Escaping Salem Summary

During the 1600’s in the United States there was much economic and religious dissention within the Puritan society: a group of English reformed protestants who pursued the Purification of the Church of England. Among these issues, is the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials that prosecuted women to be found worshippers of the devil. The Puritans found the necessity to exercise this crusade in order to stay by their moral codes of conformity which included witchcraft to be the greatest crime, punishable by death. However, the true reasons of the trials was not to simply follow their religious constitutions. It is mainly in part from corruption of religion and how some had used the trials as a form of personal gain, the influences of the attitudes from the strict Puritan lifestyle, the need for unification between the Salem factions, and the society’s fear of evil.

Extreme paranoia continued to grow meaning that no one was safe from being watched by their neighbors. The Puritan lifestyle revolved around a constant presence within the church for all family members. This meant that everyone would oblige to the rules of the priests and ministers around town and would present themselves as an active member of the church communities. Any activities outside of this lifestyle were heavily frowned upon and regularly

Everyone knows about the blood bath that was the Salem Witch Trials, but what not many know is what caused it and how it affected Americans throughout History. In the summer of 1692, it all started. A couple of Puritans thought that their daughters were being influenced by the Devil, but what they did not know is what the doctor said would affect the whole town, and eve their ancestors. Thesis: Many peaceful years after the Puritans’ journey to the new world, trouble arose through the Salem Witch Trials by what happened, what caused it, and the effects.

In Richard Godbeer’s “Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692”, the exhibition of the early New England lifestyle was displayed through the characters and Puritan culture that was engulfed by this neoteric society. The instances surrounding Katherine Branch’s fits occurred during Connecticut’s colonial period in the 1690’s. During this same time period, the more notorious Salem Witch Trials were being carried out as well, which helped serve as a basis for the due process utilized in the Stamford Witch Hunts. One of the key issues faced in the situations in Stamford were establishing guidelines for which evidence could be used against those accused of witchcraft, as they did not want to make hasty assumptions like their counterpart in

The author focuses on the roles of the ministers in the town, highlighting the corruption in them by utilizing research that proves the ministers that participated in the Salem Witch Trail to be completely driven by money. The author, Ernest King, informs the audience that the reason behind the witch trials is because the ministers used witchcraft as an explanation to get money and land from fellow colonists. King also discusses how the witch-hunt prompted the New England area to transition from a traditional, religion-based society into a community with a more neutral rule system and a higher spirit of unity. Therefore, changing the focus from religious duty of the people to the church to the duties of each person as a citizen. The audience that this article is intended for is people who desire to deepened their knowledge and understanding of the Salem Witch Trials, however people with educational purposes and entertainment can read it. The tone conveyed to the audience is professional, as through the author is lecturing a room full of doctors. The author feels as though the Salem Witch Trials are a serious matter that changed America

All the horrified villagers and upperclassmen saw the witches in action they saw the monstrous effect that black magic was apparently having on poor little child Abigail and twelve year old Ann Putnam Jr., a spell bounded choreography of outburst and spasms. “Look to her! She will have a fit presently,” one girl would cry out, pointing to another, who would promptly commence convulsing. “At other times they warned, ‘We shall all fall!’ and about seven girls would pass out, babbling to the floor. The head of the courtroom on that day was Thomas Danforth, deputy governor of Massachusetts and Harvard’s longtime treasurer, one of the several senior colonial officials . Betty's father called in more authorities to decide if witchcraft was the reason for the girl’s illness. Seeing that nothing was working not the praying or the vigils nor the sermons. Reverend decided to call in the doctors. Being puritan they did not believe in science but there were no options left. Betty was sent away, and did not participate in the trials; the other girls were joined by other young women in staging publicly putting on displays of their distress when in the presence of accused

The kicking and screaming of Kate Branch was an unforeseen characteristic that confused most people, but because of her suspected disability, some of her accusations of a spiritual entity seemed more and more false. There were too many inconsistent accusations that did not fully coincide with the demonic possession theory. Hardly anything that Kate said was credible. The assumption of Kate faking the fits could be a probable cause, but during the early New England times there was no sufficient proof to prove it. Therefore, anything questionable is led to a supernatural cause. However, it

While Puritan religious beliefs did contribute to the Salem Witch Trials, it was only to a minor extent as, rather than being the true source of the witchcraft fear, they were used by New England authorities to manipulate and control the public. In the 1600s, religion was the cornerstone of Puritan society, a denomination that originated in England and was established in America with the migration of approximately 9,000 colonists between 1630 and 1645. Already superstitious, with a Christian Church that preached of a God who protected his servants, and a Devil who preyed on the weak, society’s fears were intensified

However, when the husband comes home and seen Branch “still lying on the for, her eyes red from crying and her hands clasped as if held in place by an invisible force.” (p.15). when the husband, Daniel, seen Branch in such a state he recalls when his daughter his eldest, Joanna, similar torment and had yet to get over the event. Nevertheless, Branch continued to stay stiff and crying on the floor even after a midwife, Sara Bates, seen to her. When relief came to her in short bursts she stated, “…whilst out in the field gathering herbs she had been seized with a pinching and pricking at her breast” (p. 16). During Katherine’s fits, she would fall into trances, became stiff, cried and shook, as such she began to see spectral visions of the witches who had bewitched her in both human and animal forms. Thus, these bouts of fits Katherine Branch had after picking herbs caused the witch scare to settle in Stamford, Connecticut because in her spectral visions she will go on to accuse five women, who will be tried in the Court of Oyer and Terminer.

The hysteria, craze, trials, and deaths, still rest an unsolved case. The theories of politics, rivalries, religion and the “circle girls” seem the most believable, in my eyes. However, as the happenings in Salem village still continue to mislead and amaze not only historians, but many others, the witch trials lie a great turning point for Salem, and the lives of many; let alone

how the Stamford trials contrast with the infamous Salem witch trials that took place the same year. The charge of witchcraft preyed on the fears of the community and had the potential to turn townspeople against one another. Witchcraft could also be a difficult crime to prove as most of the evidence was circumstantial; putting the burden of weighing evidence and overseeing due process on the courts of the time. This paper will argue that the alleged victim, Kate Branch, feigned illness to secure her place within the Westcot household by accusing their rivals of witchcraft as well as examine the effect of these accusations on Stamford and how the courts navigated the evidence presented in the case.

The 17th century Puritans were known to represent a religious group migrating from England to America in order to practice religious freedom. These groups were determined to “purify” churches of England from Catholic practices. Puritans are known for their religious, social, and political influences on early America. Edmund S. Morgan’s novel The Puritan Family highlights a part of history that many would tend to look over upon- that is, the complex structural life of Puritan Families in the 17th century.

Many people know of the Salem witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692 spilling over into the year 1693. But for those who do not know, the Salem witch trials were a series of trials against men, women, and children accused of being a witch and or practicing witchcraft. In “The Devils Snare: The Salem Witch Trials of 1692” by Mary Beth Norton, the author recollects the stories of real life accounts of those accusers and the accused in Salem during that time. Mary Beth Norton explains the Salem witch trials differently than other books and articles by giving wide-ranging background on incidents leading toward the trials and how events in history were related to the trials.

The Salem Witch trials and Puritan lifestyles so immeasurably affected the world and intrigued Arthur Miller that he wrote a fiction story that is based on real events in the 1600s, hundreds of years later. In the story, all of the church officials and leaders were also government leaders, which is how the Puritans chose their government officials in the 1600s. Puritans believed that any sin against God was a crime under government law, and they believed that government and church should be one power. Just as people are expected to obey the law, Puritans were expected to conform to the way of the church. Any expression of individuality or non-conformity was frowned upon. As an example, in Act

Miss Cloyce recalled the account among a panel of judges about her sisters’ innocence. There was no obvious method to explain her sisters’ innocence, except to tell the story and pray that the judges would connect with her emotionally and believe her. Since there were no lie detectors or any form of established court, there was no genuine way to prove or invalidate culpability or innocence, so the judges ruled mostly due to who they believed more. The civil judicial system did not originate until many years later. Also, the U.S. law stating, “Innocent until proven guilty,” had not been entirely developed, in fact; it was quite the contrary.