in attempting to keep people to his idea of morality,Vorlage:RefVorlage:Ref making strong use of jeremiads to try and prevent indifference and especially to try and get government officals to press public morals.Vorlage:Ref
During his tenure at Harvard he regularly stamped out any relaxation of Puritan strictness, such as latitudinarianism, which had flourished during his overseas absence.Vorlage:Ref
Following his acceptance of the Covenant, Solomon Stoddard and others attempted to further liberalize Puritanism by baptism of children who had nonmember parents and admittance of all but the openly immoral to services.Vorlage:RefVorlage:Ref To try and stop this, he had a synod called in an attempt to outlaw similar measures. A declaration was adopted, but never made binding.Vorlage:Ref Following this, reform-minded members were sent to the body and it took on a less conservative tone, bitterly disappointing Mather.Vorlage:Ref
"Increase"
The stated reason for his first name was "...the never-to-be-forgotten increase, of every sort, wherewith God favoured the country about the time of his nativity."Vorlage:Ref
References
- Vorlage:Note Mather, Increase. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05. Bartleby.com, abgerufen Format invalid.
- Vorlage:Note Mathew Madden: Salem Witch Trials: Increase Mather. Abgerufen Format invalid.
- Vorlage:Note Biography of Increase Mather. Abgerufen Format invalid.
- Vorlage:Note Mather, Increase, 1639-1723. Papers of Increase Mather: an inventory. Harvard Universiry, abgerufen Format invalid.
- Vorlage:Note Dorchester Atheneum: Dorchester Atheneum: Richard Mather. Abgerufen Format invalid.
- Vorlage:Note Richard Mather - LoveToKnow1911. Encyclopedia Britannica, abgerufen Format invalid.
- Vorlage:Note Andrew Mitchell: A Brief Biographical Sketch of the Reverend Increase Mather. (Microsoft Word (.DOC)) Abgerufen Format invalid.
- Vorlage:Note Increase Mather - LoveToKnow1911. Encyclopedia Britannica, abgerufen Format invalid.
- Vorlage:Note The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Band VII. The Biographical Society, Boston 1904. — The relevant excerpt can be seen here: http://members.tripod.com/clipclop/LM/mather/richard.html (Warning: Ads)
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