iration as a boy Mather must have had for his popular and well-liked dad. His father, who was the president of Harvard, probably placed great importance on his sons education. One aspect that I personally think had a direct relationship to Mathers obsession with witches is this; from the three wives he had, Mather fathered fifteen children, most of which died from unknown causes. Losing one child, even though not entirely uncommon in this era was terrible enough, but to lose most of your fifteen children would put just about anyone in a mad rage eager to strike out and place blame on anything. Above all I would say that the Bible influenced Mather the most. In conclusion, I have learned something that can be applied to a very pressing situation in our country right now, the attack on our country by an unknown enemy. Mather lost sight of the whole picture when he could have saved the life of George Burrows; it is critical that we as Americans do not become overly eager to act in retaliation for the chance that we might act in retaliation on the wrong people....
