Superstition--The belief in supernatural causality, has been a driving factor behind pivotal historical events throughout the early years of the documented human existence. Unexplainable disasters and phenomena were once commonly attributed to displeased gods by many an ancient civilization. Humans have always had a burning desire to understand why things happen. Remarkable and seemingly unexplainable events occurring in civilizations where the sciences are lacking, leaves the masses to credit that so badly desired explanation to magic and unearthly powers, allowing superstitious un-backed accusations and assumptions to run rampant. Even the more enlightened ancient Greeks that birthed modern logic, reason, and philosophy believed sacrificial offerings would please their gods. (PBS, 2014). In American history, the Salem witch trials of the revolutionary time period, exemplify the mass hysteria that can grasp a superstitious society.
The Witchcraft Accusations
The deeply rooted fear of the Salem populous during the 17th century showed that their beliefs and religion played a very big part in day to day life. Law, logic, and reason all seemed to have their foundation in religion. The main downfall with their faith first mentality is shown by the inherent misdirection caused by paranoia in the masses. In 1692 Salem Massachusetts bias, prejudice, superstition, and selfishness prevailed:
"Belief in magic, astrology, and witchcraft was widespread in [the] seventeenth-century....God's will [was defined as] such events as lightning that struck one house but spared another, and epidemics that reduced the population of their Indian enemies." (Foner, 2012. pg. 111-12).
War was also a major part of Colonial Salem life. A battle between the...
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...mmitment among prominent colonists to finding scientific explanations for natural events like comets and illnesses, rather than attributing them to magic.”(Foner, 2012, pg 112-113). As a result, science and logic would soon prevail in the American legal system. Out of the ashes of the wrongfully executed rose change and progress.
Works Cited
Foner, E. (2012). Give me Liberty! (3rd Edition). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company
George Burroughs. (2011). Retrived January 19th 2013 from: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_BBUR.HTM Linder, D. (2009). "The Witchcraft Trials in Salem: A Commentary." Retrived January 19th 2013 from: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ACCT.HTM
Public Broadcasting Station. (2014). "Socrates." Retrived January 19th 2013 from:
http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/characters/socrates_p12.html
In 1692 a portion of the Puritan community experienced a tragedy in their community that they thought would never happen Since they worshipped God and God was the most praised person...
Cotton Mather, in his The Wonders of the Invisible World, preserved for posterity a very dark period in Puritanical American society through his account of the Salem witch trials in 1692. His description is immediately recognizable as being of the same viewpoint as those who were swept up in the hysteria of the moment. Mather viewed Salem as a battleground between the devil and the Puritans. "The New Englanders are a people of God settled in those which were once the devil's territories. . . . The devil thus irritated, immediately tried all sorts of methods to overturn this poor plantation" (Mather 421). Here Mather is alluding to the Native Americans as being a people associated with the devil rather than with their God, a common point of view held towards all savage people. Mather saw the witches of Salem as being "his [the devil's] incarnate legions" sent to Salem "to persecute us. . ." (Mather 421). The Salem witch trials have become a part of American mythology which has been passed down to each succeeding generation for over 300 years after the village of Salem sent its last witch to the gallows. However, it is the witch trials relevance to modern society more than any other factor that has contributed to its legendary place in American history and mythology. The witch trials that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, are the precursor to the modern trials where adults are accused of crimes including ritualistic sexual molestation of children. These types of ritualized abuse are commonly linked to Satanic cults. Modern beliefs in Satanists mirror similar beliefs held of colonial witches.
Increase Mather, a Boston Congregational minister, author and educator, was a determined figure in the councils of New England during crucial periods, in particular to the Salem Witchcraft. In 1683, when he was still in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, he refused to compromise full obedience to the English Monarchy, where he stated that the absolute obedience should only obtain for the God. Such courageous action of him prompts the understanding of his clerical puritan ideologies, believing there is only the god and “us” in the world with no middle boundary. It is clear that he was not only an advocate of religion, but significantly, one for puritanism as the portrait of him explicitly shows in his appeal. In addition, connecting to the Salem Witchcraft being a minister, although Increase did believe in witches as most of the people at that time did, he actually suspected a lot that “evidence could be faulty and justice might miscarry”. He distrusted the case of “spectre evidence” because “ a witch could assume the form of an innocent person”. When such mistaken evidence was eventually thrown out of court with the Mathers’ and other ministers’ insistence, the whole affair came to an end.
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.
The thoroughness is one of its key strengths, allowing for people of varying knowledge about Salem to gain an understanding of the events and background of the witch trials. The author includes multiple sources to show the exceptionally varying ideals and their effects on Salem. “the peace that came under Joseph Green's conciliatory leaders... the important role religious strife played in the events of 1692”(Latner, 2006, 118). Joseph Green completely paralleled his predecessors, he was responsible for restoring order to Salem. This is significant because it shows the impact that ministers had, they had the power to change the town completely, Green was one of the first to not cause strife. Compared to Christine Leigh Heyrman’s “Witchcraft in Salem Village: Intersections of Religion and Society” Latner’s article correlates with the central idea that religious leaders and religion itself started the witch
The notorious witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts occurred from June through September. It is a brief, but turbulent period in history and the causes of the trials have long been a source of discussion among historians. Many try to explain or rationalize the bizarre happenings of the witch hunts and the causes that contributed to them. To understand the trials and how they came to be, we must first examine the ideals and views of the people surrounding the events. Although religious beliefs were the most influential factor, socioeconomic tensions, and ergot poisoning are also strongly supported theories. A combination of motives seems the most rational explanation of the frenzy that followed the illness of the two girls. This paper looks closely at the some of the possible causes of one of the most notable occurrences in history.
In the early years of America, people were mostly unaware of certain things. Sickness, for instance, was an important issue for people didn't know how to manage or cure such complex illnesses. The Puritans, during the colonial times, didn't have much information about certain things. They came to believe that certain unexplainable events were done by a powerful source of evil thus brought about superstitions. The infamous Witch Trials done at Salem, Massachusetts, which spread across the continent, was an example of people's injustice acts in response to superstitions. One of the major cause of the Salem Witchcraft trials was superstition, an "irrational belief or practice resulting from ignorance or fear of the unknown" (www.encyclopedia.com). A lack of scientific knowledge led many people to be convinced that, witches were responsible to the death of an animal or a livestock: John Rogger "testified that upon the threatening words " of Martha Carrier " his cattle would be strangely bewitched."(Mather, p55) John Roger believed on superstitions; thus he proposed that Martha was a witch who was killing his cows. It is easy to see how the people of Salem were so vulnerable to the notion of witches taking over their town. Furthermore Tituba, Reverend Parris's slave, practiced ritual dance and "black magic" in her early years in Africa. She influenced most of the girls in town through her stories. The girls believed on superstitions which overall started the Salem Witch Trials and made it possible for the witch trials to occur for a long duration.
In the period of the Salem Witchcraft trials the colonist ran their courts with the use of empirical evidence (Craker, W. 1997, pg.350). Jail during this period had horrendous living conditions with many of those awaiting trials, and others serving sentences dying from varies reasons during their time imprisoned (Craker, W. 1997, pg.357 & 358). The beliefs of the people running the justice system was that of people who wanted to bring retribution to those who had committed non-spectral acts, while at the same time showing mercy to those who confessed to their crime’s (Craker, W. 1997, pg.345).
Overall, religion had a major effect on the Salem Witch Trials, because it was an integral part of Salem and colonial society at the time and influenced not only the accusers and accused, but the leadership of English society in North America as well. Furthermore, controversial evidence based on speculative or fabricated information was admitted because it conformed to the religious beliefs of the time. Although many of the emigrants from England left because of religious persecution, in Salem they themselves engaged in religious persecution, based merely on trivial accusations and superstition.
Many of the American colonists brought with them from Europe a belief in witches and the devil. During the seventeenth century, people were executed for being witches and follower of Satan. Most of these executions were performed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Mostly all of the accused were women, which makes some modern historians believe that the charges of witchcraft were a way of controlling the women who threatened the power of the men. During the witchcraft trials, hundreds of arrests were made, and some were even put to death on Gallow’s Hill (Karlsen 145). In 1698, the villagers of Salem won the right to establish their own Church. They chose the Reverend Samuel Parris as their minister. Many of the villagers were then sorry that they had done so because of his harsh demands. They then vowed to force him out. There was much pressure surrounding the Parris family. The children of the family would entertain themselves by listening to stories told by Tituba, their slave (National Geographic). January of 1692 is when the mass hysteria of the Salem witch trials first began. The Puritans of this time were very harsh, unyielding, and quick to judge. They condemned innocent women on the basis of intangible evidence, confessions, and such things as "witchmarks" (Hill). As Dorcas Hoar said, "I will speak the truth as long as I live" (Salem Home Page). Nine year old Betty Parris and eleven year old Abigail Williams, the daughter and niece of Reverend Parris, were the first to start to display signs of strange behavior. Some of this behavior included profane screaming, convulsive seizures, trance-like stages, and unexplainable animal-like noises. Shortly after this, other Salem girls began to demonstrate this same behavior. (Salem Home Page). The girls’ torment "could not possibly be Dissembled", stated Cotton Mather (National Geographic). Unable to determine any physical cause for the symptoms and behavior, doctors concluded that the girls were under the influence of Satan. Prayer Services and community fasting were organized by the Reverend Samuel Parris in hopes of relieving the evil forces that supposedly plagued the community. Efforts to expose the witches were also performed. The first three women to be identified as the source of the problem were Tituba, an Indian slave, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osbor...
“The trials were not representative of the overall Puritan experiment, as commonly thought, but rather marked a significant deviation from the group’s standard legal practices” (339). Traditionally when
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty. 3rd ed. Vol. Two. New York: Norton &, 2011. Print.
The constant struggle to explain the unexplainable is not a new concept. The world’s first civilizations including those of ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians practiced polytheism for this very reason. Gods and goddesses were created to honor all things that could not be explained logically. Everything from weather to illness was thought to be controlled by these deities. As civilizations shifted from practicing polytheism to monotheism, the belief in these good (God) versus evil (the devil) supernatural beings did not completely end. Anyone believed to be able to channel these beings was accused of witchcraft. Throughout the age of witchcraft and magic, people accepted the reality of only two kinds of magic: natural magic and demonic magic. “Natural magic was the manipulation of occult forces believed to exist in nature.” (Levack, 2013) Natural magic was thought to never have any contact with the devil. Demonic magic, however, was thought to be the calling of evil spirits to do harm onto others. (The West, 2014) People who practiced demonic magic usually were thought to be women. Even...
Psychological susceptibility to various faiths in the fact that human life is exposed to supernatural forces that affect a person's fate, and often prejudge its outcome, always existed in all human societies and cultures. One of the major determinants of this psychological susceptibility is superstitions that appear as the main engines of believe in the intervention of supernatural forces in human’s life. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica (2010) ‘superstition’ could be defined as ‘belief, half-belief or practice’, which does not have any rational explanation or basis. Despite this fact, according to Behringer (2004) the amount of believers in witchcraft and superstitions are significantly higher than in XVII century.