Bridget Bishop In 1692: A Case Study

The Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. As a wave of hysteria spread throughout colonial Massachusetts, a special court convened in Salem to hear the cases; the first convicted witch, Bridget Bishop, was hanged that June. By September 1692, the hysteria had begun to spread and public opinion turned against the trials. Though the Massachusetts General Court later annulled guilty verdicts against accused witches and granted indemnities to their families, bitterness lingered in the community, and the painful legacy of the Salem witch trials would endure for centuries.

In the spring of 1692 , a small town named Salem is located in Salem, Massachusetts is where the witch hunt started(Blumberg). The girls who started they were caught dancing in the woods. Then they started to accused people of being witches(Blumberg). One of the first to be accused was Tituba which she confessed to being a witch(Blumberg). When they started the trails, the governor Phipps called for a special court to deal with the witch problem(Blumberg). Most people didn't even knew about them questions surrounding villages about consorting with the devil(Blumberg). The governor’s wife was even accused of being a witch(Blumberg). The first conviction was Bridget Bishop and she was hanged eight days later(Blumberg).

The ideals of the Arbella sermon do not seem to influence the judgments of the Suffolk County Court or the testimony against Bridget Bishop. Michael Johnson, author of Reading the American Past, notes that, "the court records of Suffolk County between 1671 and 1673...illustrate the New Englanders deviated from the highest aspirations of the Puritan founders and that courts did what they could to curb those deviations" (52-53). The theme of love in Winthrop's sermon must have gone unaffected judging by the type of cases in Suffolk County. For example, a wife was sentenced to be whipped ten times or pay a twenty Shilling fine to the County for striking her husband. For being drunk and abusing his wife, John Veering was punished by being whipped thirty times and humiliated by standing in the open marketplace with a sign across his chest declaring his guilt. It is obvious that the ideals of the Arbella sermon were not present in the case against Bridget Bishop. She was accused of witchcraft and eight days after her trial she was the first accused witch to be hung in Salem. Once again, love is not evident in either of the two works.

The testimony above shows exactly how the Salem Witch Trials started and progressed very quickly. Abigail Hobbs pleaded guilty to being a witch and accused George Burroughs of also being a witch which contributed to

According to Document C, during Bridget Bishop's examination the accusing girls’ fell into fits,looked tortured, and rolled up their eyes when Bridget Bishop, the accused witch, rolled her eyes. Document D, states that Charles Upham believed that both of the girls were lying about their testimony, and since we know the recorder of the transcript was,Samuel Parris, the father of one of the girls, I believe that Charles Upham conclusion is supported. Essentially, Charles Upham has a point because the girls were notorious for their acting, which then created a long line of liars throughout the

The girls at trial could have mass panic attacks as probable evidence at each woman 's trial. The villager suspected certain men and women of witchcraft no one was safe. The same was for the slave named Tituba whose West Indian ancestry mad the villagers extra suspicious of her practicing some form of voodoo, a Haitian religion. A group of small girls which it started from Becky Panis and Abigail Williams a game was played amongst the girls which involved experimenting with fortune telling and little spells. The girls hid anything they did in secret from their parents, because they knew that what they were doing was forbidden(Magoon 37). “ One of the first trials was of Bridget Bishop. Bishop was accused of transforming into a cat. She was found guilty and on June 10, 1692, she was hanged. The putnam family accused Rebecca Nurse of being a witch. She happened to have a long-standing quarrel with the family. In her trial, the jury found her not guilty, but the judge overruled and gave her guilty , she also hanged(Dunn 22-23)”. Modern Psychologist who studied the situation of this time era may have believed that the girls suffered from a psychological disorder that caused panic attacks. These girls were never forgotten by many historians till this day do not understand the inquiries of the situation.

“Then she turned up her eyes, and the eyes of the afflicted were turned up” (Document C). All of the “afflicted,” who were all female and under 21, dramatically copied Bridget Bishop, the accused witch, in order to cause the examiner to believe that the Bishop cursed them. “There can be no doubt that they [afflicted girls] were great actors” (Document D). Charles Upham, the author of this statement, believes that the girls in Bishop’s trial and all other trials were lying to the judge and the examiner in order to possibly gain power in society, take revenge, or out of pure jealousy. Upham, unlike the girls in the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria, is very reliable since he is a known historian and former mayor of

At a time when women were not even allowed to vote, verbal impudence towards a man was indecent. This made her seem to be a likely witch. Furthermore, Bridget Bishop was also a woman who had questionable behaviour. She was outspoken and attractive, or as Puritans saw her, offensive and seductive. Bishop’s outspokenness was used against her in the Salem witch trials. In the document titled “John Louder against Bridget Bishop,” Louder claimed that he and Bishop “often had differences for some years together” (Godbeer 113). Although Bishop maintained that she did not know Louder, squabbles had occurred between them. It is likely that because of Bishop’s argumentative conduct, she was perceived as a witch. Another example of an unorthodox woman accused of witchcraft is Dorcas Hoar. Hoar was a cunning woman who had a strong perception of the future. Having cunning abilities was taboo because it was impossible to know if one had acquired their powers from the Devil. Hoar had some medical experience and was able to identify illnesses, but instead she was observed as a witch. In the document titled “Mary Gage Against Dorcas Hoar and Others,” Gage imputes that Hoar foresaw her child’s

Charles ends the document with, “There can be no doubt that they were great actors.” The examination of Bridget Bishop is also proof of a successful show put on by the accusers, causing Bridget to later be hanged. Document C’s descriptions of the accusers’

The Salem Witch Trial hysteria of 1692 caused 20 people to be hung or pressed to death and 4 perished in jail. In addition, 200 people in Salem were accused of being witches. On June 10 of 1692, Bridget Bishop was charged with practicing witchcraft and she was also accused of bewitching her husband to death. The result of her not confessing was that she was hung to her death. All of this frenzy started in the house of Samuel Parris. His daughters were consumed by the bizarre tales told by their Indian slave, Tituba. Over the next several months, the girls array strange behavior. After arriving at court, the young girls accused two white women and Tituba of practicing witchcraft. After this strange incident, the people of Salem started to

Among the accused were two very influential women in the church, Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse. Another of the accused was the four year old daughter of Sarah Good. After Tituba’s “confession” the Village of Salem went into a state of panic, the new Prime Minister William Phips order that a special Court of Oyer and Terminer(hear and decide) the the witch cases of Salem. Bridget Bishop was the first to be condemned on July 2 and was hung soon thereafter.

The freshly delegated governor of Massachusetts William Phips on May 27,1692 ordered for the establishment of a special court of Oyer to hear the courts and Terminer to help decide in the courts under Chief Justice William Stoughton for the areas of Suffolk, Essex and Middlesex counties. The trial of Bridget Bishop was the first presiding by judges Hathorne, Samuel Sewall and William Stoughton. In her defence she stated “I am as innocent as a child unborn” With the conviction of practicing witchcraft Bridget Bishop was the first to be hanged on what is known as Gallows Hill in the town of Salem on June second of 1692. Five people were executed that July these people were Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, Susannah Martin, and Sarah Wildes. In August five more people were executed these people were George Burroughs, George Jacobs Sr. Martha Carrier, John Proctor, and John Willard. Eight people were executed in September of 1692 of whom were Martha Corey, Mary Eastey, Mary Parker, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Wilmott Redd, Margaret Scott, and Samuel Wardwell Sr. as well as Giles Corey who was the husband of Martha

Three of the most well known women accused during the Salem Witch Trials were Bridget Bishop, Tituba, and Sarah Good. Bridget Bishop's birthday is unknown, but it is estimated that she was born between 1632 and 1637. Bishop was married three different times, but she never had any children. Bridget Bishop was the first witch hanged in Salem. On April 18,1692, a warrant was issued for Bishop's arrest for witchcraft, but this was not the first time she was in trouble with the law. In 1690, Bridget Bishop was charged with witchcraft, but she was eventually cleared. Bishop also had past charges of violently fighting with her husband in public. These past charges did not help Bridget while she was being charged with witchcraft for a second time,

The first woman to be tried for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts was Bridget Bishop. She pled not guilty; however, after John Louder’s intense testimony, she was found guilty. Despite the lack of actual, physical evidence, the fear that Lounder’s words instilled in the local judges and citizens turned their hearts cold and their logic upside down.

Besides being accused of witchcraft earlier Bishop also had some other characteristics that helped mark her as a witch. Karlsen points out that many witches, including Bishop, where accused of witchcraft only a year or two after they had become widows.3 The loss of her husband leaves Bishop without a male protector for a bit of time and allows for more accusations to come up against her. Bishop’s husbands passing gives her power that Puritan women don’t usually have. Bridget was granted the write, “for the sale of the land aforesaid unto Mr. Daniel Eppes.”4 This action shows how Bridget Bishop was not in the usual role of women because she was in control of some property and was able to use some power over that land. Women in Puritan society where expected to be married and to help their husbands. Karlsen points out that Puritan women where expected to fit into certain rolls in which they should be submissive.5 If a woman did not fit into the roll of the Puritan woman then she had a better chance of being accused of witchcraft. Bridget Bishop did not fit the perfect vision of women that the Puritans