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To What Extent Were The Hangings Of The Salem Witch Trials

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Were the hangings of the Salem witch trials necessary? The Salem witch trials were a series of hangings caused by mysterious events that happened unexpectedly. Mysterious illnesses, mysterious behavior, and hallucinations caused the Salem witch trials hysteria of 1692. An early reason for the hangings of the Salem witch trial hysteria was the mysterious behavior. “ a vast power or army of evil spirits under the government of a prince (satan) who employs them in continual opposition to the designs of God.” (Mather). Mather was a journalist known for keeping notes during the trials, often writing very detailed and specific notes. The behavior in this writing by Cotton Mather is similar to those described by people who have accused others of this
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1753 Words | 8 Pages

The Salem Witch Trials wrongly convicted over one hundred fifty people through unfair court cases in 1692, due to the bias of the people, the unpassable tests used, and the illegal way they were run. The convictions were all done in the Court of Oyer and Terminer, which was created by the current Governor Sir William Phips, and led by Chief Judge William Stoughton, along with 6 other judges (EB 1) (Boraas 24). This court was closed within the year, and a new court was opened, the Superior Court of Judicature, which was less unfair, and made no convictions during the time it was open. This court was then also closed after a few months (EB 1). During the trials, every sort of person was accused, from rich to poor.

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885 Words | 4 Pages

Do you want to be hanged because you are practicing witchcraft? The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria happened in the year of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The story is that the people of Salem, Massachusetts were Puritans. The Puritans thought that they were going to be like a “city upon a hill” which meant they thought that they were going to make it look like they were more perfect than everyone else and they were closer to God. They made it like this because they believed that every word in the Bible was the true word of God and was to be followed to the exact letter of every word.

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618 Words | 3 Pages

It only ended when a mass hanging and the accusing of the governor 's own wife had happened. So why were these hangings so popular? Why were so many “witches” hung in 1692? What caused the

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392 Words | 2 Pages

n the 1600’s, the town of Salem experienced a mass hysteria that resulted in the death of many innocent civilians that were accused for witchcraft. The town of Salem defined witchcraft as working with the devil: casting spells, singing, dancing, traveling to the forest, where the devil was presumed to be. Although there were no real witches in Salem, the town cried witch on everyone they wished, and the said person would have to go through a trial in court, where the judges were biased and the likely sentence was death by hanging. Neighbors called out neighbors for the slightest inconvenience, in hopes of getting them jailed or worse. Over two hundred people were accused and over twenty were sentenced to death by hanging.

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745 Words | 3 Pages

The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 may have been instigated by religious, social, geographic and even biological factors. During these trials, 134 people were condemned as witches and 19 were hanged. These statistics also include 5 more deaths that occurred prior to their execution date. It is interesting to look into the causes of this stain on American History, when as shown in document B, eight citizens were hanged in only one day.

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1066 Words | 5 Pages

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,

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757 Words | 4 Pages

The hangings were carried out at monthly intervals. They wanted to have multiple people to put to death, so they wouldn’t have to do it very often. Plus, more people would be able to gather around to watch this. It would take a lot less time, and there was one mass hanging after the trial. The year of 1692 itself, there were 13 women, and 7 men put to death because they were accused of being possessed by the devil (Doc. A).

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836 Words | 4 Pages

People were afraid that there were more witches on the prowl, so they started to accuse everyone of witchcraft. The people did a mass hanging on “July 19[, putting] Sarah Good... Elizabeth Howe... Susannah Martin…{and] Rebecca Nurse” to death. The purpose of these mass hangings is to make it easier to hang people and also to provide relief that quite a number of witches are being hanged.

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510 Words | 3 Pages

The courts in Salem made a lot of rash decisions based in religion and not enough evidence. Many people were hanged in The Crucible. The people were hanged because they were “witches”. The courts in Salem did not have any fool proof evidence of the existence of witches, but they believed in it anyway.

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598 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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475 Words | 2 Pages

Historians have debated the true cause of the Salem Witch Trials. They have considered a few possibilities, the biggest being fear. Rebecca B. Brooks in her article “History of the Salem Witch Trials” from the History of Massachusetts Blog says that, “In 17th century Massachusetts, people often feared that the Devil was constantly trying to find ways to infiltrate and destroy Christians and

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337 Words | 2 Pages

Such anticipations and skepticism unfolded in a bizarre of punishments and executions of individuals accused of witchcraft. A quote to best support this response is, “In all, nineteen people accused of witchcraft were hanged, two dogs accused of witchcraft were killed, seven people died in prison, ten people escaped from prison, and the property of those convicted of witchcraft was confiscated” (“Salem Witch Trials”). This quote illustrates how pathetic and misleading these cruel punishments are. To add, the quote evokes the pitiful misleading of punishments but also how these superstitions and societal tensions provoked the hysterical downfall of the execution of nineteen people, deaths in prison, property confiscation, and animals. When the

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1105 Words | 5 Pages

“But God made my face; you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary.” (pg.115). During this time people of the town were easily persuaded to persecute their fellow neighbors, due to their religion and it’s principles. Thirty years before the infamous Salem Witch Trials there was a witch scare in Hartford,Connecticut, resulting in raised tensions about witches, making the hangings of 20 people more of a safety precaution rather than a righteous and fair trial.

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983 Words | 4 Pages

Salem Witch Trials Mass hysteria, social ignorance, and religious intolerance all describe the chaos that took place in Massachusetts during the year 1692. The Salem Witch Trials were not a positive section of American history but have been used as a learning tool for the United States. According to Plouffe, Jr., the trials were the largest of suspected criminals in the colonial period of American history. More than one hundred and fifty people were arrested on charges of witchcraft, and nineteen of these individuals were convicted and hanged (Plouffe, Jr. n. pag.). Many factors play into the long process of the Salem Witch Trials and have had a lasting impact on American history.

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1008 Words | 5 Pages

Not many people know much about what actually happened in the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe someone would think that it was just about witchcraft and crazy people being hanged, but it is a lot more than that. The Salem Witch Trials only occurred between 1692 and 1693, but a lot of damage had been done. The idea of the Salem Witch Trials came from Europe during the “witchcraft craze” from the 1300s-1600s. In Europe, many of the accused witches were executed by hanging.

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