Let me just start by saying the Salem witch trials were brutal. Over 20 girls were hung and burned and 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft. It was in 1692 to 1693. The reason these women and occasionally men were tried was because the Salem witch trials were basically an era in American history where if we did not like someone all we had to do is claim them for witchcraft. Little girls would be in the church during the trials and start screaming and freaking out saying these women were sending their demons and satan’s helpers to attack them and that they were biting and scratching at their ankles and poking their eyes. This time in our history was brutal. The worst part was that none of these accusations were true.
These women
The article “An Attack on the Salem Witch Trials”, written by Thomas Brattle who is a Harvard graduate and a Boston merchant, states a view against the Salem Witch Trials and what they are doing (Dudley 29). On the other side Cotton Mather, a leading minister in Boston, wrote “A Defense of the Salem Witch Trials” which is favored on continuing the trials (Dudley 26). The Salem Witch Trials are a very absurd way to get rid of the so called witches, and should be put to a stop. The article “An Attack on the Salem Witch Trials” stated, “The justices order the apprehended to look upon the said children, which accordingly they do; and at the time of that look, … the afflicted are cast into a fit.”
Once the trials were marked by paranoia and hysteria, I made the accusation, it would be difficult to prove their innocence. The proof was on the accused, and the evidence consisted of more rumors and hearsay. The trials highly switched the atmosphere, and the witnesses and accusers often gave their emotional testimony. The reactions of the trials were far-reaching from what some can say.
I chose to do this term paper on the Salem Witch Trials because this topic has always fascinated me. I watched a movie when I was younger called “The Crucible” and it was interesting to me. I have always wondered if these people was innocent, or really “witches.” Why were all these people killed? Was these people men or women?
Throughout the course of America’s history there are many events of injustice: the mistreatment of Native Americans, using African Americans as personal property, and accusing men and women in Salem, Massachusetts of witchcraft. The Salem witch trials occurred many years ago in 1692. In the Puritan community, religion was a huge part of life. It controlled most of people’s everyday activities and was a way to find hope in their difficult, unglamourous lives. According to History.com, “Puritans were portrayed by their enemies as hair splitters who slavishly followed their bibles as guides to daily life” (Delbanco).
The well known Salem witch trials had taken place during 1692. This period many people went through a great deal of hardship, trying to mind their own business or those who were already involved knew they were doomed. The people who were convicted of the crimes of being a witch had to face the consequences of what might be determined at their trial. The Salem witch trials had started with a group of girls who broke out into seizures and became oddly ill. The young girls were “ claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft”, (Salem Witch Trials) the locals of the town conjured up this belief and this started the witch trials.
In Salem, Massachusetts, Puritans were strong believers in the Bible. The Bible states, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” The Puritans beliefs led to them accusing 20 innocent people of being a witch, this resulted in their deaths in 1692. Even though the Puritans couldn’t see it at the time, their accusations were really based off jealousy, lies, and Salem being divided into two parts. One cause of the Salem witch trial hysteria was jealousy.
In 1692, A town in Massachusetts by the name of Salem Village found itself in one most documented cases of mass hysteria in history. This saga started with three girls: Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Parris, and Ann Putnam a neighborhood friend. Abigail Williams, the niece of the town’s minister, began to display weird and questionable behavior. The town’s physician,William Greggs, was called to determine the cause of this sporadic behavior. The town’s physician determined that the three girls were under “the Devil’s influence” and they had been bewitched.
REVIEW OF LITRATURE A.) SUMMARY SOURCE A Although the whole book had information on the Salem witch trials. The introduction, chapter 1 and 2 and the conclusion had information regarding the research needed • Introduction: states what the Salem witch trials where and who they accused.
The narrator describes Salem as a new town with strict puritan way of life and its out look on the rest of the world. The town saw itself as persecuted a legacy of persecution puritans faced in the old world because the puritans sought a community they managed to survive. Around 1692 much that was good about the puritans the narrator suggests has been lost. The Salem witch trials were an opportunity for the neighbors to vent against neighbors to publicly air long standing jealousy to accuse those they disliked and all while sounding righteous and religious. The first scene opens as Tituba the Rev Parisis slave enters the bedroom.
As this trial wraps up and have left our once wonderful town of Salem Massachusetts to ruins. Throughout the course of the witch trials many lives have been lost in the ability to trust one another as protestant brothers and sisters has been lost. To this day very question the strength of this town and if it will have the ability to bounce back from such a horrific event such as this. While some may say forget the past for this in the past the story, this horrific story will be told for centuries to come. In addition to this to explain the catastrophic damage even the judges involved in this case have apologized for the many lives lost in the families change forever, never to be the same.
In the Salem Witch first instance of witchery is Betty/Elizabeth Parris, along with Abigail Williams when they started to scream and giggle uncontrollably, along with delusions, vomiting, muscle spasms, screaming, and writhing. William Griggs, a physician, diagnosed witchcraftery to the women. Soon, fueled by resentment and paranoia, more and more women were accused of being witches, while the community and system of justice piled up. The Trials had lasted from 1692 to 1693. Some women acted peculiar because of a fungus called “Ergot” that grew on cereals and wheat.
The first four colonies of America were, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Rhode Island, following with Connecticut. John Winthrop, Thomas Hooker, Roger Williams, along with Anne Hutchinson, were few of the founders of the first colonies. Centered around religion, after escaping religious persecution, these colonies based the way they lived their lives around the Bible, Church, along with the New testament. The Puritans emphasized religious obligations and followed strict guidelines pertaining to the Bible. They broke away from the church of England and became their own religion following the teachings of the Bible as well as the Old Testament.
From the introduction to the Salem Witch Hunt and the documents in The Salem Witch Hunt: A Brief History with Documents by Richard Godbeer, a lot of information about the scare, hunt and trials during the Witch Panic of 1692 was talked about. When illnesses happened to people, it was explained to them that it was due to witchcraft. Most people thought that witchcraft happened because the natural and supernatural worlds were becoming intertwined with each other. On the other hand, Puritans believed that this was God’s doing; they thought that when they became ill, God sent it to them in order to test or punish them. This showed that people had no understanding of the concept of diseases, germs and even miscarriages yet.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play about what happened during the Salem Witch Trials. It gives insight about what people had to deal with in this situation and how they handled it. The trials were basically a big test which helped figuring out whether or not people were guilty of witchcraft. This is an example of what a crucible is. In our world today we still have crucibles and even though they are different than back then, they all relate to each other because of what influence they have on people.
Not many people know much about what actually happened in the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe someone would think that it was just about witchcraft and crazy people being hanged, but it is a lot more than that. The Salem Witch Trials only occurred between 1692 and 1693, but a lot of damage had been done. The idea of the Salem Witch Trials came from Europe during the “witchcraft craze” from the 1300s-1600s. In Europe, many of the accused witches were executed by hanging.