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Witchcraft In Colonial New England Summary

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“Black Magic: Witchcraft, Race, and Resistance in Colonial New England” is an interesting work by Timothy J. McMillan published in September of 1994, it primarily focuses on the manner in which blacks were accused of witchcraft in colonial New England. I find this paper to be rather enjoyable to read as it conveys the information in an unbiased manner, it also refers to an intriguing subject matter focusing on race as it is not commonly used when witchcraft is brought up. The author appears to be trying to explain why blacks were more commonly accused of witchcraft and the reason is not as obvious as one would think. The article is about how blacks were more likely to be accused of witchcraft, however the reasons had less to do with race
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A comparison that I can make with this reading is from Richard Godbeer, The Devil’s Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England, which illustrates magical beliefs and practices that the colonists brought with them from England. Puritan preachers condemned magic as ungodly and diabolical. Magic and occultism was rejected by the preachers of New England and so they were shocked to learn that colonists used magic themselves. New Englanders used magic to manipulate time and space, clairvoyance, and travel

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The first set of witchcraft persecutions occurred during Elizabeth 1st reign, this was Around 1563. Commonly people associated witches with a woman and the beliefs were the following of that they have made a pact with the evil spirit Satan. The rush of the witch persecutions mainly happened after 1563 and by the time period of 1750 roughly 200,000 witches were tortured, burnt, or hung across the whole of Western Europe. Therefore, in this essay, I will be mainly focusing and arguing which of the hysteria surrounding witchcraft and witchcraft trials had a greater impact in Britain or the American colonies in the time period of the 17th century. And I will be arguing it following different factors which could contribute to this such as the social factors geographical factors, religious factors and also control law and order.

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After reading “Devil in the Shape of a Woman: The Economic Basis of Witchcraft “by Carol Karlsen I was intrigued by Karlsen’s interpretation, and upset about the ways women were treated. During these witch hunts women and men alike were accused of the crime, but the majority were women. I found it interesting that she related the commonly known Puritan beliefs, which lead to accusations of witchcraft, with gender roles. She ultimately says that Puritans feared these accused women because they symbolized female independence. I found it shocking that women, often the wealthier, had a greater chance of being let go of their accusations if they had a husband to spoke on their behalf.

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Salem, 1692: those dateline may be Likewise unmistakable Similarly as any to american history. Fourteen ladies What's more five men, indicted from claiming witchcraft, were hanged, Furthermore you quit offering on that one more, a Mamoncillo who rejected will plead, might have been pounded on death, An day’s ride starting with Boston, On An Lesseps province of a minor British province — the fringe of the periphery, starting with those point of view of London, let from claiming Paris or canton. “The populace from claiming new England in 1692 might fit under Yankee stadium today,” Stacy Schiff composes. Furthermore yet those plague of witches that blockaded Salem Also its environs that quite a while need spawned more than 500 books, almost 1,000

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851 Words | 4 Pages

“The fact that overall about 20 per cent of the accused were male is less an indication that men were associated with witchcraft than it appears. Most of these men were related to women already convicted of sorcery […] Of the few that were not related, most had criminal records for other felonies, such as theft, highway robbery, murder […] For them, witchcraft was not the original charge, but was added on to make the initial accusation more heinous. Witchcraft was thus perceived primarily as a female offence.”

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292 Words | 2 Pages

During the Salem Witch Trials a lot of people were accused of using witchcraft. As a result many people died for other people’s lies, rumors, and selfishness. There is one person that really caused and is most to blame for all the chaos, her name is Abigail. Abigail is to blame for all that has happened in the Witch Trials, the reason for that is because of all the accusing and lying she has done. In addition, it all leads up to her for instance, she used a doll to accuse people of witchcraft.

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427 Words | 2 Pages

Witchcraft was something of the past that was not accepted, people looked down on things as these, superstition and witchcraft was against the law. Korbmacher (basketmaker) who presided from German in Spring Garden was pointed out by the public as being a witch. In 1787 people of that era would blame her for illnesses that come onto children and cattle. This is something that worried may cause the Constitutional Convention that was to take place at that same time would somehow be ruined because of peoples actions toward witches, it would sidetrack their intention.

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Witchcraft accusations not only deal with religion but also call out those who are a danger to society. This goes hand-in-hand with the accusations made during the Red Scare where innocent people got accused of being a threat to society as communists, which is spoken very well by John Proctor. “I cannot speak but I am doubted, every moment judged for lies, as though I come into a court when I come into this house!” (2.605). This statement shows that those who spoke out against the normal beliefs and attitudes that members of society shared faced unnecessary repercussions.

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605 Words | 3 Pages

Firstly, as stated by Julian Goodare in his piece entitled “Women and the witch-hunt in Scotland”, the belief that was forced upon the people stemmed from King James’ belief that women were the frailer sex and as such, were more likely to be seduced by the devil. This has been a reiterated theme for hundreds of years: for example in the biblical story of Adam and Eve, Eve is enticed to eat the apple by the Serpent and tempts Adam as well. Therefore, reiterating the notion that women are the cause of men’s troubles. King James further supports this in Daemonologie when discussing why women are more frequently accused of witchcraft he states “… for as that sexe is frailer then men is, so it is easier to be entrapped in those gross snares of

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It was the year of 1629 when Salem was settled in what was then the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Just like most colonial settlers, the group that arrived in Salem was searching for religious freedom from the Church of England. In 1641 England declares that witchcraft is a capital crime; capital crimes include treason and it is punishable by death. The settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were a very religious group known as the Puritans; the Puritans strongly believed in The Bible, which includes passages such as Leviticus 20:27 “A man or woman that hath such a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death.” Ministers started arriving to Salem in 1629 and it was evident that the Puritans wanted to disengage from the Church of England.

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1018 Words | 5 Pages

At the top of Macomb’s social hierarchy it begins with the wealthy whites. Any person identified as white has an advantage over an African American, no matter the circumstances. Even at the top of the pyramid there a social divide. The top of the pyramid is divided between rich males, them being on top, and females being at the bottom. This is because at this point in time males were considered superior to their female counterpart.

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These views, in and of themselves, speak to the level of intolerance permeating America and to the level of fear associated with witchcraft. The Religious intolerance and fear experienced in English North America was not a sole construct of Puritanism in New England. These ideas permeated Southwards throughout the length of the thirteen English colonies. Oftentimes, the fear of witchcraft led to colonial governments establishing capital laws against any person entering into communion with Satan.

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1059 Words | 5 Pages

"The story of witchcraft is primarily the story of women . . . ." Karlsen argues for the relevance and importance of women’s roles in the panic of witchcraft fear in 17th Century American society. She subtly contests that specific interests were at work in the shaping of witchcraft accusations; book elaborates that a specific type of woman risked accusation based on her demographic representation in society. Karlsen further elaborates on her theme with,

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162 Words | 1 Pages

Progress was being made as DACA allowed young mexicans the chance to not only be an American Citizens, but also experience the increase of freedom and rights. But with the program being terminated and more restrictions being instilled by the government, immigrants face more risks and barriers. In all, this does not show immigrants getting justice, it shows the opposite. Immigration has been a controversial topic for many years---for centuries. Today, life for immigrants has gotten better in some aspects, but they still face many barriers that have not changed at all.

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In the book, The Witches: Salem 1692, the author Stacy Schiff attempts to condense a large volume of research into a cohesive narrative that tries to avoid to much speculation. There is some contention that the book does speculate into the motives of primary accusers that some reviewers have intimated are bordering on fiction. However, the author defends her arguments logically, and her inferences do seem to bridge the gaps effectively. One of the items that causes some confusion, to both the historically curious, and to the researcher is that the author has created a list of dramatis personae in which the historical figures are labeled as a cast of characters which might make the book seem fictional.

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