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Examples Of Punishment In The Salem Witch Trials

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Such anticipations and skepticism unfolded in a bizarre of punishments and executions of individuals accused of witchcraft. A quote to best support this response is, “In all, nineteen people accused of witchcraft were hanged, two dogs accused of witchcraft were killed, seven people died in prison, ten people escaped from prison, and the property of those convicted of witchcraft was confiscated” (“Salem Witch Trials”). This quote illustrates how pathetic and misleading these cruel punishments are. To add, the quote evokes the pitiful misleading of punishments but also how these superstitions and societal tensions provoked the hysterical downfall of the execution of nineteen people, deaths in prison, property confiscation, and animals. When the
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A diverse array of historiographical arguments concerning the preliminary causes of the Salem Witch Trials have emerged subsequently to their occurrences, clashing along a vastly debatable spectrum of economic, social, and political influences (Brinkley, 2014, 74). Escalating accusations backed by miniscule evidence reaped terror among the Salem community. No one was truly immune to an accusation, and being accused had a high probability of ruining one's reputation for the remainder of their lives. Conversely to the linear notion of believing a singular cause was responsible for the atrocities among the Salem community, an intertwined network of various tensions set the anemic foundation for a monstrosity of inhumane punishment and hollow allegation

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INTRODUCTION: During the late 17th century, there were many accusations of witchcraft within the thirteen colonies. Many men and women of all ages and authority were accused of witchcraft. When the British were colonizing North America, the traditions of witchcraft were supposedly taken to the new land with the colonists. The Salem Witch Trials taught people that they shouldn’t believe everything they are told and that people shouldn’t assume something without having specific research that can prove it.

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Gretchen A. Adams examines the influences of the Salem (Massachusetts) Witchcraft Trials on the United States society throughout history in her article The Specter of Salem in American Culture (Adams 2003, 24). Adams believes witch-hunts have become a long-lasting “American cultural metaphor” (Adams 2003, 24). She maintains that the story of the Salem Witchcraft Trials haunt the imagination of Americans and has become a “negative” historical symbol (Adams 2003, 24) mentioned time and time again. The quest for an explanation as to why this traumatic event occurred fascinates historians, writers, and amateur investigators. Almost every American has some knowledge of the trials from reading schoolbooks to viewing movies.

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Nineteen men and women hung from the tree of destruction, for they were the ornaments of hysteria. New England was supposed to be a land of opportunity for the Puritans. During the summer of 1692, Salem Village proved to a wretched example of this; twenty people were falsely accused of witchcraft and were accordingly jailed and executed. Salem’s infamy has bewildered many, for nobody truly knows in entirety what caused the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Clearly, there were a few possible causes of the hysteria; however, envious, young, single women; sexism; and lying little girls stand out as the main causes.

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Between 1692 and 1693, more than 200 people became imprisoned due to the false accusations led by Abigail Williams and her assembly of several other Salem girls. Together these girls accused innocent people for involvement in the devil’s work- known as witchcraft-overall about 20 people were trialed and found guilty (The man who made a difference). Even though they were truly innocent, the punishment involved execution by hanging on the scaffold in front of the entire village. Among the twenty people executed remained John Proctor; one of the Salem witch trials most infamous and prideful figures. “John Proctor was the first man to be accused of witchcraft” (1).

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(“The Salem Witch Trials”) This quote amplifies how widespread fear can implode such terror and panic erupting in the overall false accusations upon numerous as to the fleeing of outrageous consequences. This everlasting event implores how

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The Salem Witch Trials I. From June to September of the 1692 in the small farming village of Salem, Massachusetts, nineteen people were hanged on Gallows Hill for the crime of witchcraft. But as many as thirty-seven (sources conflict as to the exact number) may have died when one factors in the men and women who were hanged, those who died in prison, and the one man (Giles Corey) who was pressed to death. I am writing about this incident because I believe it to be significant to history for two major reasons. Firstly, this incident did not occur in the time or place where one would have expected it.

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In 1692, the small town of Salem, Massachusetts became the epicenter of a hysteria that has been remembered and studied even centuries later. This was the time of the infamous Salem Witch Trials, a series of hearings and prosecutions that led to the execution of 20 innocent people, all accused of witchcraft. An elderly man named Giles Cory was pressed to death under a pile of rocks for refusing to testify at the trial. His alleged final words, “More weight,” serve as a chilling testament to the hysteria that gripped the community. The trials began in the spring of 1692 and ended in September of the same year, a period marked by fear, suspicion, and a breakdown of social order.

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Escaping Salem asserts the tension to be the conflict between the laws of man and the laws of God. Why it is important is that it illustrates the struggle between the superstitious and the logical over the nature and efficacy of witchcraft that permeates New England culture. As a result, Stamford court magistrates are conflicted in their duty to the law versus their obligation to their community in providing security and comfort from “witches.” Thus, much care is taken with criteria establishing conviction and indictment on witchcraft. Without such criteria, those alleged to commit witchcraft would be at the mercy of the Puritanical mob.

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The witch-craze was brought upon by a variety of different factors, however, the most prominent factor and one that will be used to build an argument in its favour is judicial torture. This essay will give a brief description of judicial torture, describe some of the significant uses of this form of torture and why it was practised so universally across Early Modern Europe. Using Brian Levack’s The Witch-Hunt of Early Modern Europe, and a variety of other sources this essay will argue that judicial torture was the prime reason for the distinct rise of witchcraft, both the practice and of people being accused. It will further go into detail on why this reason is significantly better than other theories for the rise of witchcraft. Judicial Torture is the use of torture by the state or a judicial figure to gain information from victims and quite often gain a confession.

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Content: The Salem Witch Trials is a website which was created and maintained by Douglas O. Linder of the University of Missouri- Kansas City (UMKC) School of Law. This website is only one part of a larger project which focuses on famous trials that date back to 399 B.C (The Trials of Socrates). This website is an archive, however, it still aims to be a teaching resource by providing educational games such as “You’re Accused” and “Salem Witchcraft Jeopardy.” Linder works to create an accurate description of the Salem Witch Trials by using a variety of books, periodicals, videos, and online resources to provide readers with current, up- to- date information. Form: Douglas O. Linder’s greatest strength in his entire Famous Trials database is his uniformity.

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The illusion of witchcraft has been around for centuries. Throughout history, men and women around the world have been unjustly tried and accused for such satanic acts. The 1692 Salem Witch Trials, brief but deadly, proved to burn its horrifying image into America’s memory. The trials began in spring and ended a few months later. Even in such a short time, nineteen people were executed and one hundred fifty people were accused of witchcraft.

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By May, the jails in Salem and neighboring towns held up to two-hundred accused witches. While in prison, these innocent people were treated terribly. Instead of being in a cell above ground, the “witches” were held down in a dungeon with their arms and legs chained to the wall. According to the jailers, this was so that these dangerous people could not continue to torture their victims from the prison. Of the two-hundred or so people that were imprisoned only ten escaped from the dungeon.

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Today, Your Honour we are here to exonerate the wrongfully convicted men and women of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials of Massachusetts. Men and women were accused of witchcraft, 19 well respectable people were hung. As we know religion has no place in court, therefore eliminating the conclusion of witchcraft. Leaving us to look for other reasons and motives that appeal to human emotion such a s fear, greed and jealousy. Emotions like this led to the deaths in Salem.

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During the hysteria of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, many people were accused of practicing witchcraft. Therefore, their reputation, was ruined. Other people committed many sins in order to keep their reputation clean in town. For instance, some characters had to lie, fight, and accuse other people of witchcraft which could get the individual out of trouble and keep their hands clean. when a person got accused of being a witch, the person’s reputation would get ruined and the person would go to jail or be hanged.

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