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Puritans/salem witch trials
Witch trials through the 1450's-1750
Puritans/salem witch trials
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Witches the supernatural of the world, the coming out of Katherine Branch and her episodes. When really it’s just crazy young orphan girl wanting attention from her owners. That was the reality of the book, it stated of really well, the excitement the realistic acts, then the lies came down clashing. She couldn’t keep up with the names; she couldn’t keep up with the lies. I didn’t like the book; I enjoyed the beginning, first chapter, when the episodes I was reading where realistic. They came together, pieces where slightly going together going with her allegations. Then she became not knowing what she was talking about then asking questions to her mistress, then all of a sudden knowing the person they where talking about became her main suspect just because she heard it. The book report of Escaping Salem: The other Witch Hunt of 1692 by Richard Godbeer. I enjoyed the beginning; it was realistic, made me believe that she was possessed by something. Almost like n exorcism, the devil inside the black crow, the gibberish they say because they are possessed, just like there is good in th...
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of prosecutions of men and women who were accused of practicing witchcraft or having 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.
Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692 by Richard Godbeer. This book was published in 2005 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Richard Godbeer examines the witch trials in the seventeenth century. When a young girl Katherine Branch of Stamford, Connecticut is stricken with unexplainable convulsions, her master and mistress begin to think it is caused by something supernatural. Godbeer follows the incident without any bias and looks into how the accusations and trials are handled by the townspeople and the people in charge of handling the trails. Godbeer’s purpose of writing this book is to prove that Salem was not the norm. Godbeer’s approach of only one using one case, slightly weakens his effectiveness that Salem was not the norm.
Being such a narrative, when I was reading about the details of Kate’s attacks I was actually scared. It gave a sense of spookiness to the book that I hoped for. I remember visiting the city of Salem, and the same chills I had walking through the town was relived while reading the book. However one difference about this book compared to the historical teachings of Salem was that in Kate’s trail it was less of a he said she said event and more on the cold hard facts. In GodBeer testimony, he examines much of what Jonathan Selleck notes on how to determine a witch is guilty because he knew how serious of an offense it truly was. I sometimes found myself wondering if this was a fictional story because of how elaborate it was or however, when he used experts from documents such as the petition for Elizabeth Clawson. The last two chapters is much about the trial process than I expected, which helped me to understand this book as a narrative with much historical
Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692 is about a witch trial that took place in Stamford, Connecticut in 1692; the same year as the Salem Witch Trials, which are considered to be quite a dark topic of early history in America. While obviously there were some similarities between the two cases, the way in which the trials were handled differ greatly. Godbeer takes us through a well written narrative of Kate Branch, a seventeen year old girl, who made claims and accusations of being bewitched. The majority of the book is about the trial itself, and how the trial was handled. Godbeer illustrates how this trial was very difficult and tricky. Convicting someone for something supernatural, like witchcraft, is definitely a
Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft is a concise, 231 page informational text by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum. Published in 1974, it explores the economic and social conditions present in the Salem village during the 1600s that led to the hysteria surrounding witchcraft. Multiple graphs and illustrations are present, as well as an average sized font, an abundance of footnotes typically on the left page, and a prominent voice from the authors. The book was written to serve as a more comprehensive informational piece on the Salem witch trials due to the authors finding other pieces written about the same topic to be inaccurate. Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum wanted to create something that utilized
The Salem witch craft trials are the most learned about and notable of Europe's and North America's witch hunts. Its notoriety and fame comes from the horrendous amount of people that were not only involved, but killed in the witch hunt and that it took place in the late 1700's being one of the last of all witch hunts. The witch craft crises blew out of control for several reasons. Firstly, Salem town was facing hard economic times along with disease and famine making it plausible that the only explanation of the town's despoilment was because of witches and the devil. As well, with the stimulation of the idea of witch's from specific constituents of the town and adolescent boredom the idea of causing entertainment among the town was an ever intriguing way of passing time.
...craft is a book that is written very well. The two authors, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, take a story that most of know from high school and take it more in depth. Not just showing the church side or the side of the accused but it shows how the social side of the town played into everything. After reading this book and going on line and look at some reviews I now have a better understanding of why the outbreak of “witchcraft” first started and why it got to the point that people were killed. Not only did the book going in depth about the social aspect but it also break down the cause and effects of the actions taken in Salem during this time. I could find no real downside to this book, it took something I had prior knowledge of and showed me so much more on it, thus allowing me to learn so much more. Makes me glad I chose this book instead of the pirate book.
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.
Hinds, Maurene J. Witchcraft on Trial: From the Salem Witch Hunts to the Crucible. Library ed. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2009. Print.
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.
In 1692 everyone was sure that the Devil had come to Salem when young girls started screaming, barking like dogs and doing strange dances in the woods. The Salem Witch Trials originated in the home of Salem's reverend Samuel Parris, who had a slave from the Caribbean named Tibuta. Tibuta would tell stories about witchcraft back from her home. In early 1692 several of Salem's teenage girls began gathering in the kitchen with Tibuta. When winter turned to spring many Salem residents were stunned at the acts and behaviors of Tibuta's young followers. It was said that in the woods nearby they danced a black magic dance, and several of the girls would fall on the floor screaming uncontrollably. These behaviors soon began to spread across Salem. This soon led to ministers from nearby communities coming to Salem to lend their advice on the matter. Many believed that the girls were bewitched. It is believed that the young girls accusations began the Salem witch trials, and they would gather at reverend Parris's house to play fortune-telling games with magic and with Tibuta. One of the games was for them to crack a raw egg into a glass of water and see what shape it made in the glass.
During the early winter of 1692 two young girls became inexplicably ill and started having fits of convulsion, screaming, and hallucinations. Unable to find any medical reason for their condition the village doctor declared that there must be supernatural forces of witchcraft at work. This began an outbreak of hysteria that would result in the arrest of over one hundred-fifty people and execution of twenty women and men. The madness continued for over four months.
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.
Armstrong, Karen/ Hill, Frances. A Delusion of Satan. The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishers, 1995. Ashley, Leonard R.N. The Devil’s Disciples. New York: Barricade Books Inc., 1996. Briggs, Robin. Witches & Neighbors. New York: Penguin Books Ltd.,1996. Brown, Richard D. Massachusetts, A History. New York: W.W.Norton and Company, Inc., 1978. Ferres, John H. (Ed.) 20th Century Interpretations of The Crucible.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1972. Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman. New York:Vintage Books, 1987. The Salem Home Page. The Salem Witch Trials 1692. www. salemweb. com/memorial/. September 25, 1998. Famous American Trials. Petitions Relating to the Trials of Rebecca Nurse. www. law. umkc. Edu /faculty /projects /ftrials/ salem/ ASA_ LETT.htm American Fanaticism. Witch Hunts and Special Persecutions. www.rjeib.com/thoughts/puritan.html Salem Witch Hysteria. Salem Witch Trials. Salem@nationalgeographic.com
To completely understand the history of New England witchcraft you have to understand the role of colonial women. The author of this book, Carol Karlsen, used a lot of Secondary and primary sources to support her thesis. She uses first hand accounts of witch trials. Which I found very interesting to read. Such as her use of Cotton Mathers personal writings. She also used court records as one of her sources to writing this book. These records showed the detailed court proceedings, depositions, and court rulings.