Compare And Contrast Salem Witch Trials And Superstition

In the years following 1692, the average town of Salem, Massachusetts did the unthinkable and sentenced at least twenty of its citizens to death on the terms of practicing witchcraft. Salem, being split into two economic factions: Salem Town and Salem Village, rich and poor respectively, suffered from many problems in 1692. The harsh taxes of New England and failure crops caused many to believe that the devil was among them. These circumstances produced the perfect breeding ground for trickery within this strictly Puritan community. Many of those tried and accused were wealthy; another a clergyman involved in a monetary scandal with the infamous John Proctor. Jealousy and rage fueled many to accuse those who fit outside their standards of living or simply people they did not like.

Throughout the Salem witch trials, there were many important contributing factors that spiced up the trials. The witch trials were nothing more than land grabs, economic opportunity, jealousy, and people trying to get retribution on their neighbors. The Puritans religion, politics, and economics were the factors that played a colossal role during the investigation for witchcraft. During the trial of an incriminated person, the community would constantly use their religious and political belief against them. Many accused witches hardly stood a chance if they were known as sinners, stood on the wrong sides of political views, or owned property that someone wanted. If an accused was not known to sin, they believed the right side of politics, and they did not own anything of value, they would most likely be found innocent during the investigation for witchcraft.

The Salem Witch Trials is an infamous event due to its bizarre and seemingly hysteric circumstances. Eric Foner contributes this incident to Europe’s growing population as well as the replication of English hierarchical social structure in the colonies. I believe that the established social class influenced the Salem Witch Trials to some extent, but the series of trials and executions were caused more by general social and economic tension in the colonies during the 17th century. Those who lived in Salem during 1692 faced numerous hardships. Work was incessant and exhausting- duties including making clothes, raising livestock, and farming in harsh climates and rough terrain. Most families had to be self-sufficient and upkeep strict Puritan values. A recent smallpox epidemic, growing small-town rivalry, and an influx of political conflict in a colony teetering between governments. The constant threat from nearby Native American tribes also magnified the Puritans’ irrational fear.

The 1690s were a terrible time, full of accusations, lies and death, a scary time for all those in New England, especially in Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials were a result of a Puritan theocracy, in which the Puritans destroyed the lives of innocent women all the while believing they were doing the right thing. A Puritan theocracy meant that all aspects of the ruled area were controlled by the church. The Puritans were extremely strict about creating a perfect Puritan society, the oppression of women was prominent during this time and there was intense pressure to be a model citizen, making no mistakes. Religion ruled the life of a Puritan, it controlled every aspect of their lives.

In the seventeenth century, many Puritans began to settle in New England. The Puritans lived a harsh religious life, being very strict in accordance to the Bible. They believed that Satan lived on earth with them, and influenced weak people, turning them into witches and wizards. The Puritans punished these witches strictly by death, but the evidence had to be solid. In Salem, a Puritan city in Massachusetts, many witchcraft trials were held in a 15 week period, leading to the accusations and deaths of more than 100 men and women. The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692 was caused by the existing social conflict of the time, influenced by the religious conditions and triggered by medical problems from a contaminated harvest.

The governor of Salem, William Phips, was fed up when rumours that his wife was a witch started to float up. “Determined at last to quell the madness, he suspended the special Court of Oyer and Terminer he had earlier established to hear witchcraft cases. He replaced it with a new Superior Court of Judicature—which disallowed spectral evidence. That court condemned only 3 of 56 defendants. Phips pardoned them along with five others awaiting execution.” (Winker, “Interactive: Salem Witch Trials”). Also, before and after the trials, there was a lot of tension between people in Salem. But, their beliefs held them to be nice to each other and to lead a godly life. “The time to heal fell under the gentle hand of the Reverend Joseph Green, who in 1697 succeeded Samuel Parris as minister in Salem Village. Green reshuffled his congregation’s traditional seating plan, placing foes beside one another.” (Winker, “Interactive: Salem Witch Trials”). People of the Puritan community were finally starting to realize the wrongness of their ways. The Puritans were too judgemental and strict. This caused people to break off from

New England was established by “Puritans, who had come to North America” to create a community founded on religious ideals (Carlson xiv). Therefore, Salem, as a part of the New England area, was a deeply religious community. Accordingly, their beliefs and religious law, influenced their lives and mindsets. The community was also small and relatively isolated, so exposure to anything outside their own beliefs was minimal (Norton 6).

Salem Village was a Puritan colony. They had strict laws and expected everybody in society to follow a strict moral code. If somebody broke the law, even if only the tiniest amount, they would be punished. One reason the Puritans punished witches harshly is because they feared

I had known about the Salem Witch Trials and some of the puritan believes before this section because of past studies, but my eyes were opened by the things that I learned. Quakers believe in many things, some of which are simplicity, equality, integrity, peace, and community. Puritans believed that they should abide by everything that was written in the scripture and in return God would give them endeavors. The Quakers believed that everyone was good and would go to heaven, whereas the Puritans thought that only they were good and believed only their group would go to heaven. The beliefs that both of these groups had are where the Salem Witch Trials come into play.

There are many things that contributed to the issues concerning the Salem witch trials. Spectral evidence was very prevalent in this time period. Spectral evidence is a witnesses' testimony that a person is possessed by the devil. Cotton Mather called them woeful-and with reason. Mather viewed himself as Gods' right hand man in the war against devilish ways. Also, Mather persecuted the people of Salem village through the belief in witchcraft. However, New Englanders did not create witchcraft. At this same time the younger generation was behaving in an ungodly way. Although, there were many things associated with spectral evidence, there are three main concerns relating to the Salem witch trials which are dishonesty, inequality of power, and false accusations.

Before the trials began a rift was forming between the Town of Salem and the Village of Salem. The Town of Salem was evolving, and becoming more mercantile which displeased the Village.

Puritan New England experienced one of the most peculiarly memorable historical events of all time. The Salem Witchcraft trials of 1692 remain prominently embodied in the long and colorful history of New England, stretching back into the pre-colonial period. In the grand scheme of things, the Salem trials were the results of a long struggle between the mainstream catholic faith and the early Protestants. It is worth to mention from this outset that Catholicism had spread all over Europe by the eleventh century and majority of the people supported and accepted the leadership of the pope and the catholic doctrine (Peterson

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Europe experienced a widespread belief in witchcraft and a subsequent witch craze. The witch craze spread like wildfire throughout the continent and many were hunted, persecuted, and executed for proposed maleficent acts. Economic hardships, religious fervor, and political support helped to fuel the fire that blazed through the continent. Those accused were predominantly women of low socioeconomic status. Life was precarious during this time period resulting in malnourishment and rampant disease. Ignorance and a highly superstitious population saw witchcraft as an explanation for sickness, death, failed crops, or any other mysterious malevolent acts. As a result of the geographical separation of the British Isles, the witch trials of England and Scotland were unique and differed from the mainland. Also, by comparison, the witch trials of England and Scotland were very different from one another. The two cultures differed in their accusations of witchcraft, the nature and extent of their trials, and the use of torture.

The Salem Witch Trials upset many different people, families, villages, and brought many different superstitions to the mind. The accused people had to go through a trial to see if they would be proven guilty, if so they were later executed. More than one hundred and fifty people were sentenced to be hanged, burned at stake, or be tortured to death. The families of the accused witches could not change the minds of the magistrates because they wanted the witched out of the village. The village was concerned about the curse of the witches spreading so they executed almost everybody that was accused. People accused other people if they did not like them. Their imagination also made them think others were witches. The Indians were extremely

Religion definity played a big part in this horrific event because of the village of Salem being very religious and took religion very seriously. Like it was mentioned, it led to a lot of superstition and paranoia , for example when people of the village started accusing each other, The puritan religion was a bit extreme , for example, it was against the law to not go to church , if you did something that the townspeople did not like , you were frowned upon. They also believed in the Devil just as much as they believed in God. If they sinned often death was the answer. Even when brought to trial for being accused of