In the 1600’s rumors of witchcraft spread throughout England and even more so in New England. Though punishing someone by death for practicing witchcraft was not unheard of, it was all but common; that is, until the year 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. From the tenth of June to the twenty-second of September, twenty men and women were killed, all by hanging except one, because they were accused and convicted of practicing witchcraft; the convictions escalated in number and frequency. The question at hand is whether or not these convictions came unwarranted and if not, why? What caused such hysteria of witchcraft in this small city?…
The Salem Witch Trials are known as a series of people being accused and prosecuted of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts beginning in February 1692 until May 1693. The trials began after a group of girls claimed that they were possessed by the devil. Several local women were accused of witchcraft and this began the wave of hysteria that would forever haunt Salem and leave a painful legacy for a long time to come. Nearly every major school of historians has attempted to explain the answer to the mystery of the trials, trying to understand why they occurred. From Marxists who blame class conflict, to Freudians who believe in mass hysteria, the more ecologically based historians who put the blame on hallucinogenic ergot fungus, and now more…
“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Exodus 22:18), this was a passage that the Puritans lived by. The Salem Witch Trials took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692 and claimed the lives of many innocent people. It led to the hangings of almost twenty, leaving more than one hundred in prison. A group of young girls in Salem Village accused several local women of witchcraft while being claimed of being possessed by the devil. This is causing a wave of hysteria to spread throughout colonial Massachusetts.…
Witch trials were mainly caused by young girls hallucinating that some people were witches and that they were being attacked by their specter. This hallucination was caused by ergotism which is a fungus that grows on…
A legitimate cause for the accusations may result from a mental disorder. In the article The Witchcraft Trials in Salem: A Commentary, it is acknowledged that, “The cause of her symptoms may have been some combination of stress, asthma, guilt, boredom, child abuse, epilepsy, and delusional psychosis” (Linder). Many of the possible symptoms may have caused the outbreak, yet delusional psychosis is more sensible. The form of a mental disorder causing the symptoms is a probable cause. The people of Salem were completely oblivious to the additional causes of the accusations. Salem could have avoided several lives may have been saved if some form of common knowledge was used.…
In 1692, an event called the Salem Witch Trials occurred, because of this, the people from a village called Salem, Massachusetts were fearful because they could be accused a witch. This all started when a group of young girls began to act very strange. The behaviors of the girls’ ranged from, screaming, copying body movements, pain, falling on the floor, twitching, and many other symptoms.…
The idea of witchcraft has been a controversial topic since the begging of time however, witchcraft became better known in 1692, with the begging of the Salem witch trials. Many stories have been written about the Salem witch trials. Some are found in journals, other stories are exaggerated from those journals. The comparison of historical facts and the play the Crucible are the perfect example of an exaggerated actual event.…
The salem witch trials took place in 1692, back then people believed almost everything they were told. When a well known reverend discovered his daughter, niece, slave, and a couple of girls from town dancing and singing in the woods, his first instinct was to rush over and confront the girls. When he got there the girls faked fainting to try and avoid getting in trouble, by doing so they made the reverend thing witchcraft was among them. He eminently falsely accused his salve for the girls odd behavior, he also summoned reverend Hale who was an “expert” in the field of witchcraft. By doing this reverend parris sealed many of the villagers fait with know, but only time would tell.…
The Salem Witch Trials took place in the year 1692 and lasted more than a year. The popular witch hunt took place in colonial Massachusetts. Demos (2009), explains that during the late 1600’s witch trials were actually not as popular as most people thought in regards to historical significance (p.1311). He also explains that even though the witch hunt was not considered a big event, the trials still involved and affected many different people in both age, sex, and social status (Demos, 1970, p. 1315). Most people in our society now have common misconceptions about the people who stood trial and the people who were blamed during these witch trials. The common misconceptions were that they were female, young and in good families, and women with…
Society has been affected by religion ever since mankind existed. People’s values and morals could be altered from the belief of any religion because religion sets rules for one who chooses to believes it. If a rule were to be broken, a sin is presented upon the person. Society back in Salem Massachusetts of 1692 believes there are witches among the town. Anyone who doesn't believe there are any is automatically assumed to be working with the devil or is a witch. Religion may or may not be a big factor in the results of the Salem Witch Trials. Religion has not only been part of the Salem’s government system, but it has also been affecting the decisions of society.…
The people of Salem were being killed in a whole different manner. Why was this happening, and what was the cause?In Salem, 1692, people were being accused for being witches and for practicing witchcraft. In Salem, at this time people were being hanged for something that didn’t exist. Back then, they didn’t know about fairy tales so when ever they did something wrong they would blame the devil that had entered their body. the Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 were caused by jealousy,paranormia, and, the teenagers.…
Christianity: it is a religion that is meant to unify people under God’s rule. It is meant to be a religion of peace and sanctity. The 1692 Puritan colony in Salem, Massachusetts was anything but peaceful. The Salem Witch Trials had ensued, and led to the killings of nearly twenty people. All this chaos was started due to an unofficial government, disease and famine, and patriarchal gender roles.…
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 is one of the most well-known historical events. In 1692, 20 people were hanged for being a so-called “witch.” Most accusations were made by six girls, which included Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, and Ann Putnam Jr.. Witches were people whose bodies had supposedly been taken over by The Devil. But what really caused the Salem Witch Trials hysteria? The three reasons that caused the mass hysteria were how certain people, ages, genders, and marital statuses were targeted, the fact that the girls were so good at acting, they were able to fool the entire village, and that neighbor conflicts created tension and jealousy.…
The belief in witchcraft, or supernatural actions and the devil’s ability to give certain humans the power to harm others, in return for their loyalty, had been a part of traditional village culture in Europe since the 14th century. (history.com) The Salem witch trials took place between 1692 and 1693 in colonial Massachusetts. Two hundred people were accused of witchcraft and twenty people were executed. (smithsonianmag.com)…
The harsh climate and rough, rocky terrain made farming difficult, and drought or flood ruin a year’s harvest. An epidemic of smallpox could kill a family, people at the time didn’t understand the science behind the disease, so they naturally looked up to supernatural causes to explain the problems. Having an angry witch killing your children made sense. When a neighbor would suffer misfortune, such as a sick child or failed crop, Puritans saw it as God’s will and did not help. In a world where people saw the Devil lurking behind every misfortune, it is little wonder they believed evil spirits were at work. But there may have been stronger factors behind the witch hunts—the Puritan lifestyle, a strong belief in the Devil and witchcraft, the divisions within Salem Village, and the expectations of…