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How Did The Salem Witch Trials Overall Affect Future Legislation?

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The Salem Witch Trials are widely known in American History. My inquiry into the trials consists of a series of questions: What was the purpose of mainly targeting women? How did the trials overall affect future legislation? How did the trials change society then and now? This will introduce the misogyny behind the trials, the ages that were mainly affected, and why they were targeted. Why has it become so important to provide a jury and a fair trial to anyone falsely incarcerated, and how did the trials pave the way for fear to corrupt society and indulge in accusations like those of the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials?
The early English colonies and religious leaders indulged and were responsible for the murder of 20 Puritan women in …show more content…

Harmless playing repeatedly led to accusations of children practicing witchcraft and indulging in Satanic rituals. The colonies also felt that the maturing of women’s bodies fed the devilish desires of men, and could be tamed by trials and accusations of witchcraft. “However, strong ideologies also hold the capacity to alienate and even demonize those who fail to conform” (Hartley, 2002). A society of strong ideologies illustrates the power installed by the people and how quickly hysteria and fear can feed into a community. The detrimental effect of the witch trials introduced new ideologies when the Bill of Rights was constructed in …show more content…

The Salem Witch Trials do not directly correlate with the Bill of Rights but were used to highlight the importance of protecting individual rights and limiting the power of the government. The trials directly show how the government can abuse the power the people allow. The colonies were also under the control of the United Kingdom, making it so the government ran directly from the Church, which did not change until the United States separated from the UK altogether. The government was dictated by the Church of England, every witch that was accused and found guilty was not only fighting against the UK government but also the religious factor that was incorporated into the government. “...they had been deprived of the rights to which they should have been entitled under English common law” (Purdy, 2023). This statement was enhanced by the English Bill of Rights, which was passed in 1689. “Exactly 100 prior, 1689, Parliament brought an end to a time of great turmoil in England–the Glorious Revolution–with the English Bill of Rights” (Eskridge). Therefore, the colonies were living to their own form of government and stripping away the basic rights of the framed and accused

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Let me just start by saying the Salem witch trials were brutal. Over 20 girls were hung and burned and 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft. It was in 1692 to 1693. The reason these women and occasionally men were tried was because the Salem witch trials were basically an era in American history where if we did not like someone all we had to do is claim them for witchcraft. Little girls would be in the church during the trials and start screaming and freaking out saying these women were sending their demons and satan’s helpers to attack them and that they were biting and scratching at their ankles and poking their eyes.

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