Salem Witch Trials Dbq Essay

Cotton Mather accounts the witch trial of Martha Carrier through reporting the accusations and crimes prosecuted against her. This trial was unjust because prosecution occurred to explain unnatural events by using unfounded, spectral evidence. All unnatural events affected the witnesses negatively in matters of health or occupation. This led the people of Salem to create a scapegoat for their misfortune and other ‘witches’ to persecute those near to them in the fear of death.

“False Confessions: Causes, Consequences, and Implications for Reform”. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 17, No. 4 (2008) 249–53. Accessed Sept. 22, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20183294.

In the May of 1692, Increase Mather returned to New England with Sir William Phipps. By the time of their arrival, the witch trials were already taking place, having started a few months prior in February. As the witch hunt in Salem escalated, the prison cells started to fill up with individuals accused of witchcraft. The confusing political situation following the ascension on William and Mary and the new charter allowed for a court Oyer and Terminer to be put in place on the 27th of May 1692. The lieutenant governor, William Stoughton, became the chief magistrate for this newly appointed court.

Salem Witch Trials In the summer of 1692, 104 people were accused and put into trial for witchcraft. These trials were called The Salem Witch Trials, there has been a huge debate about why it happened for multiple years and no one has yet had a guaranteed reason why. So what actually caused the Salem Witch Trials? I believe the Salem Witch Trials was caused by a secret rivalry between two sides.

Salem Witch Trials Do you know about the history of Salem, Massachusetts? Have you ever heard about the 20 women that were executed there in 1692? Well if you haven’t, you are about to learn all about what happened. It all started in February during 1692, when a few little girls from a place called Salem Village in Massachusetts supposedly became possessed by the Devil. These girls were caught doing conjuring and doing other things associated with witchcraft.

Watters 1 One of the most incomprehensible events as well as one of the darkest times in history occurred in the colony of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The Salem Witch Trials occurred in seventeenth century New England, where people lived in a constant fear of the Devil which led to paranoia and illogical thinking. This fear led to many accusations and trials of innocent people and in the end, twenty people were killed, nineteen hung and one pressed to death. With the technology and knowledge we now have in the twenty-first century, it has become apparent that the behavior exhibited during the Salem Witch Trials (and other Witch Hunts around the world around this time) was not due to witches, as they do not exist. Although we can now conclude that this commotion was not caused by witches and magic, the question that still looms is what did cause this behavior in 1692?

What Caused the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 In Salem, Massachusetts there were Witch Trials held during the summer months of 1692. Throughout the seventeenth century in New England, witchcraft was said to be a crime punishable by death. Puritans came to New England in the early 1600’s to practice their Christianity in the purest form possible. They believed every word in the bible and that the words of God were to be followed down to the last sentence there was. Havoc started occurring around the town and 19 women along with men were hanged for witchcraft.

For example, hallucinogens (like LSD) could have gotten mixed up in the grain supply. However, with other theories like the hallucinogen theory, the other causes like jealousy, lies, and a town divided have had more evidence that builds up with their case. Even though other theories still have evidence with their side, the ideas of jealousy, lies, and a town divided has evidence rooted from sources recorded with people in 1692, at the time of the Salem witch trial

Nearly anyone from the New England has heard of the famous Salem Witch Trials. A year of persecution, leading to the accusation of nearly 200 citizens of all ages. No one was safe; men, women, children, even pets stood trial and 20 were hung for the supposed crime of witchcraft (Blumberg). 1692 was a year of witch hunting. Most today blame the trials on hysteria, or perhaps a bad case of paranoia.

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.

Witchcraft. The Epidemic In the summer 1692 the town of Salem, Massachusetts spiraled into a witchcraft epidemic, 19 people were hanged and 1 person was pressed to death. People started to get marks and rashes on their body and when a doctor couldn 't even explain it they started accusing people of witchcraft. Bridget Bishop was the first victim of hanging during the epidemic. Then after that it went downhill.

What caused the people of Salem to go into a hysteria and accuse each other of witchcraft in 1692? It could have been a number of factors could have caused the Salem Witch Trials Hysteria of 1692. A hysteria is when a group of people experience something with a heightened emotional state, often leading to fogged decision-making skills or inability to see logic. These factors would not have caused such an extreme situation on their own, but when together they created the worse case scenario for the people of Salem. These factors were local feuds, jealousy, religion-based anxiety, a case of hysteria, and upset over a fast economy change.

Salem, Massachusetts, USA and occurred between February 1692 and May 1693. Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned and even more accused; but not pursued by the authorities. 29 were convicted of witchcraft but only 19 were hanged. The best known trials were in the Court of Oyer and Terminer.

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,

The Salem Witch trials had nothing to do with the devil and all to do with ergot. Ergot is a parasitic fungus that grows on cereal grains like rye. This infection is most common in the summer and spring. People can get this infection by eating bad rye bread. It was more common for women to get Ergot than men.