The Witch Trials By: Natalie Boggs
The Salem Witch Trials were a time between 1692 and 1693. It all started when two young girls who lived in Salem, Massachusetts started having theses fits out of nowhere one minute they would perfectly behaved children then the next they would start having these fits. The girls had claimed somebody had bewitched them and that they were possessed by the Devil. Many historians believed that the strange behaviors could be from the Rye the people in Salem had been eating but what the people of Salem didn't know was that there was a deadly bacteria on the Rye that could have caused the girls fits.
I know that from research that the Salem Witch Trials where a time that many people claimed to be possessed by the Devil and they accused innocent people of bewitching them. So since the people believed the rumors they would put people who were accused through trials to see if they were really witches. If you passed the tests you were considered a witch and you would be put through harsh punishments which basically was your death. If you failed the tests you were not a witch but you wouldn’t live because the tests you were put through either way you would die. For example on of the tests was if you floated while tied up in a river you were a witch so you were killed , if you sank while being tied up you weren’t a witch but you would of died from drowning.
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People believed that the Native Americans would practice worshiping the devil. That is why the Native American women was accused. The women didn't understand why she was accused. When people were accused they always fought to try to convince the judges that they were innocent. But the judges believed that if you said you were a witch you were free and could be safe, but if you tried fighting and saying you are innocent you would be put through tests and
The Salem Witch Trails of 1692 began in Salem Village, Massachusetts, when the minister's daughter and niece started complaining about strange pinching, prickling sensations, knifelike pains, and the feeling of being strangled. Soon when a lot other kids started showing these symptoms, the doctors concluded that witchcraft is responsible for them. It was proven that witchcraft did exist because the scripture mentions it. When they forced the girls to name the witches, they named three people. These were called the witch trials.
When you were discovered to be a witch, you were basically sent to death row automatically.
After numerous wars with the indians on surrounding land and a smallpox break out everyone was on edge. There are many theories why the witch trials occurred and what sparked it “Nothing about this tragedy was inevitable. Only an unfortunate combination of an ongoing frontier war, economic conditions, congregational strife, teenage boredom, and personal jealousies”(Linder), all of these could have contributed to the start of the witch trials, but people may never know what real cause this catastrophic event. During this time to be proven a witch the accused were put on trial and would have to recite the Lord's prayer, be examined for warts or other markings, have a witness testify, special evidence, and a confession. During the test girls who were at the trial would scream and roll on the floor during the test ( Witchcraft in Salem), this would relate to the possible cause for the trials of teenage boredom and personal jealous or trying to get attention in this religious focused community the trials lasted only months but had everlasting
The Salem witch trials can be considered as a series of hearings and prosecution of people accused of being witches or involved with any type of witchcraft. They are based on the belief in the conflict between God and Satan. Like the Red Scare, the idea of witchcraft was also a fear the people had. Everyone had a suspicion of who was a witch? Did witches exist?
Since ancient times, the world was plagued with the beliefs of witches invading the air ways. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts between 1692 to 1693. The salem witch trials are important to know more about because people should know how others used to treat outcasts in the past. In the with trials the people who were murdered were social outcasts or people who don’t fit in the townspeople’s social circle. But others believe that people should believe in the devil and witchcraft as much as they believe in God.
Tens of thousands of Native Americans lived in Massachusetts prior to colonization in 17 century. European traders and fisherman were carelessly introduced diseases to Native tribes and it devastated their people. Much of the Land was vacant and available to settle. Colonization began in the 1620 with two Massachusetts and Plymouth Colony. Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were dark times in American History in Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Salem was known for its dark events and history, the Salem Witch Trials was a great hysteria that happened during the spring of 1692 in Salem Massachusetts . This all happened because a group of young girls were said to be possessed by the devil in Salem Village. After this happened, several other women were accused of witchcraft. The first witch to be convicted was Bridget Bishop who, after many times, defended herself saying she had nothing to do with any of the events. But was hung on June 10th, 1692.
REVIEW OF LITRATURE A.) SUMMARY SOURCE A Although the whole book had information on the Salem witch trials. The introduction, chapter 1 and 2 and the conclusion had information regarding the research needed • Introduction: states what the Salem witch trials where and who they accused.
Additionally, the author of the book describes in great detail the techniques that would take place when an accused witch was brought forth to the attention of the public and(or) judges. To further illustrate, the text states once a witch was captured, she would be stripped of her clothing to ensure there were no evil markings on her skin, then, a form of torture would be implemented by the judge, and once this was done, the witch would be persuaded or asked to confess to their sins; if she did not confess, they would be tortured harshly before being told to confess once more. This procedure would concur while attendants of the torture pray for the witch to confess. After the torture has been put to rest, the witch would be asked to admit one last time with the belief they would not be put to death. If they did not confess, they would effectively be
Fear and disease led to an appalling number of incarcerations and even hangings of unfortunate men, women, and children who were wrongly accused of witchcraft. Suspected witches were often middle-aged women who were usually economically secluded or lacking in family and were also lacking in social
Torture was essentially and exorcism. A witch had to confessed on her own or she couldn 't be execute. Once she confussed they where turned over to secular authorities who had no
This explains why so many people thought that witches were real because they would confess to being one. After the last explanation it may seem like infallible proof, but the hard truth is that the authorities would torture the alleged witches to get the confessions, and sometimes they would go to far and wipe out entire communities. An example of this happening is a witch hunt that happened in Germany that left two villages with only two people between both of them (Grimbly). This means that people were on edge about the witches and would hunt them
The Hysteria Behind the Salem Witch Trials The Salem witch trials, dating back to February 1692, was a series of hearings against a group of young girls and those claimed to be witches. The girls had professed that their bodies had been dominated by the devil and blamed innocent citizens of using the “witchcraft” behind it. Anyone who seemed slightly out of the ordinary were accused by the girls to have dealt with “the devil’s magic.” The court put these accusations to the test by performing various executions and distinguishing whether the supposed witches could escape or not.
The people believed that the word of God was the only way of life and needed to be followed. They believed that the witches were trying to “breakdown God.” Any person who was accused of being a witch was first checked to see if they had the devils mark and if they did they would poke it with a needle and if they showed pain or drew blood then it wasn’t considered the devil’s mark. They were put on trial but no one ever wanted to stand up for the witches because if you did then you would then get interrogated and people then thought you were a witch also. Many people believe that things are good how they are but they don’t realize how much more needs to still be done.
Not many people know much about what actually happened in the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe someone would think that it was just about witchcraft and crazy people being hanged, but it is a lot more than that. The Salem Witch Trials only occurred between 1692 and 1693, but a lot of damage had been done. The idea of the Salem Witch Trials came from Europe during the “witchcraft craze” from the 1300s-1600s. In Europe, many of the accused witches were executed by hanging.