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How Did The Salem Witch Trials Affect The Economy

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Economy and social division played a huge role in what the Salem Witch Trials turned to be. Many historians theorize that the real reason behind the trials was due to the different opinions between the townsmen, who were considered to be rich, and the farmers, who had to rely on the more powerful people of Salem. During these times Salem was divided into two very different parts: Salem Town and Salem Village or Salem Farms. Both were located in what is considered “Salem, Massachusetts” but were highly divided due to the different economy, class, and characters. The residents in Salem Town were considered the prosperous and the land was fertile. Also in this part of town all the trade with London occurred, basically meaning that the rich and powerful lived in this area. On the other hand, the non wealthy residents of Salem found their homes in Salem Village. They were mostly farmers who had to cultivate crops in a not very fertile and healthy land. Salem Town ruled over Salem Village, …show more content…

The people that lived near Ipswich Road were close to all the commerce in Salem Town and their jobs were more fulfilling than farmers. They were usually merchants, blacksmiths, carpenters and were able to support their families and all the economic changes that Salem went through at this time. The people that lived farther apart from Salem Town tended to be closer to religion and held the beliefs that the prosperity of the Salem Town was against their Puritan religion. This actually lead many historians to believe that economical jealousy and envy could have been one of the reasons behind the Salem Witch Trials. Most of the accusers were from this part of town, indeed one of the most influential families during the accusations were the Putnams and they highly disagreed and protested about the economic changes in Salem and the different classes that

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This pictures shows me that it was hard for people to find wiches. So they really couldn't defined witches, but the people of Salem asked Matthew to find these evil people. Document 2 is another chart showing ow many acres of land the village own. After the 1660s the arcres decrease. I think its becuase of the people

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588 Words | 3 Pages

The community of Salem, like any other during this period, was very close and gossip was spread like a wild fire. Whenever something happened in one household all the other households would surely be informed soon. Rumors like how one family wasn’t going to make it for harvest, or that the reverend wasn’t a godly man. Pretty much any kind of rumor was spread, for any reason at all. In Salem when one girl got sick they blamed which craft, and they pointed fingers at anyone and everyone for all sorts of reasons.

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If one was risen to a higher status of economical wealth they were likely to be subdued to a Witch trial due to competition of wealth, especially in a Smaller populated Hamlet. Accusers could easily use this as an excuse due to a sense of Jealousy and lust that evidently could cloud people's minds. There was even the possibility of Financial Compensation to the Accuser's family if the Alleged “Witch” in some way, shape, or form harmed the accuser and/or their family. Not only did Economic Status play a crucial part in the Salem Witch Trials, Power amongst town leaders was crucial in the same sense. Governors from a variety of areas could easily be accused of Witchcraft due to decisions or rules set by a Governor and the accuser having a differing opinion and disagreeing with it in the past.

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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.

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What Caused the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 In Salem, Massachusetts there were Witch Trials held during the summer months of 1692. Throughout the seventeenth century in New England, witchcraft was said to be a crime punishable by death. Puritans came to New England in the early 1600’s to practice their Christianity in the purest form possible. They believed every word in the bible and that the words of God were to be followed down to the last sentence there was. Havoc started occurring around the town and 19 women along with men were hanged for witchcraft.

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At the time there was no in place form of government. The colony created their own form of a legal system. Made up by community members, the system obviously failed. The first problem is the fact that anyone could be part of the “government”, now one might see where that could go wrong. There were two main parts one could say Salem had.

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Salem was a town divided into two sides, the west side being poor, and the east side being where wealthy people stayed. Document E shows that the accusers were mainly on the west side, and the accused witches were mostly on the east side, this showing that the poor were the ones mainly accusing the rich and wealthy. Document E’s evidence is backing up the theory that another cause of the Salem witch `trial hysteria was Salem being divided, with one side accusing the other. “Although” statement where you agree there might be other contributing causes. It is true that other causes may help explain the hysteria.

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According to Christine Heyrman, the name Salem means peace. The Salem Witch Trials were disreputable for many reasons, which makes the Hebrew meaning of Salem sort of ironic because the trials were everything but peaceful. The trials occurred in a village in colonial Massachusetts during 1692-1693 (Blumberg). During this period, around 200 people were accused of witchcraft. One thing starting this period of time was the devil’s magic.

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Salem was a small settlement, every settler knew one another (Miller, Arthur). And when there were whispers of witchcraft, the whispers became loud and public

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Salem is the perfect town for these witchcraft accusations to occur. Salem is a rural town that is isolated from the rest of Massachusetts. Since it is isolated the people won’t experience changes in culture like everyone else. The government was Puritanism so the Church had all of the power and Salem didn’t know about enlightenment ideas so they believed it.

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The Salem witch trials was one of the most famous witch hunt in history. More than 200 accused witched occupied the local jail. 19 people executed, were hanged, one pressed with rocks to death and few more died in jail within a year from 1692-1693. It happened in Salem Village, New England in Massachusetts, now known as Danvers. Witchcraft was second among the hierarchy of crimes which was above blasphemy, murder and poisoning in the Puritan Code of 1641.

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The Salem Witchcraft Trials had many effects on the town of Salem, Massachusetts. A lot of the effects were negative, destroying the community, government, even individuals. The Witch Trials affected the community of Salem in multiple ways. The witch trials created many tensions between several families in the town. The most acknowledgeable dispute from the play was between the Putnam’s and the Nurse’s.

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1008 Words | 5 Pages

These refugees were from northern New York, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. The displaced people created a strain on Salem’s resources because they did not have their own resources and they used others. That aggravated existing rivalries between families with ties to the wealth port of Salem. (“Salem Witch Trials”, 1). The first witch case involved Reverend Parris’ daughter Elizabeth, age 9, and his niece Abigail Williams, age 11, in January 1692.

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Analyzing Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum's book, Salem Possessed leads to the exploration of the pre-existing social and economic divisions within the Salem Village community, as an entrance point to understanding the accusations of witchcraft in 1692. Salem Village and Salem Town were politically a single unit, but socially as well as economically the two were diverse and because of this, it caused a rivalry. Salem Village had a lot of farmland, poorer people and was more rural as well as conservative. ; the Village was led by the Putnam family. Salem Town was more sophisticated, nautical, and prosperous, with wealthier and more respected people; They were interested in the mercantile and political life of Salem Town and were led primarily

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REVIEW OF LITRATURE A.) SUMMARY SOURCE A Although the whole book had information on the Salem witch trials. The introduction, chapter 1 and 2 and the conclusion had information regarding the research needed • Introduction: states what the Salem witch trials where and who they accused.

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