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Puritan society women
Puritan society women
Salem witchcraft trials puritans
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Puritan society women
Puritan society women
Salem witchcraft trials puritans
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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.)
INTRODUCTION: During the late 17th century, there were many accusations of witchcraft within the thirteen colonies. Many men and women of all ages and authority were accused of witchcraft. When the British were colonizing North America, the traditions of witchcraft were supposedly taken to the new land with the colonists. The Salem Witch Trials taught people that they shouldn’t believe everything they are told and that people shouldn’t assume something without having specific research that can prove it.
The Salem witch trials began in October 1692, where the towns people of Salem Village Massachusetts thought they were being attacked by a conspiracy of witches. The Puritans also thought of North America as the devil’s territory, a super natural enemy. During the spring of 1692 a group of young girls started acting really bazar they claimed to possessed by the devil. The girls accused many older local women of witchcraft, usually all the women accused were usually outcasts. The result of those young girls Salem Village began a special court to hear the cases of accused women.
In Salem, Massachusetts, Puritans were strong believers in the Bible. The Bible states, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” The Puritans beliefs led to them accusing 20 innocent people of being a witch, this resulted in their deaths in 1692. Even though the Puritans couldn’t see it at the time, their accusations were really based off jealousy, lies, and Salem being divided into two parts. One cause of the Salem witch trial hysteria was jealousy.
They believed that God would protect them. So, when things became difficult, they could easily blame it on the Devil and the “witches” that were carrying out his work. The Puritans believed that the Devil chose the weakest of the village, such as women and children, to do his work. The Salem Witchcraft Trials began January 1692, when two girls, Betty Paris and Abigail Williams, began to have fits and convulsions.
The Hysteria Behind the Salem Witch Trials The Salem witch trials, dating back to February 1692, was a series of hearings against a group of young girls and those claimed to be witches. The girls had professed that their bodies had been dominated by the devil and blamed innocent citizens of using the “witchcraft” behind it. Anyone who seemed slightly out of the ordinary were accused by the girls to have dealt with “the devil’s magic.” The court put these accusations to the test by performing various executions and distinguishing whether the supposed witches could escape or not.
Mostly woman were accused of witchcraft during this time period, however, men could be dragged into the accusations and sometimes persecuted as well. Citizens that were high in the community usually did not bother to believe those who were accused of being witches, however, if someone was accused of being a witch and they were not high up in the community, then they were usually accused and convicted. These types of cases were not fair to the slighted and was a major reason why the Puritan religion had some bad qualities behind
In the seventeenth-century, many people believed in things such as magic, astrology, and witchcraft. Witches were believed to have made a pact with the devil to obtain supernatural powers. So when bad things, such as crops failing or if a child was born stillborn, started to occur, many people started to blame witches. Beginning in late 1691, many girls were being accused of being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials. The accusers believed that their lives were in danger and that these so-called “witches” were causing all this evil to occur.
Every place has its dark time; that moment in history that everyone would rather just forget about. The Salem Witch Trials are no different. Filled with confrontation, accusation, and misery, these trials proved to be a feat for anyone accused of being a witch to overcome. The debate of why these trials happened has been going on for many years. There are many reasons that historians have come up with to try and explain and justify these trials, some are merely speculation, while others have proof to back them up.
Salem Witch Trials The Salem Witch Trials began in colonial America in 1692. Many people were falsely accused of practicing witchcraft during the beginning of America. The Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts began to fear that if the colonists close to them could in fact be witches. Most accused people had no evidence against them and twenty people lost their lives to the Salem Witch Trials. (www.smithsonianmag.com) These Puritans came to America because they wanted to Purify the Church of England.
The public began seeing many were being accused due to town gossip. They were all beginning to register this because they saw that many of the accused were ethical persons and that the accusers seemed to be in perfect health outside of the courtroom. Along with this, far too many people were being charged as witches, clearly not all of them were witches. Once this was realized, the questionability of validity caused the governor to release those accused after September 17th, 1692. Furthermore, in early 1963 the trials of witchcraft ended for good.
Many people in the town had their issues with others. Therefore they would accuse eachother of witchcraft to get rid of their problems. The author states,“More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the devil’s magic—and 20 were executed” (Blumberg). This quote tells that Salem had many false accusations, making it more challenging for the court to find the real witches. Similarly, people in the village that were known for their good reputations, were being accused which confused the court even more.
A group of young girls began to behave strangely, complaining of physical maladies, visions, and trembling, and babbling uncontrollably. They blamed their behavior on three village women who, the girls believed, practiced witchcraft upon them. (“Salem Witch Trials” Gale). Women who were accused of witch crafted were imprisoned, then hanged, drowned and stoned (Karlsen). Throughout 1692, 156 women were accused of witchcraft, and 20 of them were sentenced to death (Karlsen).
I first learned how to swim in the Atlantic Ocean as an infant when I lived with my parents in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Little did I know back then the impact of what became my favorite activity would have on my entire life. When my family left Brazil, we moved to Puerto Rico where my “swimming pools” became the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. I loved the open water and loved swimming!