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Salem witch trials encyclopedia britannica
Summary of the salem witch trials
Summary of the salem witch trials
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In 1692, A town in Massachusetts by the name of Salem Village became known for one most documented cases of mass hysteria in history. This saga started with three girls: Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Parris, and Ann Putnam a neighborhood friend. Abigail Williams, the niece of the town’s minister, began to display weird and questionable behavior. The town’s physician,William Greggs, was called to determine the cause of this sporadic behavior. The town’s physician determined that the three girls were under “the Devil’s influence” and they had been bewitched.
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.
What Caused the Salem Witch Trials Hysteria of 1692? In Exodus 22:18, it proclaims, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!” In 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, the Puritans believed every word that the Bible said, causing the death of twenty people because they were accused of witchcraft. What caused the panic and alarm that lead to the death of twenty people in Salem?
These include crawling sensations in the skin, tingling in the fingers, vertigo, hallucinations, mania, melancholia, psychosis, and delirium.” All these behaviors and symptoms were alluded to Betty, Abigail, and other citizens who thought their symptoms were due to witchcraft. In addition, Salem court records of the alleged witch deaths indicates that all the hangings took place in the Summer months,the same time as the “infected” rye was harvested. The fungus could affect one population of crops and could show up one year and not the next, indicating why the Puritans turned to witchcraft instead of a disease. Ergotism or Ergot poisoning symptoms the children of Salem conceived lead to the accusing and hanging of alleged witches because
Ergot is parasitic fungus that grows on grains, especially rye, resulting the possibly of symptoms such as the sensation of the victim's skin crawling, hallucinations, psychosis, as well as delirium. Comparatively enough, the same signs were found within the witch trials of Salem (Document N). The period of rye crop harvest coincided with the time span in which the Salem trials took place. Given the statistics within the table on Document E, the majority of the accused were female which corresponds with what was mentioned in Document N explaining women and children are more likely to catch the poison. This evidence helps explain the hysteria and the hangings because the effects Ergotism held of those who contracted it.
The Real Cause of the Salem Witch Trials: Ergotism The mysterious and questionable yet tragic events of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 are left open for debate as to why they occurred. The strange behavior of the accusers, who were afflicted girls, was that of being controlled by something other than themselves. At the time, it was believed that witchcraft was the cause of the affliction these young girls experienced. However, with current evidence, it is clear that ergot was the reason behind the hysteria and chaos during the Salem Witch Trials. The consumption of ergot leads to a type of incessant poisoning known as ergotism.
The Salem witch trials were a very dark time in the history of the United States. The tragic deaths of the 20 people who died will forever be carved into United States history. There are three main theories about what caused the mass hysteria in Salem. Ergot poisoning, strict rules towards women, and strict religion.
Mental Illness in Salem Witch Trials Introduction Witchcraft is the practice of magic and the use of spells and the invocation of spirits. According to Salem Witch Trials, 2015, the Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem, Massachusetts claimed to have been bewitched by several adults in the town. More than 150 people were accused and hung, including men, women, and children (Salem Witch Trials, 2015). There were three girls in particular that sparked the trials: Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, and Ann Putnam. Also stated in Salem Witch Trials, their behaviors changed drastically; they began to hallucinate, shout in church, have fits, not eat, not wake up, attempt to fly, and feel as if they
One cause of the Salem witch trials was boredom. Community placement, beliefs, and strict religious laws caused isolation from other societies. The Puritans were very strict when it came to religion. “The churches usually do within themselves to manage their own discipline, under the control of their elders.” (Cotton Mather Wonders of the Invisible World; pg13)
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.
The 1692 events in Salem were not caused by a single person. Rather, the horrific miscarriage of injustice that was unfair persecutions under the guise of witchcraft could be blamed on natural phenomena. When young girls of the Massachusetts town developed strange symptoms, such as vivid hallucinations and strange bodily sensations, the local town doctor could not explain why they had suddenly taken ill. Confused, he diagnosed them with the one thing that made sense to the suspicious religious town: Witchcraft. Now, modern science concludes that a simple fungus was responsible for the girl’s symptoms.
Crucible Essay What were some of the causes of the Salem Witch Trials? What caused the Salem Witch Trials? How did it all start?
Overall, many doctors and humans have clarified how dangerous hysteria can be: small things can escalate quickly if the situation is right. The Salem witch trials were a dark chapter in American history that occurred in the late 1600s. The incident happened in a small village in Massachusetts and lasted for over a year, from May 1692 until October 1693 (Wallenfeldt). During this time, nineteen were hanged, five died in jail, and one was pressed to death (Hill). Many more people were accused of practicing
Curran McCartney HIS 301 Professor Malcom 31 March 2018 The Salem Witch Trials and its Aftermath The Salem Witch Trials were a series of trials and accusations against many people in the town of Salem Massachusetts that accused them of widespread witchcraft. This event in history took place for only one year, from 1692 to 1693.
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.
