Brennyn Mackey 2 May 2011 The Secret War of Salem Exposing the Culprit behind the Mass Hysteria The Salem Witch Trials were a series of infamous events that demand an explanation for their occurrence. The trials that took place in 1692 caused neighbors in the community of Salem Village in the colony of Massachusetts to turn on one another out of paranoia‚ accusing one another of witchcraft. According to Carol Karlsen‚ a longtime author of the subject‚ nineteen people were hanged
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being a witch then you either blamed it on someone else or plead you were innocent. These trials began overwhelming the justice system. The Salem witch trials were a series of cases brought before local magistrates and the county court of trials in 1692. To understand the events of the Salem witch trials‚ it is necessary to understand that the people in Salem thought differently and lived differently than people from the 21st century. A strong belief in the devil‚ factions among Salem Village
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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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accused were innocent. Even the defendants of the accused were punished‚ if the accused were proven guilty. One of the crimes that were taken really seriously was Witchcraft‚ which was punished by death. A lot of innocent women died during those year in Salem. The punishments for crime in colonial times were not fair. The death penalty was one of the main ways a person was punished. The first person executed for murder was John Billington. He had shot and killed a man during a quarrel. After the incident
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In 1692‚ Salem‚ Massachusetts broke out into hysteria all because of an accusation about a witch. When a few teenage girls began accusing the older woman of Salem of witchcraft‚ suspicions started flying around. Soon neighbors were accusing each other‚ calling the Puritan church to get involved. After the church got involved many innocents lost their lives. Most of the teenage girls that accused the women of witchcraft‚ wanted their husbands for land and money. Not that the women did anything to
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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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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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in Salem‚ Massachusetts in 1692? The answer to that question is still as talked about today as it was in 1692. People today are more open to their thinking about witches and witchcraft. What caused the girls to convulse‚ have visions‚ fall into a trance or babble uncontrollably? Was it something they ate? Was it smallpox? Was it a voodoo curse placed on the girl’s by a Barbados slave? The Puritan Religion beliefs might have led to the witch hysteria in 1692 Salem. The witch hunt
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famous one that sparked people’s interest was the one that took place in the village of Salem‚ Massachusetts. It all started with a group of girls blaming one girl in particular as being a “witch” and from that a ripple effect occurred. During this time the girls who were accused of being a witch held a certain stereotype. This stereotype included being very old and very poor. If someone was found guilty if witch crafted at this time‚ they were given a trail. The punishment for being found guilty of
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This statement coincides with the idea that history repeats itself. A perfect example of this is the similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. The Salem Witch Trials were portrayed in the novel‚ The Crucible. Arthur Miller wrote this novel during the McCarthy era. Arthur Miller was put on trial for communism in the same fashion of many during the Salem Witch Trials. Many of the characters in Arthur Miller’s play are similar to people from his time as well as the similarity of both
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