There were at least three causes of the Salem witch trial hysteria. They were anti-female bias, strong beliefs and lying/acting girls, and jealousy of poor versus rich. One cause of the witch trial hysteria was anti-female bias. Out of the twenty people hung, thirteen were women and seven were men. (Doc.
In 1692, as the puritans of Salem Massachusetts over-turn on each other, they started scapegoating many of their villagers with witchcraft. During this time many were murdered unfairly. The Salem Witch Trials was a reformation of the government. People believed that this was an era where the devil gave certain humans powers to harm others in joining them into their beliefs. It was certain to happen, because many had personal envy which caused many of the accusations,trials, and the implementations.
Living in Salem in the summer and spring of 1692 would’ve been an extremely hectic experience, especially if you were a married woman with another woman who wanted your man. Many people were put to death in the months between June and September, and had it not been for a mass hanging, it might have continued for who knows how long. The accusers of the Witch Trials were mainly jealous women who were out for the man(or land) of an accused woman, but that was not always the case. Some men(boys, really) accused others of being witches for the reason that a.) they wanted their land, or b.)
The Witchcraft Trials 1. Question: How did the Salem witchcraft trials reflect attitudes toward women and the status of women in colonial New England? Answer: The people of Salem looked down upon property owning widows or any women who did not fit the social norm. The upper echelon wanted the women of Salem to be of lower rank than the males and any women who was not subordinate to a man was considered suspect.
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.
Throughout the witch trials in the seventeenth century, women in New England were looked at as inferior to men. Their role was to cook, clean, and take care of the children while their husbands were out. The wives were more in charge of the household than their husbands, but never given the credit. Escaping Salem by Richard Godbeer shows that during the seventeenth century in New England, people drew strange conclusions about women's outbursts. Due to the spread of Enlightenment beliefs, these same people began to question what they once believed.
Everything revolves around their strict Christian beliefs. The only reason that the Salem Witch Trials could happen is because people were so superstitious, and believed in the first place that witches existed, and that their purpose was to interfere with Salem´s progress as a Christian society. Too, in seventeenth century Salem, women were at the bottom of society. They worked as servants until they were old enough to be married off and rear children.
The Salem Witch Trials are widely known in American History. My inquiry into the trials consists of a series of questions: What was the purpose of mainly targeting women? How did the trials overall affect future legislation? How did the trials change society then and now? This will introduce the misogyny behind the trials, the ages that were mainly affected, and why they were targeted.
The Salem Witch Trials; Madness or Logic In Stacey Schiff’s, List of 5 Possible Causes of the Salem Witch Trials and Shah Faiza’s, THE WITCHES OF SALEM; Diabolical doings in a Puritan village, discuss in their articles what has been debated by so many historians for years, the causes of the Salem Witch trials. Schiff and the Faiza, purpose is to argue the possible religious, scientific, communal, and sociological reasons on why the trials occurred. All while making word by word in the writer’s testimony as if they were there through emotion and just stating simply the facts and theories. They adopt the hectic tone in order to convey to the readers the significance, tragedy, logic, loss, and possible madness behind these life changing events,
Imagine being a wealthy 45-year-old woman in 1692 being accused of being a witch. The Salem Witch trials were caused by jealousy, fear, and lying. People believed that the devil was real and that one of his tricks was to enter a normal person 's body and turn that person into a witch. This caused many deaths and became a serious problem in 1692. First of all, jealousy was one of the causes of the Salem witch trials.
The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690’s were a period of mass hysteria. Neighbors turned on neighbors and families got torn apart. Salem was full of fear as people accused everyone of witchcraft. Everyone was afraid that the Devil was working to destroy Christian communities. And even more afraid that he was enlisting women in the community to do his work.
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of events that occurred within the 1690's. The numerous allegations lead to hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, most of them women. Additionally, the accusations lead to community wide hysteria and blood thirst for the death of nearly all the accused witches.
However, when taking a closer look at the time period in which the Salem Witch trials occur and just how close it is to the scientific revolution the reasoning behind the witch trials does not make sense or add up. Historians have done loads of research and very many have come to the same conclusion as they uncover the social control behind the unexplainable, horrific acts. Ultimately the Salem Witch trials were an indirect, discreet, disguised way of keeping women in Puritan society subordinate and under the control of men. From reviewing research done by multiple historians, firsthand accounts of what took place and court records of the trials it is evident that control of the social hierarchy is the real and true reason behind the Salem Witch
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.
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
