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Age Of Enlightenment Essay

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Age Of Enlightenment Essay
Coexistence of Enlightenment and The Salem Witchcraft Trials In the American Colonies there was great turmoil from 1692 to 1693 because accusations of witchcraft were breaking out in Massachusetts. People were uneasy wondering when they would be next to be put on trial and it was like there liberty had been put on pause. Prior to these events the idea of an “Age of Enlightenment” had just began to occur promoting freedom to think in new ways. With these two ideas happening at the same time the colonists did not have a forward direction and many were unsure of where they would go next. To better understand the differences one must know what each of these two ideas encompasses. This “Age of Enlightenment” was a new concept of freedom to think …show more content…
During this period of less than a year, twenty innocent people will lose their lives to false accusations by means of hanging or torture. These series of accusations were merely justified by testimonies of town villagers. One could simply accuse you of acting different than usual and you could be found guilty for association with the devil. Women feared for their lives because they at any moment may be thrown into a trial and lose their life. After the trials were ceased only one judge was willing to admit that the trials were wrong.
Above one can see just how different the two ways of thinking are from each other. For the ideas to happened at the same time we can see how that the country is not yet uniform across the table. The country is taking leaps and bounds as they step out in an attempt to make a name for themselves. The colonies are growing up and becoming more independent, but like a teenager they make dumb decisions at times. This doesn’t completely ruin it for the colonists, but it will have consequences.
The idea of the Salem Witchcraft Trials is a terrible event that has occurred in our history. On the other hand, I do think that this was important for the colonists to be able to see. Once they understood that this could not happen they would be able to find their direction again. We all can learn from this conflict of interest expressed here and know where we come from has shaped us into

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