Essay On The Salem Witch Trials Dbq

From 1692 to 1693, twenty people were executed after being accused of witchcraft in Salem Village, Massachusetts, many more died in jail, and around 200 people total were accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Records from the event indicate that the Salem Witch Trials started when a group of young girls began acting strange, claiming they had been possessed by the Devil and bewitched by local villagers. The Salem Witch Trials is a much debated event; historians argue over the motivation and causes behind the trials and executions, not over the proceedings. Each historian approached the Salem Witch Trials with their own brand of logic and interpretation building off of and criticizing the interpretations of their predecessors. No one historical theory can conclusively explain the cause of the Salem Witch Trials because there were too many variables and motivations among the villagers. These historians used the best of their abilities to examine the events of the Salem Witch Trials and the mere fact that there are so many interpretations means there are not certainties when it comes to this historical event. However, a combination of their theories could provide a better picture of the Salem Witch story and the many aspects in determining the outcome of the Salem Witch Trials.

History generally regards the period of Salem witchcraft trials as a radical instatement of religious zeal which favored superstition over reason and targeted a large number of women over a much smaller number of men. Admittedly, the 1692 witchcraft crisis is a very complex historical episode, yet seeing as the majority of the people involved were women, it can be perceived as a gender issue, and illustrative for the definition of the role of women in New England. The present work's aim is to outline the colonial mindset concerning women and present relevant theories by means of analyzing three cases of witchcraft accusation together with delving into the accusers' perspective.

To illustrate, a passage from John Demos’ “Underlying Themes in the Witchcraft of 17th Century New England” states the gender and age range of the accused witches and accusers (Document 5). Furthermore, the document provides proof of the overwhelming amount of widowed, married, and single women, specifically twenty-nine single, sixty-one married, and twenty widowed women. Evidence reveals that mainly women were targeted in the accusations, which suggests that this chaos was brewed out of jealousy and spite. Equally important, the names of the people who were killed throughout the Salem Witchcraft hangings and the dates the deaths occurred are listed in the Salem Court Records (Document 2). Of all the names listed, most were women, revealing that socially, men were not seen as the threat, even though men have always come off as more dominant than women. Names listed also reveal that some of the people were from the same family, confirming that the accusers could have had a vendetta against specific families. From the evidence in these two documents, it can be concluded that there was a social motive for the hysteria of the Salem Witch

These girls did not all show “symptoms” at one time. The first girl to start experiencing symptoms was Betty Parris. She was followed by Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam Jr., Mary Walcott and Mercy Lewis (History of Massachusetts). These girls were throwing tantrums, hiding under furniture and contorting to pain. Since panic and fear set in, witchcraft was the easy choice to make. In today’s medical science, these girls would have been diagnosed with boredom or epilepsy. Although at the time the cause was unknown, these symptoms were probably brought on from eating rye infected with fungus. The three victims were not the only ones accused. There were numerous cases of scapegoating running prevalent.

Firstly, the conflicts were caused by the factors of gender, age, and marital status. When looking at the total number of men and women who were hanged, the women far outnumbered the men, 13 women to 7 men (Source A). Of the 24 males who were accused of witchcraft, 15 were married, while of the 110 females accused, 61 were married. This shows that the number of females accused outnumbered the men and the majority of those accused were married. Of the male accusers, all 5 were single, ranging from the ages of 11-20, whereas off the 29 females accusers, 23 were single (the other 6 were married). The ages of the accusers ranged from under 11 to over 21, with the majority being 16-20 years of age. There is a distinct pattern that stands out in the accused and the accusers. The accused were mainly

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.

To begin, one cause of the Salem witch trial hysteria was envious, young women. One piece of textual evidence that supports this cause is out of the 34 accusers, 67% of them were single females. Married women were the most targeted group for accusations of witchcraft (doc B). This evidence helps to explain the hysteria because most of the single women were jealous of the lifestyle others were living. Married women showed status in the community. They had security, a family, and money. These things would cause younger single girls to become envious of married women. Furthermore, another piece of textual evidence is the westside of Salem village were the poor people the accusers. On the eastside of Salem village were the wealthy the accused (doc E). This evidence helps to explain the hysteria because the poor single women were jealous of what the wealthy married women had. More married women were accused by young single women. 96% of accusers lived on the west side of Salem

The Salem Witch Trials began in the late 1600’s and is widely known to this day as one of the darkest periods in American history. In this essay, I will be analyzing the context and origins of the trials, the hysteria that dramatically spread through Massachusetts, and the legacy that we’ve come to know today. (thesis statement will go here I just can NOT think of one and I’m tired of wasting my time trying. Help .)

In January 1692, when a group of juvenile girls began to display bizarre behavior, the tight-knit Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts couldn’t explain the unusual afflictions and came to a conclusion. Witches had invaded Salem. This was the beginning of a period of mass hysteria known as The Salem Witch Trials. Hundreds of people were falsely accused of witchcraft and many paid the ultimate price of death. Nineteen people were hung, one was pressed to death, and as many as thirteen more died in prison. One of the accused Elizabeth Bassett Proctor, a faithful wife and mother, endured her fictitious accusation with honor and integrity.

During the time period of 1691 to 1692 the town of Salem, a small thriving community within the Puritan Massachusetts Bay colony, was struck by widespread hysteria in the form of witch trials. The way these trials and accusations played out are historically unlike any other witch trials found in European and American history. Historians have pointed to a number of economic, political, and social changes of the then existing institutions throughout the Massachusetts Bay area to be the cause of the Salem witch trials, along with the direction they took. If studied closely however, it becomes apparent that the main cause for the Salem witch trials can be found in the way the people of Salem viewed and

Over a few months, the girls then acted strangely: “getting into Holes, creeping under Chairs and Stools… uttering foolish and ridiculous speeches…” (Background Essay). Soon, their behavior showed in other young girls throughout Salem. Due to coercion from Betty Parris’ father, the girls confessed that two local women and Tituba were witches causing the odd conduct. One theory for all of this is simply that the children were looking for outlets. Children were expected to act like adults, for they were treated as adults. They were not allowed to play with toys or participate in games. Boys, at least, had a few creative outlets such as school, crafting, and exploring the outdoors. Because Salem, like most societies, was patriarchal, many girls were not sent to school and were expected to tend to the household. This was the world that Betty Parris and Abigail Williams lived in. There was little for them to feed their imagination with, so they may have decided to make up rumors and have some fun. Evidence of this is found in Salem Witchcraft when Charles W. Upham writes, “They soon … became intoxicated … by the terrible success of their imposture (acting), and were swept along by the frenzy they had occasioned…” (Document 7). Upham furthers his writing by talking about how the Devil and witches were fake and the girls were faking it for their own amusement the whole time. The historical context Salem Witchcraft is significant because Upham goes against the Bible, which goes against the Puritan belief. We possibly see more of this acting take place during Bridget Bishop’s examination. Whenever Bishop would move, her actions were influenced upon the afflicted girls. For example, when Bishop shook her head, the girls were tortured (Document 6). It would appear that Bishop was controlling the girls, but the girls could’ve mimicked Bishop to

The Salem Witch Trials has been argued as one of the most important and controversial topics in American history. The Salem Witch Trials concluded the war between faithful people and evil people, and brought the long awaited justice to Salem village. Different historians presented varying opinions about the consequences and effects of the Salem Witch Trials. Reverend Samuel Parris played a pivotal role in preaching Christianity as well as eradicating evil from Salem village at that time. Religion was enforced among the people of Salem village, which created dispute against church-members and the non-church members. Moreover, religion created social segregation and disunity existed between these two groups of people. When it was revealed that witches were diminishing the holiness of Salem village, witch-hunt was initiated, and proved to be very effective, resulting in many witches being brought to justice.

According to Document B, 23 of the 29 accusers were under the age of 21. Due to Puritan beliefs, teenage girls had to stay home and complete chores. According to Evidence Set C, two of the girls, Abigail Williams and Betty Parris, were fed up with it. They started talking to a slave by the name, “Tituba”. Tituba told the girls magical stories and played fortune-telling games with them. The girls began to feel guilty that they went against their religion, so they began accusing Tituba of being a witch. This made the girls feel less guilty, as what they were accusing Tituba of doing was much worse than what they were doing. Other girls from around the village began to join them in accusing outcasts. According to Document D, the girls enjoyed acting bewitched. Their acting certainly tricked the adults. According to Document C, the girls would act bewitched every time the person accused would make a movement such as shake their head, or move their eyes.

This reveals that women were more likely to be accused than men. As stated in the Salem Witch Documentary “Women were more likely to join the devil’s cause. They were very reserved and were restricted from many rights and were more likely to be submissive to the devil.” Many people used this as an advantage to get rid of witches and accused more women than men. Furthermore, villagers accused people based on their marital status. According to Doc. B most of the accused people were married. This shows that marital status played a huge role in accusing people and causing panic and hysteria in Salem. In addition to that, age was also significant. As specified in Document B, the age range for most of the accused people were ages 41-60. Which means anyone who was around this age who was married and was female were most likely to be accused of witchcraft. As you can see marital status, gender, and age played a huge role in creating the Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692.

Salem Witch Trials: Casting a spell on the people Today, the idea of seeing a witch is almost inconsequential. Our Halloween holiday marks a celebration in which many will adorn themselves with pointy black hats and long stringy hair, and most will embrace them as comical and festive. Even the contemporary witchcraft religious groups forming are being accepted with less criticism. More recently, the Blair Witch movie craze has brought more fascination than fear to these dark and magical figures. So, it becomes no wonder that when our generations watch movies like the Crucible, a somewhat accurate depiction of the Salem Witch Trials, we are enraged and confused by the injustice and the mayhem that occurred in 1692. For most, our egocentric