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The Salem Witch Trials Today I am going to explain about the Salem witch trials. The contents you will learn about is contrary to today’s beautiful weather. Anyway, do you believe the existence of witch or devil? You might not, because we are Christian students. However, although the 17th century was a peak of Christianity, there was several people conducted the witchcrafts. The Protestants who persecuted from England migrated to America who was puritans. They made colonies around the America. One of the colonies in Massachusetts Bay was the Salem. Salem is short term for Jerusalem in bible. Just like its title, very religious people gathered in the small village of Salem. The term of “witchcraft” was originated from the medieval time. In medieval time, Europeans highly relied on Christianity. At that time, people approached disasters theologically instead of scientific proof. They believed witches were the cause of failure of crusade, advent of black plague, and contagious diseases. To specify, the witchcraft had been occurred in the excessively religious society. As I mentioned right before, the Salem was so religious that it had sufficient factors to cause the witchcraft and it was really happened in 17th century. To begin with, I am going to explain about background of the Salem witch trials in detail. the Salem was divided into two parts, people who supported ministers or resisted him. In addition, the smallpox raged in the Salem and it was annoyed from threats of or antagonistic native tribes around their village. At that time, historical events and unstable situations made people who lived in the Salem associate the unfortunate or bizarre occurrence with Satan. Then, they started to hunt witches in order to relieve their ... ... middle of paper ... ...this trial. They sent complains to the judges for stoppage of the trial. Consequently, new judicial branch was formed and they decided all people in the jail were innocent and acquitted them. Afterward, this trial was over. Lastly, religion and church were taken by the spirit of the times called reason and science. Therefore, after 17th and 18th century, rationalism and science were considered more important than religion. However, it was not well known right after the Salem witch trial was ended. In 1953, it was firstly used for literary material by Arthur Miller. He wrote a play “The Crucible” that is based on the Salem witch trials in order to accuse social issues at that time. In addition, Increase Mather who was a president of Harvard wrote “Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits” to criticize the problems of wrong judgment during the Salem witch trials.
The Salem Witch trials were when hundreds of citizens of Salem, Massachusetts were put on trial for devil-worship or witchcraft and more than 20 were executed in 1692. This is an example of mass religion paranoia. The whole ordeal began in the home of Reverend Samuel Parris. People soon began to notice strange behavior from Parris’s slave, Tituba, and his daughters. Many claimed to have seen Parris’s daughters doing back magic dances in the woods, and fall to the floor screaming hysterically. Not so long after, this strange behavior began to spread across Salem.
During the early years of the colonies, there was a mad witch hunt striking the heart of Salem. Anger, reputation, and even religion play an important part during the play of The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. The author allows us to witness the vivid idea of the hysteria taking place in Salem, Massachusetts, and why it was so vulnerable during the time.
The evidence presented against the supposed witches during the Salem Witch Trials was not physical evidence. Most of the testimonies given by the townspeople were random happenstances that were told to make the accused seem guilty. Other types of evidence given were statements about the accusers being bitten and pinched; this apparently classified as bewitching someone. Some of the accused claimed to be conspiring with the devil so they would not be executed and instead be put in prison (Godbeer 143). Many years later statements given by testifiers were recanted, jurors apologized, and the families of the executed were given compensation for their loss.
In 1953, a book/play called The Crucible was published. It was written by Arthur Miller as an allegory of the McCarthyism era. It talks of the causes and effects of the Salem witch trials in the late 1600's. The story is told in a way that made the people of the 50's realize how crazy they were actually acting.
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.
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 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
The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were the largest outbreak of witch hunting in colonial New England up to that time. Although it was the largest outbreak, it was not something that was new. Witch-hunting had been a part of colonial New England since the formation of the colonies. Between the years 1648 to 1663, approximately 15 witches were executed. During the winter of 1692 to February of 1693, approximately 150 citizens were accused of being witches and about 25 of those died, either by hanging or while in custody. There is no one clear-cut answer to explain why this plague of accusations happened but rather several that must be examined and tied together. First, at the same time the trials took place, King William's War was raging in present day Maine between the colonists and the Wabanaki Indians with the help of the French. Within this war, many brutal massacres took place on both sides, leaving orphaned children due to the war that had endured very traumatic experiences. Second, many of the witch accusations were based on spectral evidence, most of which were encounters of the accused appearing before the victim and "hurting" them. There were rampant "visions" among the colonies' citizens, which can only be explained as hallucinations due to psychological or medical conditions by virtue of disease, or poisoning.
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 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).
Have you ever read the Salem Witch Trial? The Salem Witch Trial is based on a
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 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
More than two hundred years have gone by since the discovery of the new world. People of with all types of backgrounds and problems came flocking over the ocean to start anew. Jamestown, Virginia and Salem, Massachusetts, were very early settlements, and perhaps two of the most known names of colonies. Jamestown was known for many things, including Bacon’s Rebellion. And Salem was known for one reason, the Salem Witch Trials. These two pieces of history reflect the tensions of the unstable society and of their beliefs.
Salem 1692, two girls ,Betty Parris, age nine, and her eleven year old cousin Abigail Williams, had a dream. They wanted to be the best actors in the village. They worked very hard to do that and they got twenty people killed. Betty and Abigail were Puritans and they are not supposed to lie or they would end up with the devil in the afterlife, but it seemed like they didn’t care. That’s why we ask, why were people blaming the innocent for being witches in Salem, 1692? The Salem Witch Trials were caused by two poor, young girls who acted possessed. There were also other people who took the risk of lying and accused other people. Most of the accusers were under the age of twenty and woman. The little girls caused the Salem Witch Trials hysteria by pretending to be possessed. Most of the accusers were poor and lived in the western part of the town.