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 influential Cotton Mather.
Biography
Early life
Mather was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts[1] on June 21, 1639 to Rev. Richard Mather and Kathrine Holt Mather[2] following their participation in the Great Migration from England due to nonconformity with
the Church of England.[3] He was the youngest of six[4] brothers: Samuel, Nathaniel, Eleazar, Joseph, Timothy.[4]
His parents were highly religious[5], and three of
his brothers (Samuel, Nathaniel and Eleazar) also became ministers[6].
Education
In 1651 Mather was admitted to Harvard where he roomed with and studied under John
Norton.[5][2] When he graduated (1656) with a B.A.[2], he began to
train for the ministry and gave his first sermon on his eighteenth
birthday[7]. He quickly left Massachusetts
and went to Ireland, where he studied at Trinity
College in Dublin for a M.A..[5] He
graduated with it in 1659[1] and spent the next 3 years as a chaplain attached to a
garrison in the Channel Islands[5].
Harvard was to later award him the first honorary degree in the New World, a S.T.D., in 1692[2].
Establishing himself in Massachusetts
In 1661, with the advent of the English Restoration
and resurgence of Anglicanism, Increase returned to Massachusetts, where he married Maria
Cotton.[5] She was his stepsister[5] by virtue of his father's marriage to Sarah Hankredge, the widow of
John Cotton and mother of Maria.[7] She gave birth to Cotton Mather in
February.[5]
He published in 1676 A
Brief History of the Warr with the Indians in New-England, a contemporary account of King Philip's War.
He was ordained as minister of the Old North
Church (the original Old North meetinghouse), whose congregation included many of the upper
class and governing class,[5] on
May 27 1664. He held this post until he died.[1] By virtue of his position he quickly became one
of the most influential people in the colony, both religiously and politically.[5]
Harvard
In June 11, 1685 he became the Acting President of
Harvard University (then Harvard College) and steadily advanced: 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 until September 6, 1701.[2]
He was rarely present on campus or in the town,[1] especially during his term of Rector as he was out of the Colony for all but two years of his
term in that office.[2] Despite his absences he did
make some changes: reimplementation of Greek and Hebrew instruction, replacement of classical Roman authors with Biblical
and Christian authors in ethics classes, enactment of requirements that students attend classes
regularly, live and eat on campus and that seniors not haze other students.[2]
Involvement in politics
While politics and Puritan religion were closely related during Increase's life time, his first direct involvement with
politics occurred as a result of James II of England's manipulation of the New
England governments. In 1686 James revoked the Charter of
Massachusetts in the process of creating the unresponsible
Dominion of New England.[1].
The Dominion was headed by Edmund Andros, who not only disliked puritanism and was
haughty[2], but
ruled as a near absolute dictator: Town meetings were outlawed, leaving the Dominion
without consent of the government was outlawed, marriage was removed from the clergy and the Old South Church was temporarily appropriated for Anglican
services.[8] Also disliked by the Puritan
status quo was the 1687 Declaration of Indulgence, prohibiting discrimination against Catholics.[5] When
Mather successfully roused opposition to the charter revokation, he was nearly framed for treason. He then traveled to London (eluding spies out to catch him) to petition
the King.[7]
While engaged in petitioning he published pieces to build popular support for his positions, such as 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).[7]
While there he attempted to get the old charter restored[1] and a royal charter for Harvard[2]; however, he abandoned that course and changed his petitions to a new charter not lacking any of
the rights previously granted.[2] Following the
Glorious Revolution and subsequent overthrow of Andros, a new charter was granted to
the colony.[2] 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.[2]
Following Andros' deposition and arrest[8], he had
William Phips appointed as Royal Governor and they returned to Massachusetts, arriving on
May 14 1692.[9]
Following his return, the administration of Harvard grew increasingly insistent that he reside nearer to the institution. Not
wanting to leave his Second Church, he didn't, eventually resigning the Presidency.[2].
Involvement 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".[10] 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.[10] In September he published Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits
Personating Men, Witchcrafts, infallible Proofs of Guilt in such as are accused with that Crime (more commonly known as just
"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". Afterwards, his reputation was not improved by his involvement and association with the trials, nor by his subsequent
refusal to denounce them. His refusal to repudiate was likely because of his longtime frienship with the judges involved.[9] He was also defamed[9] by Robert Calef in
his harshly critical More Wonders of the Invisible World[11] (referred to as More Wonders of the Spiritual World by the Encyclopedia Britannica Eleventh Edition[7]).
Later life and death
Following Maria's death in August 1714, he remarried.[5] On September 27 1722 he
fainted and was bedridden thereafter.[5] In August of 1723 he suffered bladder failure[5] and died three weeks later on August
23, 1723 in Boston.[12]
Beliefs
Throughout his life Mather was a staunch Puritan, opposing anything openly contradictory to, mutually exclusive with, or
potentially "distracting" from his religious beliefs. He supported suppression of intoxication, unnecessary effort on Sundays and ostentatious
clothing. He was initially opposed to the Half-Way Covenant but later supported
it.[7] He firmly believed in the direct
appearance of God's disfavor in everyday life, e.g. the weather, political situations, attacks by "Indians", fires and floods,
etc.[9][7]
He was strenuous in attempting to keep people to his idea of morality,[2] making strong use of jeremiads to try and prevent indifference
and especially to try and get government officials to enforce public morality.[5]
During his tenure at Harvard he regularly stamped out any relaxation of Puritan strictness, such as latitudinarianism, which had flourished during his overseas absence.[2]
Following his acceptance of the Covenant, Solomon Stoddard and others attempted to
further liberalize Puritanism by baptism of children who had nonmember parents[2] and admittance of all but the openly immoral to
services.[7] 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.[7] Following this, reform-minded
members were sent to the body and it took on a less conservative tone, bitterly disappointing Mather.[5]
Given name
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."[7]
Works
Among his more than 125 published works, the following are most notable:
- The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation (1669)
- The Life and Death of That Reverend Man of God, Mr. Richard Mather (1670)
- Wo to Drunkards: Two sermons Testifying against the Sin of Drunkenness (1673)
- The Day of Trouble Is Near (1674)
- A Discourse concerning the Subject of Baptisme (1675)
- The Wicked Mans Portion (1675)
- A Brief History of the Warr With the Indians in New-England (1676) Online text
- An Earnest Exhortation To the Inhabitants of New-England (1676) Online text
- A Relation of the Troubles which Have Hapned in New-England by Reason of the Indians There from the Year 1614 to the Year
1675 (1677)
- A Discourse concerning the Danger of Apostasy (1679)
- The Divine Right of Infant-Baptisme Asserted and Proved from Scripture and Antiquity (1680)
- A Confession of Faith Owned and Consented unto by the Elders and Messengers of the Churches Assembled at Boston
(1680)
- Heavens Alarm to the World (1681)
- Diatriba de signo Filii Hominis, et de secundo Messiæadventu; ubi de modo futuræ judæorum conversionis; nec non de signis
novissimi diei, disseritur (1682)
- Kometographia, or, A Discourse concerning Comets (1683)
- An Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences (1684)
- An Arrow against Profane and Promiscuous Dancing Drawn out of the Quiver of Scriptures (1684)
- The Mystery of Christ Opened and Applyed in Several Sermons concerning the Person, Office, and Glory of Jesus Christ
(1686)
- De successu evangelij apud Indos in Novâ-Angliâ epistola (1688)
- A Narrative of the Miseries of New-England, by Reason of an Arbitrary Government Erected There under Sir Edmond
Andross (1688)
- Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits Personating Men (1693) Online text
- A Further Account of the Tryals of the New-England Witches (1693) Online
text
- Angelographia, or, A Discourse concerning the Nature and Power of the Holy Angels (1696)
- The Order of the Gospel, Professed and Practised by the Churches of Christ in New-England (1700)
- The Blessed Hope, and the Glorious Appearing of the Great God our Saviour, Jesus Christ (1701)
- Ichabod: or, The Glory Departing (1702)
- Soul-saving Gospel Truths (1703)
- A Discourse concerning Earthquakes (1706)
- A Dissertation concerning the Future Conversion of the Jewish Nation (1709)
- Meditations on the Glory of the Heavenly World (1711)
- A Disquisition concerning Ecclesiastical Councils (1716)
Works About
- Kenneth B. Murdock. Increase Mather: The Foremost American Puritan. Cambridge, Mass., 1925.
- Michael G. Hall. The Last American Puritan: The Life of Increase Mather. Wesleyan, 1992.
- Thomas James Holmes. Increase Mather: a Bibliography of his Works. Cleveland, 1931.
- Robert Middlekauf. The Mathers: Three Generations of Puritan Intellectuals, 1596-1728. New York, 1971.
- Mason I. Lowance. Increase Mather. New York, 1974.
References
See also
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