In 1692, as the puritans of Salem Massachusetts over-turn on each other, they started scapegoating many of their villagers with witchcraft. During this time many were murdered unfairly. The Salem Witch Trials was a reformation of the government. People believed that this was an era where the devil gave certain humans powers to harm others in joining them into their beliefs. It was certain to happen, because many had personal envy which caused many of the accusations,trials, and the implementations.
In Massachusetts during 1692, Salem Village underwent a time of grief, trial, death, and Witchcraft. The chaos in Salem Village began when young girls would have what they called “fits” and they would scream vey vulgarly and fall onto the ground and shake uncontrollably (Magoon 6). These fits frightened the surrounding people and the Doctors of Salem couldn't find a diagnosis. After studying and trying to understand the illness they had, the people of Salem came to the conclusion that these girls were possessed by the Devil (Magoon 7). The result would lead to one of the most recognized events in American History, the Salem Witch Trials.
Witchcraft was a crime that was punishable by death. Many believed that there were truly evil forces at work other believed it was caused by jealousy or mania. The purpose of this essay is to explain what caused the Salem Witch trials. The leaders in Salem at the time were Puritans. “Puritans were Protestant Christians who were unhappy with the church in England.
Salem Puritans accused women of witchcraft, in order to oppress women, and as a reaction to greed and religious fear. The Salem Witch Trials were motivated by the oppression of women. Puritan women could not own land. Women were told to keep quiet and stay in their place.
Religion affects what people believe, therefore, puritans were religious and believed there was a God and Devil. Their belief had eventually come to the Devil had arisen upon Salem. Reverend Parris speculates there may be a Devil upon Salem after the unexplainable sickness Betty obtained in act one. “Parris: A wide opinion’s running in the parish that the Devil may be among us…” Eventually everyone began to believe there were witches that work with the Devil. Therefore, the Salem Witch Trials began and all the puritans investigate into this matter.
Puritans believed in evil supernatural beings like witches, werewolves, and the devil. Their beliefs of these supernatural presences led them to accuse women of witchcraft because they believed the devil possessed women and made them his servants. Ultimately, they put these women on trial, thus starting the Salem Witch Trials. Additionally, their spiritual intolerance manifested in their disdain for Native
Add to this the ever-growing resentment between the more conservative (and religious) farmers of Salem Village, and the more liberal (and wealthy) merchants of Salem Town (ISH). It was in this atmosphere of tension that the incident known as the Salem Witch Trials
One of these things is politics. Salem village was into two factions, the traditionalists and the modernizers. The traditionalists were farmers who wanted the old ways of doing things, but the modernizers were business owners who wanted to expand on new things for the village. But the witch trials became a war for these two factions, with both sides accusing each other of witchcraft and using the trials to gain the advantage.
The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690’s were a period of mass hysteria. Neighbors turned on neighbors and families got torn apart. Salem was full of fear as people accused everyone of witchcraft. Everyone was afraid that the Devil was working to destroy Christian communities. And even more afraid that he was enlisting women in the community to do his work.
“The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft.” Along with many citizens falling ill and failing to improve, village doctor, William Griggs, diagnosed these women and men as possessed
The Puritans ran from persecution but then used the witch hunt to persecute innocent people based on the word of the women and men who had ulterior motives. The women used this opportunity to punish people they long had problems or resentment for. These women- Abigail, Tituba, and Mary- were aware of the power they felt when they were being heard by people in their community who were deemed Godly, upstanding citizens. So, they loved the sense of power they felt. Although the townspeople of Salem used religion as the reason for the witch hunt, the witch hunt created chaos because people started using it a revenge mechanism.
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.
The Salem witch trials were a big event in American history, but no one knows for sure why they started. The people at the time could have been very tense and paranoid because of the weather, indian attacks, and because of the war that had occurred prior. The girls that started the accusations could have been sick from a disease or infection that causes tremors, hallucinations, and paranoia. At the same time, the girls in that time period were very repressed. Children, especially, were treated strictly at this time.
The Salem Witch Trials accusing others of a feared crime showed definite evidence that mass hysteria was to blame. Salem was a religious settlement, following Puritan beliefs (Miller, 6). A large fear for everyone in Salem was the touch of the Devil (Miller, Arthur). According to Puritan beliefs, if a man or woman was touched by the Devil he would convince them to do witchcraft. Once word was mentioned the Devil had possibly touched Salem, the fear spread.
Homosexuality is defined as the sexual relationships between members of the same biological sex. Typically, it stands for social relationships between men, while lesbianism stands for relationships between women (Collins Dictionary Of Sociology, 2006). Recognizing one’s sexual orientation is an integral process that can happen throughout the whole life (Floyd and Bakeman, 2013). Origin of homosexuality is always debated. Kahn (1995) thinks that homosexuality is affected by upbringing of one, while Rosario (2002) thinks that one’s sexuality is genetically determined. . .
