Publisher description for Such men are dangerous : the fanatics of 1692 and 2004 / by Frances Hill.


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Most Americans, of course, would like to think that our modern-day leaders are more enlightened than the witch-hunting Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. But are they? Is it possible that people like Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney, and even George W. Bush are just the modern-day equivalents of Cotton Mather, John Hathorne, and William Phips? Frances Hill finds a frightening resemblance, and hopes that by remembering the past we can avoid repeating it.

Much of what we know about the Salem witch trials is the result of Frances Hill’s meticulously researched books on the subject. To many, this seems to be a bizarre chapter of history that could never repeat itself in modern times. Yet that is exactly what is happening, Hill says. The events are, of course, very different. The Puritans twisted a popular fear of imaginary “spectral” forces to bolster their power and wealth. Today’s neoconservatives are twisting the very real public fear of terrorism to bolster their ideological agendas, power and wealth.

We know how the story of the witch hunts ends. The modern equivalent is still under way, with far more chilling ramifications for the future of humanity.

Library of Congress subject headings for this publication:
United States -- Politics and government -- 2001-
Massachusetts -- Politics and government -- To 1775.
Puritans -- Massachusetts.
Fanaticism -- United States -- History -- Case studies.