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the rise and fall of witch hunting
salem witch trials colonial america
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The Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. At this time there appeared to be an outbreak of witches. This started when the children of the Goodwin family begin having mysterious fits. The doctors, not knowing what had happened to the children, blamed it on witchcraft. From that point on many people were accused of being a witch and were killed. This occurred for many different reasons; either they were hanged for their crimes, crushed by stones for refusing to stand trial on their cases, or from waiting in the jail for so long before their case came up. As people began to investigate the Salem Witch Trials further they came up with two explanations; either the people of Salem were begin acted through by the devil or …show more content…
This was the belief of many of the Puritans, in Salem. Puritans had such strong religious beliefs, that to them it seemed highly plausible that the devil was using their peers as pawns to carry out his evil influence on the world. Another thing that fueled the Puritans belief of bewitchment was a book written a few years previously called Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions by Cotton Mather. This book explained symptoms of four children who had been bewitched by their laundress. The symptoms that Mather described were the same symptoms the town seemed to be plagued with. This only added to the belief that the town had an outbreak of witches. Many of the doctors in the town started blaming illness that could not be diagnosed on witchcraft. In 1692, Williams and Elizabeth Parris began acting out of the ordinary by dashing around, complaining of strange pains, and jumping under things. They visited their local doctor and he told them they must be bewitched because there activities were so unexplainable. Another medical case that was thought to be witchcraft was that of Martha Goodwin. She began screaming, complaining of unusual pain, and demonstrating different behavior than normal. The symptoms that were shown in Martha Goodwin were so out of the ordinary that the doctors did not know what could be causing these problems. The doctors decided the child must be a victim of witchcraft and arrested her parents under the assumption that they were
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.
This time in Salem was a troubling time, making it seem likely that satan was active (Linder). The townsfolk are believed to have been suffering from a strange psychological condition known as Mass Hysteria (Wolchover). Mass Hysteria is a condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness. This is known to cause all kinds of problems from rashes to high-blood pressure and heart disease. The adults would likely ask the girls if the people tormenting them with witchcraft were the people the adults considered in the community to be most-likely allied with the devil: outcasts or political rivals. Some of the girls, under this heavy questioning, might actually have come to believe they were bewitched, while others knowingly lied to please the adults and found themselves trapped in their own lies (Krystek). If the girls believed that someone had bewitched them, that would have created enough stress in their minds to cause physical symptoms. Many of the symptoms the girls had been nearly identical to a condition called hysteria. If the girls just believed that they had been bewitched, it might have been enough to produce the physical effects that were observed (Krystek).
“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.
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of prosecutions of men and women who were accused to practice witchcraft or have associations with the devil. The first Salem witch trial began with two girls in 1692, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams who started to have “fits”, in which they would throw tantrums and have convulsions. The random outburst of the girls threw the town of Salem into a mass of hysteria. Although historians have not found a definite reason or cause for the witch trials, they have taken different approaches to explain the hysteria that took over Salem. Some historians approach a psychological theory by proposing the girls suffered from diseases that made them act out. Other historians refer to factors such as religion, economics, and weather to explain the beginnings of an unforgettable time in Salem, Massachusetts. For over 300 years, historians have tried to reveal the truth about the beginnings of the Salem Witch Trials, but in order to do so historians must look at both the way of life in Salem in the seventeenth century and use knowledge that is available now to explain the phenomenon.
...in their family to become sick and possibly die. Many people were accused of witchcraft. More than twenty people died all together. One person was flattened to death because he was accused of witchcraft. When people were accused they had to go to jail, which the conditions were terrible. Then, they had to get a trial from the Court of Oyer and Terminer. After an accused witch had their trial, and went to jail, they would be carted off to Gallows Hill. This was the hill where all the witches were hanged. After a witch was hanged, later that night, their family would usually take the body down and give it a proper burial. The Salem Witchcraft Trials were one of the most terrible times in the history of America. As you can see the chaotic Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were caused by superstition, the strict puritan lifestyle, religious beliefs, and hysteria.
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
Upon arriving 1692, Salem faced trial after trial that had destroyed their community. From having no governor, to not enough resources, to having to follow strict guidelines set by people with higher authority, it was a given something in Salem was bound to go wrong. The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692 and lasted for over six months. A total of two hundred people were accused for witchcraft and 19 people actually got convicted and executed, five of which were men. One man, Giles Corey, even got pressed to death because he refused to cooperate with the court. There’s no exact answer on why people started accusing other people of false accusations,
Witchcraft has been present in many other religions, not only the Puritan religion. Witchcraft was also found in Catholic and Protestant parts of Europe. The Salem Witch Trials were smaller in comparison to those in Scotland, France, or Germany (Hall 3). Though the trials in Salem were smaller, people recognize the Salem Witch Trials as one of the worst times in American history (“Witch Madness” 4). The Puritans believed that the Devil was alive in their community (“Witch Madness” 2). The accusations started in February 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts when young Puritan girls were found using magic. The Salem Witch Trials began when Betty Paris, Abigail Williams, and some of their friends began to act strange with odd fits (Hall 1). Because many mental and emotional disorders were not understood, the people of Salem believed it was the work of witchcraft. When sickness or even misfortune came, the most
The actual history of the Salem Witch trials took place in Massachusetts, Puritan New England. It was a series of trials of people being accused of witchcraft/ crimes against religion, many of those accused were women. Mass hysteria
In the early winter months of 1692, in colonial Massachusetts, two young girls began exhibiting strange symptoms that were described to be "beyond the power of Epileptic Fits or natural disease to effect (examiner.com)." Doctors looked them over, but could not come up with any sort of logical explanation for their ailments. Therefore, the girls were accused of taking part in witchcraft. Soon, other young women in the village started showing similar symptoms. This "illness" of sort slowly made its way through the village to many of the residents. Soon, people started coming up with possible theories as to what started all the madness.
The Salem Witch Trials were a time in history where people were wrongly accused of being witches. In the spring of 1692 the Salem witch trials began. During the trials women were wrongly accused of being witches. When accused of being a witch they were tortured, tested, put on trial, and most of the time executed if not put in jail. The townspeople tortured the accused witches in the most inhumane ways. This was a very dark and eerie time for the Puritans in Salem, Massachusetts (P., Shaunak).
The witch trials of the late 1600's were full of controversy and uncertainty. The Puritan town of Salem was home to most of these trials, and became the center of much attention in 1692. More than a hundred innocent people were found guilty of practicing witchcraft during these times, and our American government forced over a dozen to pay with their lives. The main reasons why the witch trials occurred were conflicts dealing with politics, religion, family, economics, and fears of the citizens.
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and 1693 was a tragic set of events that took place in Salem, Massachusetts (Salem is now Danvers, Massachusetts.) It began with a “witchcraft craze” from 1300-1600 in Europe, when thousands of people were murdered, accused of performing witchcraft, the devil’s magic.
The Causes of the Salem Witch Hunt Many American colonists brought with them from Europe a notion in witches and an intrigue with alleged manipulation with the devil. During the seventeenth century, people were executed for witchcraft all over the colonies, chiefly in Massachusetts. Various of the accused were women, inducing some recent historians to recommend that charges of witchcraft were a way of dominating women who endangered the present economic and social order at that time.
The Salem Witch Trials began in the spring of 1692 in the small village of Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials began because some young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil. More than 150 people where accused to witchcraft, and twenty people died.The Salem Witch Trials were famous, many innocent people were accused of being witches, and many innocent people were killed.