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Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

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Naia Yu U.S. History Mr. Bachelor Research Paper Detailed Final Draft Due Friday April 19th, 2024 at 3:20pm Victim or Victor: the Role of Women in the Infamous Salem Witch Trials of the Seventeenth Century On June 2, 1692, Bridget Bishop was the first accused witch to be convicted of such a crime. After she was hanged, the accusations during trials spread to other communities in Massachusetts. Taking place mostly in Salem, the Salem Witch Trials took place in the late seventeenth century. In Massachusetts at this time, two Salem communities existed. One, known as Salem Town, situated near the ports in Massachusetts Bay, and the other, known as Salem Village, set on farming land inhabited by a poorer selection of folks. The latter was led by …show more content…

Witchcraft had always been associated with women, and accusations against women for religious crimes in particular also shed light on the gender issues present in many witchcraft cases. Whether from a positive or negative perspective, the association of women with the idea of witchcraft stood from the beginning. Old, scary women and beautiful powerful women were both seen as witches. Initially, women belonged to many gender stereotypes because of their body. In addition to impacting factors like conception, childbirth, and people’s overall well-being as mothers, people blame women for disrupting household tasks. Blaming women as a way to keep and reinforce power gave into the misogynist ideals of men. Seen as the weaker sex, women having weaker minds that were less advanced made them more susceptible to evil temptations which caused them to be accused of the drawness to the Devil, ultimately a leader of evil sorcery. This negative attitude towards women allowed men to keep control of their power. Also, in terms of their education, women were limited to learning and going to college, as their unpreparedness would not ready them for the challenge of complicated material. This action enabled men to continue to excel while keeping women from advancing. “While some strides were made in increasing access to …show more content…

The Salem Witch Trials of the late seventeenth century stand as a testament to the consequences of mass hysteria. The trials, marked by a number of accusations and desperate attempts to save oneself through false accusations, exposed the vulnerability of women, to the assumptions in societal norms and fears of female power. Ultimately fueled by a combination of gender bias, economic competition, and fear, female representation in the trials outnumbers male representation. Bibliography Arendale, David R. "Then and Now: The Early Years of Developmental Education." Research and Teaching in Developmental Education, 27, no. 1. 2 (2011): 58-76. JSTOR.com - "The New York

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