RLP:

It is best when evaluating other people and periods of history to avoid placing 21st century American mindsets around their actions. I am not here to defend the Salem Witch Trials, but "small-minded" is among the most inapt descriptions of a population that was among the most literate and educated in the world at the time. Part of the gift of genealogy is trying to understand other people (our ancestors) in their time and place and mindset. It is a very empathetic undertaking, and your out-of-hand dismissal of their motivation is sadly lacking in empathy.

SMH.