There was a point in our history when people believed in witches. If you were accused as a witch, you would be tried, most of the time found guilty, and hanged. These events happened in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. During the Salem witch trials in 1692, more women were accused than men. At the same time, women were also accusers. Many things could have caused women to be accused and accusers. These included, the stories Tituba told, the effects of Ergot Poisoning, Hysteria and the hunger for Power. During this time, the young girls (Elizabeth Parris, and Abigail Williams) started having fits. This was after Tituba told stories about demons and witches to them. These fits were similar to the fits one would have gotten if poisoned with Ergot. The girl’s fits probably sent out hysteria across Salem. Since the girls were bewitched, they had more power than the average women in Salem. As a result, many things could have caused women to be accused and accusers than men in Salem.
The Salem Witch Trials are notorious for the murders of several people, some innocent. You may have heard about the Witch Trials, to scare you, but the awful truth is that the Witch Trials actually took place in the early beginning of our country, and lots of innocent people died, because of suspicion. The Salem Witch Trials began when young children, started acting out, and claimed that they had been possessed by older people. Claims of there being witches was suggested in the Old Testament in 560 B.C. Later in the 1600’s, Puritans started the trials to try to maintain their ruling in Salem. Mainly out of fear of women gathering independent. The men and women that took part in the witch trials, thought that they were doing the right thing,
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The Salem Witch Trails that occurred in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts has been sensationalised in modern film and plays. When looking at the still existing documents that was used in the trails, however, one sees the events of Spring 1692 in a different light, as opposed to how it is depicted in film and plays. When a number of women were accused of witchcraft, cases were opened especially for this, where these accused women were put on trail. The Salem witch hunt resulted in thirty people being convicted, nineteen of whom were executed and a total of 164 accused.
The Salem witch trials were a dark period in U.S. history when 20 people were executed on account of “committing a crime” that has no scientific evidence to back it up. The main source of conviction during the trials was a fictional book written about an Irish witch living in Boston, Massachusetts (Linder). The women accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials were impoverished, practiced voodoo or fortune telling, had inappropriate relationships, and/or were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.
During the time of the Salem Witch Trials, several innocent people were convicted and hanged because of false accusations and mass hysteria. Fear of the Devil, and the persons who did his evil work was very real in Salem at the time. Christians believed the Devil gave some people known as witches, the power to harm others in return for their loyalty. The Salem Witch Trials were a string of witchcraft cases brought before local magistrates in Salem which was a part of the Massachusetts Bay colony in the 17th century. The trials started
The Salem Witch Trials
Ashley Gilsdorf
American History Period 7
6, May 2014
Every old woman with a wrinkled face, a furr’d brow, a hairy lip, a gobber tooth, a squint eye, a squeaky voice, or a scolding tongue… a dog or cat by her side, is not only suspected but pronounced for a witch. John Gaule 1646
It is one thing to believe in witches, and quite another to believe in witch-smellers.
I stand before you today to relive and help bring lessons fourth from the terrible events that occurred just twenty years ago. The Salem witch trials concluded with the wrongful and unjust hangings of many different innocent men and women. Without sufficient evidence, and the help from Abigail Williams, some of the town’s best people were put to death. Among these people were Giles Corey, Rebecca Nurse, and even a great man named John Proctor. This man, along with many others, were given two options: refuse to admit they had been a part of witchcraft in some way and be executed, or confess to save their own life and lie about being a part of some sort of witchcraft. These choices given to the accused by Danforth were unjust. According to the law at the time, what happened twenty years ago was politically correct, but in no way was it just. When I was looking back at the trials I looked hard for some good that can come out of it. I concluded that within the trial two people stand out to me and highlight the clearest lessons that can be uncovered. We learn about how important our actions can be from Abigail Williams, and we can learn that there are some things in life that are worth dying for from John Proctor.
In the sixteenth century, witchcraft accusations were more prevalent and somewhat common than they are in modern society. One of the most popular witch hunts of American History of the sixteenth century, that has received popularity amongst modern culture and scholars, was the Salem witch hunts otherwise known as the Salem witch trials of 1692. But, Salem was not the only town in New England that had witch trials in 1692. Richard Godbeer’s book, “Escaping Salem, The Other Witch Hunt of 1692,” is one of the very few books that talks about the other witch trials that took place in New England. By comparing Stamford to Salem, Godbeer argues that Stamford’s witch trials were more typical of legal witch accusations in Colonial America; Salem’s trials were an anomaly. What made Stamford typical was the local Magistrates insistence on following the letter of the law which made proving witchcraft very difficult.
The 1690’s brought what today is known as the Salem witch trials which caused controversy,
During the time of the Salem Witch Trials, accused witches were forced to complete at least one of seven tests. The first test was named "the swimming test". During this test, accused witches had to strip of all their clothes except their undergarments before they were thrown into a body of water. People believed that guilty witches would float, while the people that sunk were innocent. Ropes were tied around the accused persons waist, but drownings did still occur. ("7 Bizarre Witch Trial Tests")