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Root cause of Salem witch trials
Puritan church salem witch trials
Salem witch trials 17th century
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The Salem Witch Trials is a well-known topic taught in history classes and in English classes. It was a time in which numerous, innocent people (mostly women) were killed because they were believed to be partaking in witchcraft. There are many possible causes as to why the Salem Witch Trials occurred. These known causes stemmed from the belief that Satan is acting in the world whether it be through giving a disease or recruiting new witches to work for him, kids that were bored and brought it upon themselves to lie that they were witches to have fun, and confessions leading town officials to believe that their belief that witchcraft may exist is true since people are coming forward and confessing. Back in this time period, people were …show more content…
Before the Salem Witch Trials even began there were still accusations of witchcraft being made starting with Margaret Jones in 1648 but no one had ever confessed before, giving the town officials/judges nothing to prove that witchcraft existed ("The Salem Witch Trials: Facts & History"). What the main cause of the Salem Witch Trials was believed to be was Tituba when she confessed to witchcraft. This community was highly religious and had a strong fear of Satan, as mentioned above, and so when Tituba confessed that she as well as others were witches working for Satan, it caused mass hysteria and caused the massive witch hunt to begin ("The Salem Witch Trials: Facts & History"). Before Tituba confessed there had been no proof that witchcraft existed, however, after she did this led to a witch hunt due to the belief that there could be more “witches” out there causing destruction to the …show more content…
The fear of Satan in Salem and him acting in the world was a major contributor to the cause of the Salem Witch Trials because this is what led to the other causes of it. It is believed that the main cause that led to the numerous accusations was when Tituba had confessed which means that Satan had recruited people as new witches. Since she confessed then the judges and the people of Salem believed that there must be more like her leading to the many false accusations and even numerous deaths. Other smaller events leading to the trials is bored children and disputes between people of the community that led to more accusations and more deaths. What made all of this worse is that the courts allowed for spectral evidence to be used in court and multiple people were wronged and sentenced to death. These trials and wrongful deaths are what made up the Salem Witch Trials, these causes are to the blame for this sad historical
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.
In the small town of Salem, the year of 1692, people were being inaccurately accused as witches by people they did not know. The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 may have been caused due to a combination of a civil war and the intention to cause a stir. There were at least three causes of the Salem witch trial hysteria. These were economic status, girls acting as if been affected by witchcraft, and a combination of gender and age.
Because of two 11 year old girls jealous of the wealthy, 20 people died accused of witchcraft. Most of the accused were women, 13 women and 7 seven men were accused and killed. The two jealous little 11 year old girls wanted attention and were not as wealthy as some of the women across of town which caused the Salem Witch Trials. They were cousins and they wanted attention from their Father/Uncle. Jealousy caused the death of 20 people.
In Rosalyn Schanzer’s Witches! The Absolutely True Disaster in Salem, the author discusses how the Salem Witch trials started and how the Puritans believed the witches should be tortured or killed for being a witch. Many people were accused of being witches. Many people thought the accused should die but some were somewhat nice and didn’t think they should die just in prison. Every puritan believed them because the dad was a reverend and everyone believed him so they all accused people. The causes of the Salem Witch Trials were disease, revenge, and attention.
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were caused by a number of different reasons. The trials were caused by the fear of witchcraft and the tensions in the town and village.
The witchcraft trials became a significant event in Salem. There were 20 innocent people that died and many more accused. There is a debate on whether who was the main reason for the witchcraft trials and all the deaths of the accused. There are good arguments on about every side. Judge Danforth, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, Reverend Hale, Reverend Parris, Elizabeth Proctor and Mary Warren are all the main arguments for the blame. Personally, I believe that Abigail Williams is the main reason why the witchcraft trials came about and that so many people have died and were accused.
The salem witch trials began in 1692 and went on for a year resulting in 19 executions and 150 other accusations of witchcraft, filling prisons with innocent people. It began with a girl who was having “fits” or convulsions which they diagnosed as witchcraft. This made the puritans go into a state of hysteria.
The Salem Witch Trials occurred in Massachusetts from 1692 to 1693. Approximately 200 Salem townspeople were falsely accused of being witches. 19 men and women were executed because of this hysteria. Even dogs were hanged! The hysteria was created from multiple factors, including ergot poisoning, superstition/religion, and/or boredom.
In 1692, a group of very religious Puritans settled in New England and caused a disturbance in New England due to their strong religious beliefs. The belief that the devil could take over anyone’s body and turn them into a witch was a serious crime, people were being persecuted for this crime which caused more hysteria and resulted in about 140 dead from the Salem Witch Trials. Why did great chaos up rise in the Salem Witch Trials, in 1692? The Salem Witch Trial hysteria of 1962 was caused by the belief that people could be witches, the actions that were taken publicly to accused witches, and by the paranoia of the fact that the devil could possess a human body.
The Salem Witchcraft Trials were a series of events that is ultimately depicted today as an episode of mass hysteria in the years 1692-1693. The trials had a large effect on the entire community of Salem, Massachusetts. As a community, the trials had an effect of constant fear overlooking the settlement. Everyone was constantly worrying about the threats of witches and spirits invading their homes and hurting their family. The government and authority figures were in a sort of panic, questioning how to handle such an insane situation that they had never had to deal with before, and with religion playing such a huge role in government, this was more to the authorities than simple crimes; it was a threat to their faith. The church felt the same
The Salem Witch Trials was mostly just about the fear, and sicknesses, or blaming of other people in Salem. They sometimes blamed other people for bewitching them to save themselves from getting killed, and to imagine it was just two little girls that started this whole conflict. The conflict made people scared, and afraid of what could happen in their near future.
Terror raged through Salem Village in 1692, causing the citizens to accuse and execute each other because of suspected witchcraft. Twenty-five people died and many more were arrested as a result of the Salem witch trials, a series of court cases regarding the 131 people accused of witchcraft (Foulds 258). Trouble first started when two girls acted so strangely that people had no doubts that it was the result of witchcraft. Soon, they considered no one safe because anyone might be a witch, or a witch may be tormenting them. The afflicted girls’ mysterious behavior activated a hysterical fear of witches, causing the Salem witch trials.
People have believed in witches for centuries before the Salem witch trials even occurred. Before the Salem witch trials began the Puritans migrated from England to the United States of America to break off of the Church of England. The reason they did this was to start fresh in their own way and to rebuild their faith how they thought it was suppose to be (Kallen). The Salem witch trials relates to rights and responsibilities in American History because of the way people were treated and punished.
The Salem witch trials unfairly convicted many innocent people. After girls started saying they saw these people with the devil they were accusing everyone.They started accusing everyone of witchcraft they believed the girls without any evidence just by what the lying girls say. The whole town was terrified because a lot of people had already been accused of witchcraft. Over 200 people were convicted of witchcraft. Many people were hanged or because they thought they were witches or had connections with the devil.You would hear people saying the devil is loose in salem.
There were a bunch of false accusations were thrown around. There is much philosophy about the Salem Witch Trials. “Emily Oster posits that the ‘little ice age’ caused economic deterioration and food shortages that led to anti-witch fervor in communities in both the United States and Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries” (Daily.jstor.org). Some philosopher suggests that Salem Village was poor and needed food, so why not just draw attention to yourself and get food. A director made a play called the “The Crucible” that showed the cruel reality of the Salem Witch Trials. Some people (not philosophers) think it was a government conspiracy. Some scientist thinks that it was “One of the more controversial theories states that the girls suffered from an outbreak of encephalitis lethargica, an inflammation of the brain spread by insects and birds. Symptoms include fever, headaches, lethargy, double vision, abnormal eye movements, neck rigidity, behavioral changes, and tremors” (Daily.jstor.org) All of the accusers also had the same symptoms and were sent to the same doctor which diagnosed it witchcraft. Most doctors said that if they didn’t know what it was. Another theory was “Linda Caporael argues that the girls suffered from convulsive ergotism, a condition caused by ergot, a type of fungus, found in rye and other grains. It produces hallucinatory, LSD-like effects in the afflicted