Between the years of 1692 and 1693, the Salem Witch Trials took place in colonial Massachusetts. It all started after refugees began ending up there after the French and English war. With all of the extra people, supplies began to dwindle and the people of Salem began to get frustrated. When individuals would lash out on others, it was believed by the Puritans that the Devil was the reason behind their aggressive actions. To make matters worse, there young girls began acting out of the ordinary and interacting with others in a very peculiar manner. It was later discovered that they had been practicing fortune telling with cars in an attempt to discover details about their future, which during this that time period wasn’t all that unusual. However, because of their drastic behavior changes, and the fact that the doctor could not present an explanation, the girls admitted that they knew what was troubling them, and it was because of three woman who worked as slaves for one of the girls’ families, the Parris’. After a lengthy amount of questioning with the three women, Tituba affirmed that she was involved with witchcraft, and all three were sent to prison. Because of Titubas admittance to practicing witchcraft, the entire town became overly paranoid with the possibility that there were more witches. Fingers began being pointed every which way, for an assortment of offences. However, it is suspected that many of these accusations were on the grounds of nothing more than a dislike for the person. The town was arresting people without having any just evidence against them. During this period of accusations, 250 individuals were accused of practicing witchcraft. Before the Salem trials had even begun, 100 colonists had been charged, t...
Godbeer, Richard. The Salem Witch Hunt A Brief History with Documents. Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martins 2011
Suddenly people seemed very paranoid and soon residents were placing blame on one another and accusing each other of witchcraft. In a fifteen month period between 1691 and 1692 nearly twelve dozen people were accused of witchcraft in or near Salem (Norton, p8).
A real fear feels like death, but less satisfying. These fears enthralled the minds of the naive and frightened during the most dangerous time to be alive in New England, The Salem witch trials. The fire inside the Salem Trials needs a fuel, fed to it from the spoon of the stupid, will grown until it burns everything in sight. Who knew a mere lack of knowledge could get 20 people killed and drag Puritan society through hell. Highly religious peoples had a large role in fueling the hysteria that occurred during the trials. The fear from being attacked during the Indian war also had a played a big role in why the Witch Trials kept going strong for so long. The Salem witch trials, fueled by fear and influenced by hardship of Puritan life and deep religious integration led to mass hysteria in the New England Colonies in 1692.
Salem Witch Trials
Twenty-five people dead, an entire village on the brink of insanity, and a gathering of young girls possessed by demons defined the year 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. What began as a childish game metamorphosed itself into mass hysteria. A combination of irresponsibility and village politics led to the demise of innocence.
It has been said that children will be children, as if to imply that the natural order of life begins with the immaturity and foolishness that goes along with childhood.
The year 1692 and early 1693 saw the prosecution and execution of nineteen witches, an old man stoned to death, several accused witchcrafts dying in jail and close to 28 being cast out of the infamous Salem Village (present day Danvers, Massachusetts) on the belief they possessed power to sway people into doing what they wanted (Goodbeer, 2011, p. 2). Early 1692, the daughter; Elizabeth and niece; Abigail Williams of first Salem Village ordained minister; Reverend Parris experienced and had frightening episodes of screaming, uttering voices and throwing things around. Another girl Ann Putnam also experienced the same and under magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hawthorne influence, the girls blamed their conditions on three women: Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne for performing witchcraft on them (Goodbeer, The Salem Witch Hunt , 2011, p. 14).
1692 was a tragic year for the people of Salem. The events that took place in 1692 would prove to be a turning point for not only the people of Salem but the rest of pilgrim towns in The New World. What set the trials in motion is still partially a mystery. Whatever the cause, it is known that the results of the trials were inhumane and brutal. Over thirteen people were sentenced to death during the witch trials. These trials were a set of accusations and arguments set in rapid succession, resulting in mass hysteria and the conviction of over 200 men and women. For this paper, I will be delving into the causes and results of the brutal Salem witch trials, and what affect it had on the pilgrim towns in early America.
About three hundred years ago, the witch trials of Salem were a hot topic. Two young girls deceitfully accused a slave, Tituba of witchery. Soon, callous accusations flew and the joke became a sad, sad reality. Fearing punishment, the two girls kept the charade going. The Puritan religion had no way to publicly admit their sins, and things they regret. Because of this, the trials played a role as an outlet for the society's misgivings. They had a way to express their feelings without being chastised. This anti-witch hysteria caused innocent people to die at the cry of others. In terror of being victimized themselves, people accused others of compacting with the devil. Hoping to possibly move the focus of the investigations elsewhere, many followed this unfortunate path. Hatred, denial, dread, perhaps even shock, were all driving factors behind the actions of the townspeople. In the end, almost two dozen innocent men and women were hanged, and hundreds charged or jailed.
The cultural fabric of Puritan American was woven with women having a subservient role clearly where inheritance, speech and dealings with the magistrate came into play. The three authors show how the biases of the culture perpetuated the hysteria of the accusations of witch during the Salem outbreak that worked to the advantage of the deeply gendered society's biases.
The life and times of the Puritan society in colonial Salem, Massachusetts, is one of the most deplorable and shameful periods in American History. People in societies past and present have made laws to live by and to govern their behavior. History has reflected the millions of people who have defied and fought to change such laws that they considered to be biased and unjust. I think, that if humanity has learned anything from past history, it is how to survive dangerous, bizarre, and atrocious circumstances like those described in the Salem Witch Trials by author Earle Rice, Jr. Accordingly, Rice gives an innovative and detailed account of significant points of law both civil and federal. His key characters include the accusers, victims, clergy, and the criminal