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Comparing The Salem Witch Trials And Sex Abuse Cases

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The 1692 Salem Witch Trials were major events in United States history that led to many other similar events around the world. While there are many examples, a very strong example of history repeating itself with the Trials is the Sex Abuse Cases that occurred in Bakersfield, California in the 1980s. The Salem Witch Trials and the Sex Abuse Cases is an example of history repeating itself because in both events young girls accused people of crimes they did not commit, all evidence of innocence were thrown out, and the primary motivation was attention and personal gain. First of all, history repeated itself with the Sex Abuse Cases because, like the Salem Witch Trials, it was centered around a group of young girls accusing adults of crimes they did not commit. In the Witch Trials, Abigail Williams and her group of friends falsely accused Puritan townspeople of witchcraft, a major crime at that time. In the Sex Abuse Cases, two sisters accused their parents of molesting them, which was also false accusations. In both cases, the girls started a chain of accusations. After the initial allegations, both groups continued to claim additional people also committed the crime. Additionally, in both events all of the evidence presented in court was thrown out and was deemed inaccurate. In both …show more content…

In the Crucible, Abigail Williams is the one who first accused someone of being a witch, simply so she would not get in trouble for witchcraft. As time passed, she continued this act purely for the attention and praise she received. In the Bakersfield cases, the girls’ step-grandmother was behind accusing her grandchildren’s parents of molestation so she would gain full custody of them. Even after she gained custody, she encouraged the girls to accuse more people so their story would remain in the

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