How would it feel to be accused of and punished for something you didn’t do? In Massachusetts in the 17th century, many people were accused of witchcraft and suffered punishments for crimes they didn’t commit. These people were often unfairly tested and then killed if they performed the test the way a “witch” would. This essay will describe how the Salem Witch Trials had a strong impact on society’s view of witches, showing what can happen when people make opinionated decisions and spread rumors. Salem was a village that was secluded from surrounding towns, and its residents were very religious. Salem Town and Village combined had a population of around 2,000, and Salem village housed only about 500-600 of those residents. (Latner) …show more content…
Smallpox was a very contagious and deadly disease that has no known cure. Other factors include: family rivalries, attack from Native Americans, rivalry between Salem Village and Salem Town, and the aftermath of the French/British war. (Brooks; History.com Staff) One of the first major events of the trials is when multiple girls suffered from “fits” that included hiding under furniture and contorting in pain. The doctor suggested that the girls were bewitched. Some modern theories of what the girls were dealing with are epilepsy, boredom, child abuse, mental illness, and/or disease from a fungus that was on their bread. These girls accused three women who were social outcasts. (Brooks) The women were Sarah Good (a beggar), Tituba (a slave) and Sarah Osborne (an elderly woman). (History.com Staff) The Salem Witch Trials were an example of scapegoating. People, believed to be “witches”, were being blamed due to the towns immense fear of the Devil and the “trigger” of Tituba’s confession. However, this was not the first time someone was accused of being a witch. Margaret Jones was accused in 1648, but nobody had confessed to being a witch before, which made Tituba’s confession all the more important to the town. …show more content…
As this becomes a greater issue, local jails hold more than 200 accused witches. These witches were chained in a dungeon underneath of the jail. (Brooks) There were a few opposers of the trials early on, one of them being a local farmer. John Proctor scoffed at the idea of witchcraft. Because of this, Proctor and his whole family were accused of witchcraft. This included Proctor, his wife, his children, and his sister-in-law. In August, Proctor was hanged, but his wife managed to escape because she was pregnant.
She made Betty do it!” (1260, Miller) Tituba then had to falsely confess to being a witch in order to save her life. Additionally, in the same story The Crucible, a girl by the name of Mary Warren was also accused by Abigail for being a witch. Thus, being under so much pressure and stress Mary shifted her
Salem Witch Trials During the spring of 1692 a group of girls in Salem Village claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several women to be performing witchcraft.(History) Also a young 9 year old Elizabeth and a 11 year old Abigail in January in 1692 started having fits. They took this issue to a local doctor who diagnosed them with bewitchment. (History)
There is a certain polarity that comes with the territory in witchcraft. In most witch trials, there was a sense of “he said, she said”, one side claiming one thing and the other disagreeing. This seemed to flow into the realm of historical thought on the matter. There is a dividing line of external and internal interpretations on the subject of the witch trials, especially including the trials in Salem. However, I argue that the line between the external and internal interpretations of the witch trials is blurred, the sides often bleeding into each
In 1689, a man by the name of Samuel Parris opened up a new church in Salem Village, Massachusetts. Parris had attended Harvard University a few years prior before leaving to pursue a career in ministry. At the time, the village of Salem was divided into two different parts: Salem Town and Salem Village. The two parts of the village were set apart according to their economy, class, and character.
According to the video people believed that the symptoms were caused by the witches power ( Document video). Although ergot poisoning may have started the trials, there were other reasons why it continued for example girls started getting attention so, people
Accused, trial, guilty, executed, devil, jury - the news spreading around Salem, Massachusetts was deathly. Starting with women, and then expanding to men, there were accusations of witchcraft encompassing the whole town. The arraigned did not stand a chance against the court. The accused witches went through one of the most arduous times of all people in Salem; however, after a well-abounding amount of trials, the cases were closed and the issue was solved. “It was the darkest and most desponding period in the civil history of New England.”
Scapegoating began taking place everywhere and soon chaos broke out. People were accusing other simply because they, themselves, had been accused and they wanted to blame to be passed on to someone else. Accusations were being made at enemies and those that someone had a grudge on - rarely were accusations made in an honest manner. “Any unlikeable characterist could get someone accused of witchcraft” (“Five Myths about the Salem Witch Trials”). A great level of paranoia grew around the town of Salem because one never knew when he/she would be accused of the witchcraft.
The Salem Witch trials were where people thought there were witches in their town so they had people come and investigate to see if it was true and to get to the bottom of it. I think some causes of the Salem Witch Trials were the girls dancing in the woods, Abigail having an affair with John Proctor, and Abigail. One of the causes of the Salem Witch Trials were the girls dancing in the woods. The girls were dancing in the woods with Tituba and they were naked.
These women were easily accused because of their social status in the town. If, for some reason, they were to be accused then no one would defend them; it would be seen as a given that they would be witches. During the trial, Tituba, the slave that was accused, admitted of being a witch and that there are more witches that are still in town that have not been discovered. After admitting to witchcraft and confessing that there are more witches, the town was scared and the girls were able to accuse over 100 men and women of witchcraft. The Salem Witch trials are one of the most unforgettable events of American history.
Some of the most unique and historical events regarding witches, took place right here in Massachusetts. The witch trials of the late 1600’s were full of controversy and uncertainty. The Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts was home to most of these trials, and became the center of much unwanted attention. The trials which took place during 1692 resulted in the hanging of fourteen women and five men that were accused of being witches. Also, one man was pressed to death by heavy weights for refusing to enter a plea.
The Salem Witch Trials typically conjure up a variety of different images in one’s mind, none of which are pleasant. One may think of hanging a witch, magic spells, or evil spirits. However, the origin of these witch trials did not have to do with witchcraft at all, but rather they were caused by deeply seeded resentment amidst the people of Salem. A popular and insightful work of literature that portrays the cause of the Salem Witch trials is The Crucible. The author of this play, Arthur Miller, digs deep into the causes of these infamous court proceedings within a theocratic society.
Multiple accused individuals died while they were in prison, due to the terrible conditions. During the time of imprisonment the accused people were said to have been tortured and even denied water to try and get them to confess to being witches. One common story that is spoken with the Salem Witch Trials really shows how far they went with the situation. That story involves a man named Giles Corey, who was accused of being a witch, but unlike the others he refused to plead in any way. In an effort to get him to talk, Corey was forced to remove his clothes and lay flat on his back where they began to place large rocks on top of his body.
The Salem Witch Trials; Madness or Logic In Stacey Schiff’s, List of 5 Possible Causes of the Salem Witch Trials and Shah Faiza’s, THE WITCHES OF SALEM; Diabolical doings in a Puritan village, discuss in their articles what has been debated by so many historians for years, the causes of the Salem Witch trials. Schiff and the Faiza, purpose is to argue the possible religious, scientific, communal, and sociological reasons on why the trials occurred. All while making word by word in the writer’s testimony as if they were there through emotion and just stating simply the facts and theories. They adopt the hectic tone in order to convey to the readers the significance, tragedy, logic, loss, and possible madness behind these life changing events,
During the hysteria of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, many people were accused of practicing witchcraft. Therefore, their reputation, was ruined. Other people committed many sins in order to keep their reputation clean in town. For instance, some characters had to lie, fight, and accuse other people of witchcraft which could get the individual out of trouble and keep their hands clean. when a person got accused of being a witch, the person’s reputation would get ruined and the person would go to jail or be hanged.
In Witches: The Absolutely True Tale Of Disaster In Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer people in the town of Salem were Condemned for being witches. By the end of it all more than 200 people were accused and 20 were executed. Horridly they accused people from all ages, everyone from teenager to ancient was accused. But why? The Salem Witch Trials were caused by hysteria, popularity, and revenge.