The New York Conspiracy Trials

923 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social aspects of the Salem witch trials

Fear begets hate and hate begets violence. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the 1741 New York slave conspiracy trials. Much like the violence in the Salem Witch Trials, a set of natural circumstances coupled with the word of one or two people from a lower order of society caused hysteria and bloodshed. This case is flimsy by modern-day standards and is also very flimsy by the standards of the 1740s. The conspiracy rumblings began after a shop owned by Rebecca Hogg was robbed by two slaves. Then a rash of house fires, with four occurring in one day, unsettled the colony. These fires were most likely caused by soot filled chimneys and the man seen running from one of the burning buildings just might have been running for safety. However, in the face of mortal fear, evidence is the last on anyone's mind. By the standards of the 1740s, this case should have been a draw. Their sole witness was a young, female servant. All three of those characteristics should have made her a null witness. Her status as a servant should have made her a bad witness by the standards of the day. Also, females at the time were not considered reliable witnesses and at many points in history, were not even allowed to testify in court. However, the prosecution in the case raised some difficult to repute. The black man that was reported to be seen running from a fire and the coals found under hay in a barn (even though the coals were out before the fire started). Not to mention Mary Burton's eyewitness testimony. Burton's testimony basically tells the prosecutors exactly what they want to hear. She pins the bulk of the conspiring on her masters, the Hughsons, and two slaves, Prince and Caesar. The Hughsons were suspected of fencing sto... ... middle of paper ... ...lation that surrounded the case ended with the torturous deaths of most of the alleged conspirators. Some where burned at the stake and others were hanged. Still more were broken on the wheel. The deaths of several men and a family were carried out largely on the basis of one 16-year-old servant's ever changing word. Burton made off pretty good after her masters were dispatched. She collected a sum equal to $25,000 in modern day currency. Many die for the sake of keeping order. When a people are hanging on the knife's edge of civilization, people can start to get irrational. They could not believe that they could starve during a harsh winter and then have their homes and all their worldly possessions destroyed and there not be anyone behind it. Everyone wants someone to blame for their suffering, and when there is no obvious culprit, they create a scapegoat.

Show More
Related

  • Escaping Salem The Other Witch Hunt Of 1692 Summary

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    (Pg ix) Godbeer wants the reader to learn and understand that the trial involving Katherine Branch was more accurate and similar to how other witch trials were handled. The judges in this book, take into consideration evidence, and the things they can and can not prove. They also take into consideration what others have to say, but they use it very lightly because people can say whatever they want. They need clear evidence that backs up the accusation.

    Read More

  • The Review of Dan T. Carter’s Scottsboro

    1377 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... She could not even explain exactly what happened at that time; rather, she kept saying ‘I do not know, but they raped me anyways.’ Besides, the medical evidence showing that they did not rape her and Bates should have been regarded as important proof, but it was useless to prove their innocence. Even the juries were all selected as the Whites, and there were some juries who were illiterate. These circumstances sound obviously unfair and tragic in that the unfair trials led all Blacks to being imprisoned.

    Read More

  • Salem Story: Reading the Witch Trials of 1692, by Bernard Rosenthal

    835 Words  | 2 Pages

    When one evokes The Salem Witch Trials of 1692, the image that comes to most peoples minds are that of witches with pointed hats riding broomsticks. This is not helped by the current town of Salem, Massachusetts, which profits from the hundreds of thousands of tourists a year by mythologizing the trials and those who were participants. While there have been countless books, papers, essays, and dissertations done on this subject, there never seems to be a shortage in curiosity from historians on these events. Thus, we have Bernard Rosenthal's book, Salem Story: Reading the Witch Trials of 1692, another entry in the historiographical landscape of the Salem Witch Trials. This book, however, is different from most that precede it in that it does not focus on one single aspect, character, or event; rather Rosenthal tells the story of Salem in 1692 as a narrative, piecing together information principally from primary documents, while commenting on others ideas and assessments. By doing so, the audience sees that there is much more to the individual stories within the trials, and chips away at the mythology that has pervaded the subject since its happening. Instead of a typical thesis, Rosenthal writes the book as he sees the events fold out through the primary documents, so the book becomes more of an account of what happened according to primary sources in 1692 rather than a retelling under a new light.

    Read More

  • The History of the Salem Witchcraft Trials

    2587 Words  | 6 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • Inclusion or Exclusion in The Crucible

    2355 Words  | 5 Pages

    ... truth, denying her involvement as a witch, but be hung anyway for "lying" under oath. On the other hand, an innocent victim could lie and confess her involvement as a witch, accuse another witch instead and be let "off the hook". However, if the innocent victim lied and confess, but wasn't willing to turn in another witch, she would be hung anyway. (Starkey, 17) This created quite an ironic situation coming from a Christian based community of purity and holiness.

    Read More

  • Impact of US involvement in World War I

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    killing of seventeen whites. These blacks were sought out as wrong to many whites, and

    Read More

  • The Scottsboro Trials and To Kill A Mockingbird

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    While talking to the police, the women accused all of the black men of raping them. These women were known prostitutes of the area, but their word was still taken over the black men who were accused. Twelve days later, the trial took place. There were many witnesses that held bias towards the black men. One acquaintance of the women was a white lady who refused to support the lies that were coming out of the white women's mouths.

    Read More

  • The Salem Witchcraft Trials

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Summary of the Salem Witch Trials

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are some events in history that put the human race to shame; however, these occasions can change our future forever. Society cannot deny that social injustices occur almost every day, maybe even more than once. One large blemish in our history, the Salem Witch Trials, alienated a certain group in our society. These trials were an unfortunate combination of economic conditions, a flock’s strife, teenage boredom, and personal jealousies.

    Read More

  • Katherine Watkins Vs Common Law

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    This scandalous case centers on a woman named Katherine Watkins. On Friday, August 18, 1681, Katherine accused a slave by the name of John Long, also known as Jack, of rape. There was some evidence of violence, but there were also outstanding questions about her character and conduct. Those who testified, however, painted a different picture about certain events preceding the crime. They were John Aust, William Harding, Mary Winter, Lambert Tye, Humphrey Smith, Jack White (Negro), Dirk (Negro), and Mingo (Negro). Whether these individuals were so inclined because Katherine Watkins was a Quaker, rather than an Anglican, we can never really know. That certainly fueled the fire, though. The day in question involved an afternoon of cider drinking. Several of the witnesses in the testimonies recounted Mrs. Watkins sexual advances to multiple of Thomas Cocke 's slaves, particularly, a mulatto named Jack. John Aust pleaded that Katherine, at one point, had lifted the shirt of one slave and announced “Dirke thou wilt have a good long thing” (Sex and Relations, 53). She allegedly had thrown another on the bed, kissed him, and, “put her hand into his codpiece” (Sex and Relations, 53). The most interesting piece of evidence that Aust brings forward is that Jack was actually avoiding Watkins at the party, an apparent attempt at avoiding any intimate entanglement with her (Sex and Relations, 52). Finally, he reported that Watkins and Jack had gone into a side room (Sex and Relations, 53). Later in the trial, Humphrey Smith seemingly referred to Aust 's testimony. His deposition suggested that he and Aust had some reservations about Jack 's guilt (Sex and Relations 54). Clearly, the character of the plaintiff was considered important evidence in the trial of a slave for rape. The reasonable extenuating circumstances of the case might have granted the magistrates leave way

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Salem Witch Trials And Mccarthyism

    375 Words  | 1 Pages

    clergy finally decided to listen to his ideas and many of the accused were released

    Read More

  • Tulsa Race Riots

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The trial was brought to a speedy conclusion. Not only did Judge Evans find the twelve guilty, fine them $100 each, and committed them to jail, but five people in the courtroom who had served as witnesses for the defense arrested. […] The police were then instructed to transfer the seventeen prisoners that night to the county jail”(30).

    Read More

  • Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Crucible, the accused were unfairly tried and convicted on limited evidence or even word of mouth from the girls.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Human Nature In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    A few children fool around with something they know is wrong, they get caught, but are not brave enough to take the punishment, and so shovel the blame. Now this is where human nature is responsible. The adults of the town believe these children and set about punishing the accused, namely death. Now had these people had the character to think for themselves, to judge the situation for the evidence alone, nothing would have been worth writing about in Salem, 1692. Instead these people were weak, they thought only for themselves, and as a result, a tragedy that will go down in history occurred.

    Read More

  • Innocent Murderer: Abigail as a Victim in The Crucible

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion I ask this again: how can a girl who condemned seventy two to a death sentence and drank a charm to kill a man’s wife, a man she slept with on more than one occasion, be the victim? Abigail is truly a victim just as much as one of those she condemned to death, because of Salem’s judgemental, self-concerned and oppressive views and beliefs led her to it.

    Read More

More about The New York Conspiracy Trials

Open Document