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Puritan Culture And Fanaticism: The Salem Witch Trials

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The Salem witch trials demonstrated much more in the puritan culture than ignorance or fanaticism. It illustrates the interior deformation of the society. Through the tragedy at Salem it is evident that the accusations covered issues that were colony wide. The case of the Salem witch trials demonstrates the financial issues within the colony, the personal issues used to accuse individuals, and the stress of colonial life that stretched far beyond the New England Colony.
On January 20, 1692, in Salem Village, the Reverend Samuel Parris' daughter and niece; Elizabeth and Abigail Williams, displayed behavior that at the time, was regarded as blasphemous. What ensued were some of the most ludicrous and heinous acts that occurred in the American …show more content…

These demographics demonstrate the vast difference in wealth and the encompassing spread of individuals in the village. Tensions between the two parties grew larger when Salem Village brought in Reverend Samuel Parris as minister. Parris was a harsh Puritan who likely instilled a sense of jealousy between the residents. Here it is evident that internal factors within the area itself caused tensions that developed into the accusations of the perceived witches in Salem. However another interesting note is the idea of “a city on a hill”. This concept of being a pure Christian is demonstrated in the trials of the Salem residents, though they could have confessed and shortened the ordeal, they fought for their holiness. This idea is one that goes far beyond Salem, the overall issue is demonstrated in the halfway covenant. While the population of Puritans grew, new generations found it difficult to continue the traditions set by their forefathers. Thus the officials made the convent to ease the membership into the church, giving a partial membership. This illustrates the struggling tension between the church and the

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On at least one other occasion in seventeenth-century New England, the admission to church membership of a woman with a checkered sexual past fomented an uproar among her neighbors. The same could well have happened in the case of Martha Corey, causing speculation about the validity of her reputed adherence to Christianity,” this shows that the trials were mostly due to hight standards and a rigid culture in where people were discriminated against. The arrival of Parris’ traditions and prejudices made it possible for all the outcasts to be blamed of witchcraft and therefore a type of genocide was occurring in which people were targeted according to how well they fit in society. The

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The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 may have been instigated by religious, social, geographic and even biological factors. During these trials, 134 people were condemned as witches and 19 were hanged. These statistics also include 5 more deaths that occurred prior to their execution date. It is interesting to look into the causes of this stain on American History, when as shown in document B, eight citizens were hanged in only one day.

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In contrast to Boynton’s work, Chadwick Hansen’s Witchcraft at Salem concentrates only on the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts. It is a valuable source due to the fact that Hansen earned a Ph.D. American History from Yale and the University of Minnesota, giving him a wealth of knowledge in the subject that this source focuses on. Additionally, the content is rich with insight as well as with primary sources such as transcripts from the trials, copies of the town’s historical documents, and drawings from Salem during the

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The famous renaissance man, Leonardo Da Vinci once said, “Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence”. Ruling Salem in the 17th century, a theocracy, or government run by religious leaders, inhibited separation of the Puritan church and state laws. As a result, the most devout Christians experienced surges in authority because they were the most obedient to the theocracy and its goal of purifying Salem. Therefore, those who were obedient were rewarded, whereas ne'er do wells and other impure people were either corrected or removed from society. Allowing no room for error from its residents, the theocracy even installed “a two-man patrol” (4), appointed to ensure cooperation and righteous behavior.

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Salem, Massachusetts is a Puritan community that where the economy is based on local farms and the society is very religious constrained “They did not celebrate Christmas, and a holiday from work meant only that they must concentrate even more upon prayer.” (P4). With land being so vital in the community and religious leaders governing the community; people that hold these positions are more in control. Land disputes often arise due to the high value land has and these grudges between landowners can last for years and years. This, along with Miller’s background narration of character, helps explain why characters like Thomas Putnam acted and how this Witch Hunt gave a perfect opportunity for people to express their feelings and hatreds “Long-held hatreds of neighbors could now be openly expressed, and vengeance taken..” (P7).

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Throughout the wintry months of 1691 and 1692 in Salem Village, Tituba, Reverend Samuel Parris’s South American slave, and a group of young girls gathered to foretell their futures and tell sinister stories, practices forbidden by God. Infamously, Abigail Williams and Elizabeth “Betty” Parris, the reverend’s daughter, took part in this foreboding custom, despite their susceptibility to fear. “Social and Political Issues” outlines the events that ensued from their actions. The text explains, “Elizabeth instantly felt as if someone was pinching and suffocating her; she then began to hallucinate… The other girls were seized by the same sensations, so doctors were called to examine them.

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In his book, “A Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft (1702),” clergyman John Hale comes forth to confront the recent events going on at the time. Initially, Hale alludes to the questionable actions and activities of the townspeople being accused of witchcrafts, and being imprisoned as punishment. In addition, he discloses how everyone suspicious will be accused, not even young children are safe from the hands of this fate. Hale’s purpose of publishing this book was to describe the incident of the Witch Trials, and to reveal his experience of the trials, since his own wife was accused. By employing a didactic tone, Hale relays the actions of the past that targeted the Puritans and those wrongly accused of witchcrafts, so this occurrence

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In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the townsfolk of Salem, Massachusetts are used to illustrate the religious beliefs and morals derived from the heavily practiced Puritanism. Puritanism centralizes on the belief that God and His worshippers have formed a sacred covenant, therefore, Puritans must always serve God justly to ensure His protection. Authors throughout history have inscribed various accounts of Puritans upholding their covenants with God, which include: encouraging separation between the rich and the poor, establishing dominance over easy targets, and exiling or correcting sinners. John Winthrop delves celebrates into the accepted inequality between Puritans in A Model Of Christian Clarity, William Bradford considers the Native Americans solely as instruments of God in The History of Plymouth Plantation, and witchcraft accusations fly Cotton Mather’s description of the want to remove the devil from New England inin Cotton Mather’s The Wonders of the Invisible World.

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The Salem Witch Trials On a day that had started out the same as any other, in January of 1962, Reverend Parris’ nine year old daughter, Elizabeth, and 11 year old niece, Abigail Williams, began having manic episodes. The girls would shout blasphemies, utter peculiar sounds, throw things, hide under or behind things, enter into trances, contort their bodies in odd and unnatural positions, and would run around pretending to be different creatures. Reverend Parris did not know what had gotten into the two. Reverend Parris summoned the local doctor to try and find an explanation as to why the children were acting out.

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In John Winthrop’s speech about the city upon a hill, he makes an appeal towards the unity of the group by mentioning that they needed to, “Entertain each other in brotherly affection,” in order to walk humbly with God (Winthrop, 1630, pp.1). By doing so, Winthrop told the other Puritans aboard the Arbella, they would keep the, “Unity of the spirit in the bond of peace,” and God would walk with them, showering them with blessings and wisdom (Winthrop, 1630, pp.1). While this community was built upon the idea of peace, brotherhood, and helping each other in the name of God, the Salem Witch trials were almost the opposite. Coming from the mouth of Deodat Lawson, he told the people of Salem to come to arms, to be, “faithful unto death in spiritual warfare,” and spare none to rid themselves of the satanic fury afflicting them (LeBeau, 1998, p.89). In mentioning that people should follow their faith until death, the tone is vengeful and full of blood lust, even though it is assumed that the original purpose of the sermon, at the time, was to restore faith in the magistrate who had condemned five women to be executed on spectral evidence, which Cotton Mather abhorred as legal evidence (Mather, 1971; LeBeau, 1998).

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