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Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

574 Words3 Pages

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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