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Puritan history brief salem witch trials
Judicial systems salem witch trials
Puritan history brief salem witch trials
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Year 1692, Hundreds of people, accused with the conviction of witchcraft, stoned to death, or in confinement with no justice trials. “From June through September of 1692, nineteen men and women, all having been convicted of witchcraft, were carted to Gallows Hill, a barren slope near Salem Village, for hanging” (The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692) What caused the mass hysteria and disaster of Salem; for, the answer is unknown. Yet, many events and factors had contributed to the accusations, the punishments, and the confessions of the sentenced. Many colonists in Massachusetts were puritans, seeking religious tolerance. Ironically, the Puritan code was strict and disciplined. Dress was dictated to the church and the public were anticipated …show more content…
Those who were very religious resented those who were wealthy. Many accusers accused individuals who have wronged them in the past, after being accused, trials would be unfair and unjust. The accuser never had any punishment for wrongly accusing a person of witch craft. At times, even rumors were enough to have someone hung. “Old feuds (disputes within congregation, property disputes) between the accusers and the accused spurring charges of witchcraft” (The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692) Douglas Linder stated on his list of causes of the Salem witch hunts; arguments between the accusers and the accused had been one of the factors caused the epidemic. Some accusers during these times had the intention of taking large establishments of property for themselves after the so called “witches” were hung. Many of the accused had lived near the prosperous Salem Town while the accusers were the poor farmers on the outskirts of Salem Village. Jealousy would have been enough reason to blame someone of witchcraft in 1692, whether or not they were a …show more content…
First, the Puritan values and expectations were strict, and those who had defied their teachings would have been at a much higher chance of being accused as a witch. Second, economic struggles within Salem Town and Village had further divided the two, by crop failure and livestock death. Ultimately causing economic damages. Third, personal opinions and disputes had contributed to the trials and accusations. The law system was unfair during the trials, so when or if someone was accused the court would side with the accuser, unless of course, they were a witch themselves. In conclusion, the people who died and who were accused of witchcraft were not really witches, Salem and it’s inhabitants were under the influence of mass hysteria, personal beliefs and grudges that eventually became the chaos of the Salem witch hunts of
The Salem witch craft trials are the most learned about and notable of Europe's and North America's witch hunts. Its notoriety and fame comes from the horrendous amount of people that were not only involved, but killed in the witch hunt and that it took place in the late 1700's being one of the last of all witch hunts. The witch craft crises blew out of control for several reasons. Firstly, Salem town was facing hard economic times along with disease and famine making it plausible that the only explanation of the town's despoilment was because of witches and the devil. As well, with the stimulation of the idea of witch's from specific constituents of the town and adolescent boredom the idea of causing entertainment among the town was an ever intriguing way of passing time.
One cause of the witch trial hysteria was economic status. According to historian Paul Boyer, the eastern half of Salem was prosperous and gained political influence, whereas the western half was poorer and lost political power (Doc. E). Many of the accused witches were on the eastern half, while the accusers were
“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”, Exodus 22:18. In 1692 , in Salem Massachusetts , the Puritans believed everything in the bible, they also believed in witches and that witches should not be able to live.There were at least 3 causes for the Salem witch trial hysteria. There are: age, gender, and marital status , lying girls, and a divided town.
During the time of the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692, more than twenty people died an innocent death. All of those innocent people were accused of one thing, witchcraft. During 1692, in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts many terrible events happened. A group of Puritans lived in Salem during this time. They had come from England, where they were prosecuted because of their religious beliefs. They chose to come live in America and choose their own way to live. They were very strict people, who did not like to act different from others. They were also very simple people who devoted most of their lives to God. Men hunted for food and were ministers. Women worked at home doing chores like sewing, cooking, cleaning, and making clothes. The Puritans were also very superstitious. They believed that the devil would cause people to do bad things on earth by using the people who worshiped him. Witches sent out their specters and harmed others. Puritans believed by putting heavy chains on a witch, that it would hold down their specter. Puritans also believed that by hanging a witch, all the people the witch cast a spell on would be healed. Hysteria took over the town and caused them to believe that their neighbors were practicing witchcraft. If there was a wind storm and a fence was knocked down, people believed that their neighbors used witchcraft to do it. Everyone from ordinary people to the governor’s wife was accused of witchcraft. Even a pregnant woman and the most perfect puritan woman were accused. No one in the small town was safe. As one can see, the chaotic Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were caused by superstition, the strict puritan lifestyle, religious beliefs, and hysteria.
At that time, Salem was a small town or village; it was a farming community that was only 550 of population. Their goal was that they want to be a model society on the hills. Not all of them were puritans because there were people that want a better life and want to live in a society out of England; their life in England were difficult. There were two groups in the village: those who were separatists and others that were puritans (those who believe in predetermination and follow the rules). Samuel Parris was a reverend that was the minister of the group of the separatist. He helped divide these two groups. The reverend Parris and his wife had 2 children living with them, who were Betty and Abigail. These two girls were the motive that the trials started. These girls screamed, rolled their eyes back into their heads, shook, twist...
From the beginning of time there has been conflict between the views of different people and their different groups. Conflict has brought prejudice and fear into communities around the world. As conflict is an inescapable part of any society, it can be expected to extend to the greatest impact possible. The Salem Witch Trials are one such conflict. This conflict caused many to be accused, arrested, and killed. Because of social, economic, religious, and physical problems within the community, Salem Village was present with prejudice and panic causing the Salem Witch Trials.
What caused the Salem Witch Trials? This question has been asked for hundreds of years, yet the world still isn't sure of the answer. The only statement that can be proven is that there were multiple causes (salemwitchtrials.com). No one factor pushed the trials into existence. Even simple things, like fear, took a part in the overall cause. To this day, scientists and researchers alike still argue over the answer to this riddling question.
On 1692 there were more than twenty people executed because of witchcraft. Witchcraft was a very big problem in the late 17th century Salem. People were accusing each other of being witches, and this soon got out of hand. Many say there were causes of the constant witch accusing. These causes of the Salem Witch Trials Hysteria of 1692 were jealousy, poverty, and boredom.
The Salem Witch Trials took place in the summer and into the fall of the year 1692, and during this dark time of American history, over 200 people had been accused of witchcraft and put in jail. Twenty of these accused were executed; nineteen of them were found guilty and were put to death by hanging. One refused to plead guilty, so the villagers tortured him by pressing him with large stones until he died. The Salem Witch Trials was an infamous, scary time period in American history that exhibited the amount of fear people had of the devil and the supernatural; the people of this time period accused, arrested, and executed many innocent people because of this fear, and there are several theories as to why the trials happened (Brooks).
In 1692, the occurrence of “witchcraft” began after the Massachusetts Bay Charter revolution and the outbreak of small pox. The rebellion caused hysteria and a sad injustice. Friends were pinned against friends; upstanding citizens were forced to flee for their lives and men and women were put to death (Jurist Legal News and Research Services 2008).The fear of the devil influenced the cruelty that took place. Most of the settlers that established their homes in the colony were puritans, a member of a group of English Protestants who revolted against the Church of England. The belief that God punished sinful behavior with misfortune did not help circumstances. The puritans targeted outcasts, people who never really fit it in; they wanted to rid the towns of these suspected sinners.
The town of Salem, Massachusetts took a rather dark turn within the 17th century as the townsfolk of Salem were shaped and heavily influenced by the beliefs and superstitions of dark and evil magic, or rather the work of demons, satan and most importantly witches. The puritans that had come from England to Salem, that wanted to be separated from the Church Of England, had brought along with them their strong beliefs that satan recruited people, or more specifically witches and wizards, to do badly onto to others. The lives of the citizens in Salem had taken a stupendous impact from their fears and superstitions. These strong notions had become so involved in the lives of the citizens of Salem that it led to many innocent people being persecuted for witchcraft. The most memorable incident being the series of Salem witch trials, conducted in the year of 1692, which resulted in the execution of twenty people, most of
In 1692, the colonists in Salem were Puritans and very protective of their particular religion and would tolerate no other. They felt threatened by those who were different, witches were the most extreme in difference to their way of life and so everything from death to a poor harvest was blamed on them.
This story is a powerful example of people being incriminated or punished because of fear and bias. Most cases are one person’s word against another, lacking evidence, facts, and witnesses. Many people in this time period were hung for a crime that is very uncommon today. There never really was any proof that witchcraft was a fact. Every case of witchcraft that was taken to court was primarily one person's word against another. The people of Salem in the novel The Crucible by Arthur Miller were enveloped in mass hysteria leading to several deaths that were. caused by the rumors of Satan and witchcraft. Many people of Salem were hung because of peer pressure, fear of accusations, and fear of the unknown.
While Salem Village remained an agricultural community, Salem Town transformed into a mercantile town. These factions created strained relations and high levels of anxiety among the residents which led to accusations of witchcraft. Tensions exacerbated as Salem “experienced two different economic systems, two different ways of life, at unavoidably close range” (437). Within Salem Village, witchcraft accusations steadily increased as “the first twelve witches were either residents of the Village or persons who lived just beyond its borders” (435). However, witchcraft was not confined to a specific, geographic location as it spread beyond Salem Village and into other geographic boundaries. In fact, the majority of the people accused of witchcraft came from the surrounding villages. The outgrowth of conflicts and bitter disputes between the people of the rising mercantile class and the people of the land-based economy continuously led to witchcraft accusations. The accusations were not limited to farming communities, but also extended to political representatives and people higher up on the social ladder. For example, Boyer and Nissenbaum mention the accusation of Daniel Andrew and Phillip English who were two elected Salem Town selectman. As more
Accusations of witchcraft ran rampant in the 17th century colonial settlements in the United States. The individuals accused, mostly women, were put on trial and punished, if found guilty. The most well-known of such cases on public record are the Salem Witch Trials. Between February, 1692 and May, 1693, hearings and prosecutions were set up to deal with those accused of dabbling in the dark arts in the cities of Andover, Salem, and Ipswich, all in Massachusetts Bay. These trials came to commonly be referred to as the Salem Witch Trials because some of the most notorious cases were heard in the Oyer and Terminer courts in Salem. At the time, practicing witchcraft was considered a serious crime, and was often punished with serious consequences.