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Salem witch trials encyclopedia britannica
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The puritans came to New England so they could experience and practice christianity in a new form.[background] Puritans believed every word in the bible was the word of god. That said, the bible mentions Devils and witches. They believed a witch was a person who was controlled by the devil. For example, The devil can make a young girl cry in church. One way the court accepted evidence the suspect in question was a witch was when a woman confused the words when saying the lord's prayer.[background] Because of these actions more people were being accused of being a witch.
To understand why and how these issues arose in Salem, first look to the history of the Puritans. The Puritans believed that the Anglican Church needed to be purified of the Catholic ideologies. With monarchs of their time disinterested in the idea of reform, many Puritans became discouraged and thought the colonies would give them a better chance to reform the church. John Winthrop along with a few other Puritans in the New World decided to create City on a Hill to set an example of good behavior and religious purity. The Puritans believed that God had made a special covenant with them so they could live according to scripture, reforming the Anglican Church, and set a good example for those who were still living in England.
The religion was a big part in the puritan’s belief system. Puritans believed that beings like the devil, angels, God, and of course witches. The puritans believed that the Devil would possess a normal being and turn them into and trouble seeking witch, as shown in the Background Essay. The first accused witch was Bridget Bishop, as show in Document C. The “afflicted” girls would act bewitched by her, as proven in Document D.
The infamous Salem witch trials of colonial Massachusetts took place between of 1692 and 1693. They involved the execution of fourteen women and five men within the the brief time period (Salem Witch Museum). New England at the time had been established by a homogenous Puritan population which emigrated from England (Taylor 165, 169). Abiding by a strict set of beliefs, the Puritans did not accept people of other backgrounds, therefore it might follow that the Salem Witch Trials of New England were a result of the strict Puritan society, which was actually primarily untrue. The Salem Witch Trials were not enacted as a result of Puritanism, but rather as a result of circumstance.
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.
The movie “Three Sovereigns for Sarah” was an accurate representation of what went on during the Salem witch hanging trials of 1692. There were five major concepts that played pivotal roles in the hysteria surrounding Salem, Massachusetts; superstition, religion, politics, economics, and gender roles. The town of Salem was consisting of mostly Puritans. A Puritan is a member of an group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church of England under Elizabeth as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship.
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.
Salem is a Puritan community, and its occupants live in an extremely strict society. Although the Puritans left England to avoid religious commitment, they established a society in a America founded upon religious discrimination(Critical Essays Historical Period: Puritans in Salem, 2016). Government and religious authority are virtually inseparable, and the individuals who question the local authority are accused of questioning divine authority. The Puritan community considers physical labor and strict discipline to be a religious doctrine which is the best indicators of faithfulness, honesty, and integrity.
Puritans believed that they were doing God's work and that those who disobeyed or strayed from Puritan teachings were sinners”. This states that while not attending seems quite childish to say that one is a witch, it was more of what the public would suspect as church and public appearances were mandatory to show how faithful and abiding one
Most of the populace had either Catholic beliefs or Puritan beliefs. Their thoughts of hunting and burning witches relates to their Catholic studies. Catholicism is tied to rituals on numerous occasions, and they believed that the only way to stop them was to take an active stance. On the other side, Puritans did not agree with rituals and focused on prayer, faith, worship, and legitimate medical practices to fix even spiritual ailments. They still; however, viewed witchcraft practices as entirely sinful.
“I am no more a witch than you are a wizard. If you take my life away, God will give you blood to drink” was quoted by Sarah Good, one of the first witches of the Salem Witch Trials that was speculated to have bewitched Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Parris. This was a common theme in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. There are many theories against Good and her speculated practice of witchcraft. Good was considerably lower in economic status that most of her neighbors and a lot of people accused her of being a witch because of her cited jealousy and envy (something often associated with a witches’ discontent and anger).
Witchcraft was the ultimate deviancy in Puritan society. Puritans believed that the devil exists and was a very literal being that was watching them all the time waiting for them to mess up or make a mistake. Ministers frequently used this devil idea during service to scare citizens into behaving. Maleficium translates to the power of malice, meaning to give people power to ruin things such as crops, beer, or make hens lay fewer eggs. These supernatural powers were spoken about and very relevant in trial cases that were recorded during this time period.
With the Puritans having strict religious beliefs about the devil and God, it gave them strong feelings about the ways in which women impacted their community. Along with their religious beliefs, their society had certain beliefs about women and the way they should act which led them to suspect anything out of the “norm” as a sign of the devil. While some of this could be on women and the way we speak, the Puritans already had such strong feelings toward the vulnerable mind of women that it wouldn’t matter. The women were represented by weakness in nearly every aspect a person can be judged on and this thought of them as the weaker vessel is what ultimately led to them being accused and persecuted more than men during the Salem Witch
In the summer of 1692, a few people were accused of being witches. Those people lived in Salem, Massachusetts, and is known as the Puritans. The Puritans were also known as the Protestant Christians because those people came to New England to practice Christianity. They were not satisfied with their church in England, thinking that the churches were not pure. To be a Protestant Christian, you must believe what the bible said, the bible was god’s spoken words.
The Puritans were a very orderly put together society; However, they had very little freedom. They believed that social order and organization was much more important than individual rights. In America for example, we have freedom of religion, speech, and the right to equal justice. The Puritans had none of these. After reading about the Salem Witch Trials in The Crucible I noticed that they especially lacked the right to equal justice.
