The Salem witch trails: The terrible case of witchcraft
2nd draft
Heather Risley In Massachusetts during 1692, a case corrupted the nation (E.j. Wagner). People were being sent to jail for what they thought was witchcraft. Innocent people died all because of girls who were acting strange, like screaming, hurting themselves etc.; the girls seemed to be controlled by “witchcraft” (Stewart, 6-66). In trail, they did not have to have evidence, so that led up to a good deal of folks in jail. Many people feared the devil, and that is why witchcraft was a huge deal. The Salem witch trials were chaotic time, resulted many lives lost, but American patriots stood up and showed that there must be substantial evidence before a trial can be conducted. At the time, Salem people were highly religious (Stewart, 60-66). They believed that God was always observing them (Stewart, 60-66). Therefore, he would punish them for minor mistakes (Stewart, 60-66). They thought that there was always a reason for every action done and God was involved (Stewart, 60-66). They believed that there were no accidents (Stewart, 60-66). The community did not have any understanding of the natural world, for example germs or viruses (Stewart, 60-66). They assumed if God did not approve of their
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They started to act very strange; screaming, cursing, throwing things, putting their bodies in weird ways and other odd things (Stewart, 60-66). Physicians thought the girls were under controlled by an evil spirit (Stewart, 60-66). The girls started to accuse women for making them this way. That led up to a great deal of individuals in jail (Brook). Instead of the girls being controlled by evil spirits they think today it could have been something they ate, or the lighting in their rooms since it was very dark (Discovery Education). The girls were the start of this case (Discovery