The Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 in Salem Village‚ Massachusetts‚ and are believed to have been created by many different theories. No one actually knows why or how the witchcraft started in the early colony. The witches were girls of all ages who were caught having strange behavior. Many people started believing they were actual witches because of the way people claimed to have been hurt or affected by a witch. Some Puritans would act out to make it seem like a witch was harming them or causing
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The quantity of people charged and arrested in May‚ soared over thirty people. Regardless that the witch hunt started in Salem‚ it swiftly expanded to the neighboring towns‚ and dozens of residents were brought and put on trial in Salem (Brooks). The first person to be brought on trial was Bridget Bishop‚ who had been accused of witchcraft years prior but was vindicated of the offense. Five of the afflicted girls had accused Bridget‚ and in
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sickness and questionable actions due to fungus on rye. Even though there are many theories as to why the girls of the Salem witch trials made accusations‚ the two most believable are that there was fungus growing on the rye and the girls suffered from an outbreak of encephalitis because the girls showed signs of sickness and questionable actions. In February 1692‚ the people of Salem were all caught up in a case of mass hysteria: (Saxon). Eight girls ruled the town by accusing their neighbors of
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The Salem Witch Trials were a drawn out‚ scary time in the history of Salem‚ Massachusetts. These trials split many families and friends apart. Although witch trials were common back then‚ they have seemed to disappear from the world and the public eye. I.A. The Salem Witch trials started when several young girls accused three townspeople of witchcraft. After that day strange unexplainable events would occur (Curry‚ pg. 4). In the doctor’s view the strange behaviors could not be a result of
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Lyle Koehler argues that the Salem Witch Trials began due to witch hysteria caused by the fits of the young women being affected by witchcraft. They were given power to accuse the witches and used their power to attack their oppressing forces‚ such as authority figures. The act of accusing people of being witches was a scapegoat in order gain and retain power in a situation where people felt powerless. They also targeted nontraditional women as they were easier to justify. Many people were accused
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Cultivation of Hysteria in The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthy Hearings Mass Hysteria played a role in both the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy hearings affecting the outcome of those who were accused. The dictionary defines Mass Hysteria as a condition affecting a group of persons‚ characterized by excitement or anxiety‚ irrational behavior or beliefs‚ or inexplicable symptoms of illness. In The Salem Witch Trials Abigail Williams proposed that Elizabeth Proctor is a witch and other girls follow with
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The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 In colonial Massachusetts between February of 1692 and May of 1963 over one hundred and fifty people were arrested and imprisoned for the capital felony of witchcraft. Trials were held in Salem Village‚ Ipswich‚ Andover and Salem Town of Essex County of Massachusetts‚ but accusations of witchcraft occurred in surrounding counties as well. Nineteen of the accused‚ fourteen women and five men‚ were hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem Village. Hysteria had swept through
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The changing historiography of the Salem Witch Persecutions of 1692. How current/contemporary and historical interpretations of this event reflect the changing nature of historiography. The number of different interpretations of the Salem Witch Trials illustrates that historiography is ever changing. The historians‚ Hale‚ Starkey‚ Upham‚ Boyer and Nissenbaum‚ Caporal‚ Norton and Mattosian have all been fascinated by the trials in one way or another because they have all attempted to prove or
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Mass Hysteria during the 1690s and 1950s. As examples of mass hysteria‚ both the Salem Witch Trials and the Cold War caused turmoil during their respective time period. Although very different time periods‚ the 1690s Salem Witch Trials and the 1950s Cold War were both dramatic examples of mass hysteria (Campbell). The Salem Witch Trials were one of the nation’s most dramatic examples of hysteria as close to 20 people were killed because of pure hype and chaos in the region (Campbell). The cold war
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Research Project: The Salem Witch Trials The Salem Witch Trials in Salem‚ Massachusetts rocked the town to its core. Hysteria‚ paranoia‚ and confusion among the citizens of Salem. Accusing people of casting spells and consorting with the devil. How were the politics and citizenship of this period handled and was it handled correctly? Witchcraft was something very new in the colonies. In France‚ Italy‚ Germany‚ and England‚ this has been going on for about 300 years. The bible even says‚ “Thou
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