What are the motifs in After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection by Jams Wst Davidson?

While "After the Fact" contains a good deal of information on actual events from American history, it also presents an account of the changes in historical methods and the ways in which historians interpret events. The historical treatment of the Salem witch trials is one example. Probably all modern historians looking at the witch trials begin with the assumption that there was not actually anything supernatural behind them. This was not always the case, the authors suggest. Only in the 19th century was the subject really taken up objectively. At that time, the popular theory was that the entire affair was brought about by a few girls playing a prank which then got out of hand, leading to the succession of accusations and trials.