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Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

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The Salem witch trials took place early 1692 to mid 1693 held in the Old Colony State, Massachusetts. The trials first took place due to a group of girls acting strange, which caused a scene in front of the town of Salem. The town doctor concluded that this was an act of witchcraft. At the time this was considered a great sin to the Puritan town, this ultimately led to the creation of the witch trials that America knows today. The history of the infamous trials explores cultural beliefs, societal, and political factors that contributed to the dark part of history that is called the Salem witch trials. The cultural beliefs of Salem was one of the main factors that was a cause of the beginning of accusing those who seemed rather strange of being witches. Their …show more content…

2). The fear of being accused created a severe environment in the town of Salem due to the people’s beliefs, which caused devastating events that occurred during the witch trials. Additionally, the society of Salem was another factor that controlled the witch trials. Gender played a notable part of the trials because those who were accused of witchcraft mainly consisted of females. The reason why women were largely targeted was for not following the gender role of women of 1692. Independent and outspoken women were easily believed to have been witches because they stepped out of the gender norms that were placed upon them (Marshall p. 2). Not only was gender a societal factor in why the outbreak of the trials occurred, but class was also a crucial element for people who were suspected of being witches. The lower class of Salem Village was at risk of accusations due to the authority figure that higher class people had at the time. The biased power dynamic of the witch trials is a role that contributed to the injustices and prejudices that some

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In addition, one cause of the Salem Witch Trial hysteria was sexism. Evidence of this is from the Salem Court Records where out of 20 people executed for witchcraft 14 were women and six were men(Doc A). This evidence shows that there were more women than men being executed and accused of witchcraft. The people were sexist against women because they weren’t as many men being executed and accused. The accusers, who were mostly women, were being sexist against other women that were being accused.

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The Salem witch trials were the cause of 25 innocent women, men, and children. Salem was a town that settled in 1626 and was made up of puritans, which was a group of English protestants. The people were afraid of disease and starvation and the relationships of the people were non existent, in fact they did not like each other. In the winter of 1692 two cousins Betty Paris and Abigail Williams began to act strange so they were checked on and although he determined there was nothing physically wrong with them he determined that they were possessed and as news began to spread so did the “possession “. This eventually led to four of the girls accusing 4 women of tormenting them, these women were considered outsiders and they were swiftly arrested.

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The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a tragic and dark period in American history, marked by fear, misinformation, and the persecution of those deemed different or non-conforming to societal norms. One individual caught up in these trials was Martha Carrier, a woman from the town of Andover who was accused of practicing witchcraft and causing harm to others. My analysis of the case against Martha Carrier will examine the reasons for her prosecution, the evidence used to claim her guilt, and her defense against the charges. I will argue that Martha Carrier's story represents the larger pattern of women who were brought to trial during this period, highlighting the dangers of fear-mongering and the unjust consequences of misinformation. Through

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The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. A group of young girls in the Salem Village claimed to be possessed by Satan and accused several other females of practicing witchcraft. The first convicted witch was Bridget Bishop, she was hung that June. Eighteen others followed Bishop to Salem’s Gallows Hill, while 150 more men, women and children were accused over the next several months.

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America had developed recently, and the adverse effects of that development were what sparked the panic. These attacks were mainly directed at women, particularly those who had inherited property and opposed Salem’s patriarchal system. Girls from the area began experiencing mysterious fits, and socially marginalized women were accused of witchcraft. Other women in the community who voiced doubts about the accusations or who reacted to them in ways regarded improper or inappropriate were involved in the accusations after the initial arrests. The social influence of the local religious authorities was strengthened by this particular moral panic, as witchcraft was seen as a threat to Christian ideals, laws, and order.

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Witchcraft was one of the worst crimes that a Puritan person would commit and the crime was punishable by death. Several religious factors contributed towards the Salem witch trials. These factors included the influence of the Puritan lifestyle that was strict, a conspiracy

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Gender played a very significant role in the witchcraft craze that took place from 1645 until 1677 and the Salem witchcraft trial that also took place from 1692 until 1693. Majority of the accused were women because they were regarded as vulnerable, delicate and defenseless and so needed special care and protection from evil. Between 1645-63 thirteen women and two men were executed in a witch hunt throughout England. It was followed by the Salem witch trial was primary carried out by the puritans when people think of the puritans, they think of the Salem witch trials and so it is believed that where there are many women there are many witches. Young Girls were the primary accusers of their fellow women, pointing fingers at old single women as witches an example was Susana Martins.

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The Truth: In Salem, Massachusetts during 1692, the Salem witch trials started which became one of the famous trails in American history. A group of girls in the village came forward saying they were possessed by the devil and then proceeded to claim local woman of witchcraft. In January of 1692, a girl name Elizabeth and Abigail started having fits. A doctor was brought in to figure out was wrong with the girls and the doctor blamed the witchcraft for the girl’s conditions. Then soon other girls like Ann Putnam started to experience the same condition as Elizabeth and Abigail.

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Although many people did not follow all the customs Salem had structured. Those people would be seen as an outsider in the eyes of Salem and would be treated as so. People who acted different from the normal drive of the town and participated in strange activities would be seen as a suspect on many people's radars. “Many of those who were accused of witchcraft had unsettled accounts with their accusers or were seen as a threat to the Puritan values.” (History Lists”).

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All the facts collected point to one thing: The real cause of the witch hysteria was the juvenile immaturity of a few young girls. The Salem Witch Trials were a period of hysteria and suspicion all through a small area surrounding Salem Village in Massachusetts

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Families were torn apart, reputations were ruined, and innocent lives were lost as a result of the hysteria and paranoia that gripped the region. The trials also exposed the dark underbelly of Puritan society, revealing the extent to which fear, superstition, and intolerance could distort the principles of justice and morality. The Salem witch trials shed light on the gender dynamics of Puritan society, highlighting the ways in which women were marginalized and oppressed within a patriarchal framework. The majority of the accused were women, many of whom were singled out for their nonconformity to traditional gender roles or for their perceived defiance of male authority. The trials thus served as a stark reminder of the precarious position of women in a society governed by rigid religious and social norms.

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The Causes of the Salem Witch Trials Much of modern America’s fear and infamous interest in witches has been derived most likely from the profound Salem Witch Trials. “The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft,” stated History.com authors. However, many historians still deliberate how such events occurred in the first place. Based on several presented documents, some conclusions suggest that there was a prominent cause to the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials. All in all, the cause of the Salem Witch Trials was the attempt of Salem citizens to either defend or create family

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Through analysis of the event and its causes, one can conclude that the citizens of Salem had significant evidence to back their belief in witchcraft.     What is arguably the most prominent factor in the Salem Witch Trials is religion. The entirety of the Puritan society was based on

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The witch trials greatly increased the power and agency of otherwise lowly women like Tituba and Abigail, while bringing down more respected community members like Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth. The position of men remained more stable – they were always in charge, and even if some of them were executed for witchcraft they would always control the positions of highest authority. Clearly the trials are begun by the wagging of tongues after the girls are found in the woods, but gossip certainly has a more enduring role. Reputations in Salem are made or broken based on slander and rumor, and reputation was a man's only defense against accusation – and even that often failed to correct aspersions. But gossip also proves to be a destructive force

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