Throughout American history there have been many travesties. Times like this were the Trail of Tears, Japanese internment camps, the bombing of Hiroshima and the bay of pigs are just a few of such travesties. Though in this essay I will speak on one of the more forgotten this being the Salem Witch trials. On top of this I will be focusing on the trials through one of its victims, Sarah Good. I will be telling of her life before the trial, what happened during her trials, and her effect on the trials and her effect currently. First, we shall speak on her life because we should understand the experiences of one of the most prominent victims of the trials. Sarah Good was born July 21, 1653, in Wenham, MA to a well off innkeeper named John Solart. …show more content…
Sarah was one of the first three women to be brought in at Salem on the charge of witchcraft. On February 29, 1692, the first warrant was issued for the arrest of Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba. Good along with the other women were initially accused of afflicting Betty Parris and Abigail Williams. Since she was seen as a disreputable and a marginal member of society she received many witchcraft accusations. Then several villagers—including her own husband and daughter—also testified against her, and Sarah was put in prison. Her daughter, Dorcas, claimed that they were both witches and that the flea bite on her finger was from a snake that her mother gave her to handle. Even though so many people had accused her, she was presumed guilty from the start. Sarah was tried on June 30.In the trials when John Hathorne, the magistrate in the pre-trial hearings asked, "Why do you hurt these children?"(Jobe) Good responded, "I do not hurt them. I scorn it."(Jobe) .She also stated repeatedly, "I am falsely accused” (Jobe).Then when she would stand the girls would act as if Sarah was afflicting them. Despite little conclusive evidence other than the claims of the afflicted girls, she was found guilty. Good was condemned to hang but was pardoned until the birth of her child and Good was one of five women to be hanged on July 19, 1692. The other women prayed and asked God to forgive the accusers, but she had showed no …show more content…
This is because in literature she is depicted as an old hag with white hair and wrinkled skin. Though this is not truthful to her real appearance such is still depicted. This is because she only died at the young age of 39. She is also a prominent figure in the trials because she was one of the first accused and she has one of the most detailed trials and most known life. This is because she has definitive dates and a rather compelling stories. Sarah Goods story is rather compelling because she was a woman that no one in her town would like and was left unseen by society and forced to be an outcast due to her debt and poverty. Then she would be targeted by the same society that saw her as unfit once the trials started and with no proof at all was prosecuted and executed with no chance at being found not guilty. Sarah’s effect on the trial was important because she was one of the first examples of the seriousness of the trials due to her being one of the first people to be arrested, tried and sentenced to death as a result of the trials. Sarah’s death along with death of more innocent people would help cause the end of puritan society throughout the colonies especially in Massachusetts. This is because the puritan lifestyle which was the lifestyle of settlers in Massachusetts which Sarah and many of the accused were not living and were seen as something in which would destroy their society so