How Did More Of A Direct Cause Of The Salem Witch Trials

Physiologically or Religion? What was more of a direct impact on the cause of the Salem Witch Trials?

The Salem Witch Trials, being from February of 1692 to May of 1693, were a period in time of which hundreds of people were accused of being put to death in the early years of Massachusetts. The Salem witch Trials first claimed to begin when a group of young women accused several women of “possessing them” and the women were eventually put to death. After this incident, many others became paranoid of the idea of witches and because of this, many more people were accused. Not only were 20 people executed for the accusation of using ``devils magic”, but over 200 people were accused of using it. Researchers today have many different ideas as

Instead, you were out on trial at 11 years old for “devil ship worshipping acts” where your life was in the hands of the people. That was Abigail Williams' life. “She was eventually hung to death, along with the other 19 souls that were killed during these times, also known as the crucible. But, Abigail's case was the first that led to the witch trials. After her strange episodes, many paranoias went around Salem. Because of this, many more innocent people were falsely accused due to the fear of the unknowingness of mental illnesses. As Sophie Abber stated in her case study, “They began having strange fits and convulsions, and claimed to be experiencing visions. The visions they described went beyond the visual realm, however – they claimed that other residents of Salem were physically provoking and torturing them. It is impossible to know whether their symptoms were real, psychosomatic, or intentionally manufactured, though one could make a case for any of these: The girls may have been suffering from a psychotic episode. The girls may have been severely distressed by their rigid society and lack of freedom, and became ill from this stress, without a distinct neurological or biological cause.” [Abber 2] These “episodes” were said to be a sign of schizophrenia, which is a mental illness that causes

He mostly desired two things, religion and his church. Many say the witch trials gave him an excuse to get rid of anyone who disagreed with his way of the church or his religion. During these periods of times, freedom of speech wasn’t a thing. You had to agree with the church. If you didn’t, you got punished, even before the witch trials. You could be hung. You could be forced to leave your home. Reverend Parris and the other members of the church believed these punishments were justiable, as a sinner of the Puritan religion must be punished. Anyone who was accused of being a witch during these time periods were “devil worshippers' ' “They viewed their religion to be under direct attack by this dip in support, and combined with a slew of atheistic fears and a rumored invasion of Scotland by French forces, a witch-hunt was retrospectively predictable in the region.”[Anderson 19] This new idea of witchcraft gave the church a reason to punish these “devil worshippers” while permanently having the chance to get rid of them before they changed other people’s minds about the church also. As Allison R. Anderson wrote, “By stating that the colonists were concerned for their “individual souls' ' as well as the safety of the region itself, Godbeer brings the Salem witch-hunt’s personal characteristics into his research. He claims in his writing that Puritans were convinced that every part of life, and every “trivial” daily