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What Are The Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials In 1692

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In January 1692 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts a mass hysteria broke out. Eight girls began showing signs of a strange and unknown illness, with symptoms of delirium, impaired speech, convulsions, and screaming. The villagers wanted an explanation, so the doctor diagnosed the girls with bewitchment. Soon, accusations were being thrown out left and right. This lead to over 150 citizens accused of witchcraft, then sent to jail. A total of 20 people were hanged due to these allegations, along with 5 others who died in custody. Ever since, people have wondered what could have caused the terrible disaster of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, thankfully a likely cause has been found. The probable reason for the madness epidemic in Salem is ergot
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Old women were accused of witchcraft and casting spell on girls. Number of cases was reported, 19 accused and more than 150 were tried in a court. Trepidation of punishment caused them to blame innocent person. Mass hysteria spread causing a chain reaction of accusing. Epidemiology of Outbreak: Started in 1692 at Salem Village, Massachusetts.

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First, the Salem Witch Trials happened in 1692. In Salem Village, the minister’s daughter, Betty Parris, and his niece, Abigail Williams, severely got sick. The girls felt pinching sensations, knife like pains, and the feeling of being choked. Everybody thought it was witchcraft, the girls accused three women, the first was Tituba. Tituba told the girls stories, and showed them magic tricks.

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The Salem Witch Trials started because two young girls fell into fits and convulsions claiming that they had been bewitched. Among the townspeople, these girls’ claims caused hysteria: “an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping” (dictionary.com). The whole town was scared of becoming “bewitched” or being accused of being a witch themselves by

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The Salem Witch Trials In March 1692, Rebecca Nurse, an elderly woman and respected member of Salem Village, was arrested on suspicion of witchcraft. She was accused based solely on the testimony of four young girls who claimed that the apparition of Rebecca Nurse had severely harmed them. Many witnesses testified in favor of her, but ultimately the "afflicted girls" prevailed. Nurse was executed on July 19, 1692.

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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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As their puzzled father ,Samuel Parris, observed the two mysterious little girls creep under chairs and spin around on the ground he pondered where this weird behavior was coming from. In Salem there were two little girls who were envious of the rich, so they made it clear that they could make people tremble in fear if they did not like you or wanted what you had. Everyone in Salem was terrified because there were so many people being accused of witchcraft. 22 people were hanged because the two little girls were pretending to be afflicted. The Salem witch trial Hysteria of 1692 was caused by two poor, young girls who claimed to be afflicted because of jealousy.

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Mass Hysteria: The Salem Witch Trials In 1692 a series of trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts that stripped many innocents of their identity and left many more slaughtered. It all began in January when two young girls began suffering from a series of seizures and other illnesses that seemed to have no cure. Feeling pressured to explain, they named off three innocent women for the use of witchcraft against them. Thus began the Salem Witch Trials.

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During the Salem Witch Trials, which were a series of witchcraft trials that took place in 1692 in Massachusetts, nearly 19 people were executed by hanging and 200 people were accused of witchcraft with various consequences. There are several theories surrounding the causes of the Witch Trials, but most historians agree that they were a result of mass hysteria within the population of Salem and other surrounding towns. The circumstances that contributed to the mass hysteria surrounding the Massachusetts Salem Witch Trials of 1692 include ergot poisoning, family rivalries, and a strong belief in the occult. Each of these theories are very real explanations which could have contributed to the events in Salem, although none of these events have

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The Salem witch trials of 1692 represent a dark period in early American history, marked by fear,paranoia, and a breakdown of community trust. This mass hysteria in Massachusetts led to accusations, trials, and execution of many people on the grounds of witchcraft, a crime associated with connecting with the devil. The paranoia that gripped Salemn can be traced back to several factors. The Puritan belief system, which took over this Puritan Colony, was very strict and suspicious of any kind of deviations out of the normal. They murdered many people, accusing them of witchcraft or decisions they didn't agree with.

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The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were caused by a combination economic strain, resentment towards those of Salem Town, the Puritans strong belief in witches and the devil, and the confirmation of those accused for witchcraft. Economic strain was prevalent in the later half of the seventeenth century, with the average family farm size drastically decreasing. To add to this economic stress, the people of Salem Village were forced to pay taxes that went directly to Salem Town. This led the people of Salem Village to somewhat desire revenge on those of Salem Town. While this was occuring, people were begining to think that Satan was acting there Massachusetts colony.

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Nineteen people were hung due to false judgement by human nature and society. Taking place in a small village called Salem, inside of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, during a depressing seventeenth century, was a movement that would challenge the nation’s religious and psychological beliefs. Innocent people were being accused of witchcraft, when rather they were just ill or not taken care of properly by family and friends. Thought to be caused by stress, fear, and panic, the Salem Witch Trials was an event that changed the nation’s view on mental illness because of false assumptions and mischievous behavior. The Salem Witch Trials was a series of false accusations of witchcraft taking place in Salem, which during the seventeenth century, was apart of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

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“When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons. We cease to grow” (Anais Nin). Religion is a powerful factor that influences the behavior of many individuals. This is especially seen within the Puritan town of Salem, MA, in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. The play takes place during the lunatic time of the Salem witch trials in 1692.

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The Salem Witch Trials The belief of witchcraft can be traced back centuries to as early as the 1300’s. The Salem Witch Trials occurred during 1690’s in which many members of Puritan communities were accused and convicted of witchcraft. These “witch trials” were most famously noted in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Many believe this town to be the starting point for the mass hysteria which spread to many other areas of New England.

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During 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, many girls were accusing older women of witchcraft. Many of the people were puritans and townspeople. Puritans were religious people and thought the witches were from the devil. They would think that the devil took over a regular person’s body and make them do things they didn’t mean to do. The reason why everyone started to panic was because many young girls were telling the jury that these people were doing bad things to them.

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Lastly, I am going to talk about the final and the most important and impacting reason of the witch trials, and that was people and their beliefs. Everybody had their own way of living and doing things just as we do now. If they saw something that was against their belief they automatically assumed there was evil or something that was not right. “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” That was their religion so if they thought they were a witch they were put death instantly.

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