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
Premium Witchcraft Salem witch trials The Crucible
On June 2‚ on a witchcraft case‚ Bridget Bishop was found guilty and hanged‚ the next month five more people were hanged‚ five more in August and another nine more in the following month. Some of the accused women‚ died in prison. By 1963‚ the accusations were not believed anymore‚ May Phips had forgiven and released all those in prison waiting to be executed for witchcraft charges. Samuel Sewall‚ one of the leading members of the court apologized
Premium Salem witch trials Witchcraft Salem
bewitchment of the Devil. Both cases children are manipulated by a greater evil causing mass Hysteria‚ Power of Accusers‚ and Power of Prosecution. Hysteria controlled the trials of McMartin and Salem by fear of the unknown. In the McMartin trial the town had never before been faced with molestation. It was a new fear to the city. Again in Salem‚ the town had never encountered problems with witchcraft‚ talk of this were fables told to children to scare them‚ not something that was expected to attack
Premium Witchcraft Salem witch trials Witch-hunt
List of 5 Possible Causes of the Salem Witch Trials The Salem Witch Trials were a series of witchcraft trials that took place in 1692 in Massachusetts. Nearly 200 people were accused of witchcraft and by the end of the trials‚ 19 were sentenced to death by hanging and executed. The historians agree that the Witch Trials were a result of mass hysteria but there are several theories about its causes. Listed below are 5 possible reasons for one of the most tragic events in American history. Boredom
Premium Witchcraft Salem witch trials Witch-hunt
part of witchcraft. The Puritans’ attitudes‚ along with the stresses of their daily lives‚ may have increased the likelihood of an outbreak of witchcraft hysteria. In “The Crucible”‚ Reverend Parris’s daughter‚ Betty Parris‚ was caught dancing naked in the forest with her servant‚ Tituba‚ and other girls. Betty had passed out in reaction to this. She wouldn’t talk to or respond to anyone. She wouldn’t do anything. People around the town soon began to wonder if they had been doing witchcraft in the
Premium Salem witch trials Witchcraft
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
Premium Salem witch trials Witchcraft Massachusetts
some sin‚ when the cry of witchcraft rung through the town via the lips of Abigail Williams people were more than willing to believe that the devil was alive in Salem. But was it solely due to Abigail that the events that followed and consequently the witch trials took place? Though the primary offender it is not her actions alone that provoked nor exacerbated the situation. There were many others involved that largely contributed to prolonging the witchcraft hysteria. Such people include Reverend
Premium Salem witch trials The Crucible Witchcraft
phenomena is the explosion of witch hunting in the late fifteenth through seventeenth centuries. The inflamed religious population created by the Reformation and the discovery of evidence in Scripture to support the existence of witches fueled a hysteria surrounding witch hunting that couldn’t be stopped. ! During the Reformation‚ Luther and other reformers stripped religion of its rituals and brought passion into it‚ making it a personal journey and relationship rather than a cycle of mass
Premium Protestant Reformation Witchcraft Martin Luther
took a turn for the worst. Groups of people began to suffer violent contortions and uncontrollable outburst of screaming. Later‚ these people would claim to be under the spell of witchcraft and accused several people of bewitchment. These people were later hung for their “crimes” and no one expected that a mass of hysteria would break out. Brother turned on brother; the word “trust” had no more meaning in Salem Village. The Salem Witch
Premium Salem witch trials Witchcraft Salem, Massachusetts
lead to society’s need to find a scapegoat. They also show the shame and regret that take place after the bloodbaths occur. The parallels between these two events‚ which took place almost 300 years apart‚ are remarkable." "However‚ the Salem Witchcraft Trials use of human frailty in court helped courts move forward in eliminating its use. Courts now need factual or circumstantial evidence to convict a person of any crime and the accused is promised a fair trial. Nowadays‚ the accused is given
Premium Salem witch trials Witchcraft The Crucible