What Are The Major Events In American Literature During The Colonial Period

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.

In the Puritan religion, there was a strict code to follow. Children couldn’t even have an imagination, and no one could sing or dance either. This was because everybody was all scared of the devil. If one person went off track of the religion by just a little bit, they were thought of as helpers of satan, or as they were called witches. Once the whole hysteria started, people grew even more scared of the devil and even the smallest bit of suspicion that one person was disobeying the religion, they would be accused. Once you were accused, you it was hard to be let off the hook. Most people would just confess to being a witch so they would just go to jail. On the other hand, if you denied it, you would most likely be hanged. I the end, religion was a huge factor to the start of the Salem witch trials.

LeAnn Struckman paper’s thesis is that the Puritan community, the weather, political events, and illnesses that were happening to the Salem region led to the Salem witch trial. This is supported by looking at the Puritan community and establishing the context behind the event. The paper starts by looking at the importance of the Massachusetts Bay Charter. This gave them the right to establish a colony in the New England area and the protections that came with it. The Puritans believed and desired to create an ideal society in the New World that England would want to emulate. The paper claims that the Puritans believed that the church and state should not be separate, which made their Puritan religious doctrines flow over into their government. This influences the role of the church and its membership. The Puritans believed in a strict system to gain membership of the church. Church membership carried over into the governance of the state and certain political rights like voting. The following generations were not as involved with the church and membership soon declined as they were unable to meet the strict standards. This decline created tension within the church, which created the need for reforming the standards of membership. However, with the change in membership there still was tension between the Puritans.

The Salem Witch Trials brought havoc among the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts starting in 1692. Many of the people within the town continued to have strong loyalties to their new Puritan religion and their old king back home. The church of England had moved away from the Catholic religion with the help of King Henry VIII and the Puritans were a new group of people who accepted the split from Catholicism but still believed that the church of England had a lot of aspects that remained with the Catholic religion. Despite this, loyalty to the king remained strong because the Puritans were not looking to break off from the Church of England instead they wanted to reform the religion and make it their own. These loyalties stretched to such an extent that any sin committed was also considered an act of treason and thus punished. The Salem community was constantly searching for evil within their town to prove their righteousness to God which lead to high rates of fear and paranoia in their daily lives. The strict Puritan religion soon became the root cause of the monstrous imagination that started to form within the community of Salem. Many people still feared the presence of Catholic ideas within their communities and in response were willing to go to any extent to irradiate these views. Some historians also account the beginning of the trials to divisions within the two towns of Salem that lead to tensions and turmoil between the townsmen. But without the increased belief in their new religion, women around town wouldn’t have been persecuted. The strict belief in the Puritan religion and culture was the root cause of fear and paranoia that led to the mass execution of many women and townspeople during the Salem Witch Trials.

Church was the foundation of life in New England. People in Massachusetts were Puritans colonists seeking freedom and religious acceptance by leaving England. The Puritan lifestyle was self-controlled and firmly enforced. Since Puritans were expected to live by a resistant code; they believed that all sins committed should be punished and that God would punish sinful behavior. When someone went against their codes, Puritans saw it as God’s will to not help them. In keeping up with the Puritan code of obedience, the many women to be accused of witchcraft in Salem were seen as divergent and social

During 1692, Puritan society in Massachusetts was filled with pressures: pressures to be a loyal and dedicated Christian and also pressures to remain in a uniform manner so each individual would not be criticized. Tensions in Puritan society escalated during the Salem witch trials, Puritans, mostly middle-aged wealthy women were kept under close observation and if something seemed unusual about an individual they would be persecuted by the town and told they are a witch, often this lead to their banishment from the colony or ultimately their death. The ideology of predestination created extreme conflicts throughout the Puritan society. People were constantly in fear if they committed a sin, they would go to hell. This fear sparked a distress that witchcraft was among the colonies and Satan was leading it by controlling the ones accused of witchcraft. Puritan society was dominated by fear that caused victimization throughout the colonies.

Puritans had many beliefs that affected the Salem Witch Trials, these were based on how the attendance or lack of attendance of the church, how people should behave, social class, and the way the government should be handled. Puritans were English Protestants that came to America in 1630. They sought to reform the Church of England. When they first came to America they settled at Salem, Massachusetts. The main reason the Puritan’s came to Salem was for freedom of religion which they did not have in England. The Puritans also came because they believed that the Church of England was not religious or enforcing religion enough. Puritans were just like the Pilgrims. Years later the Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 and ended

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.

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

The Salem witch trials had a drastic affect on the Puritan religion. The trials helped shape and point the direction for the New England Colonies and the Puritan religion. The Salem witch trials outbreak began in 1692. In the past, there had only been about five convictions of people being accused of witchcraft; none of this resulted in any deaths(Wilborn 16). Usually just a fine was given, but by the end of 1692 there was already 150 arrests (17). Whether you were rich or poor, it didn’t seem to matter, anyone and everyone was being accused. No one felt safe at this time (Trask ix).

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

Any action that contradicted their code was considered immoral and a sin and was punished harshly. The religious and strict moral rules created fear of being punished and created great tension in the community. This explains why they jumped to conclusions about the witch accusations. Above all else puritans feared God and everything bad that happened to the puritans was recognized as Gods punishment. It can be said that the main tension in the puritan society was being accused of witchcraft, but there are also other notable tensions too.

In addition, the bible was there sole authority, for they believed it applied to every aspect of daily life. As for their other beliefs, Puritans thought Satan was responsible for everything bad happening in day-to-day living. The Puritans believed that the members of society, weakest at upholding Puritan values and morals, specifically women and children, would be selected to carry out his work. This means women accused as witches were those who strayed from the Puritan lifestyle and were considered to be social outcasts. For the Puritans, religious and political life were completely intertwined. Each Puritan town had town meetings to determine how the town would be run, and only male church members were allowed to vote on these issues. This is probably the reason why the women were seen as the weakest society member’s maintaining Puritan values. "The Devils have sometimes represented the Shapes of persons not only innocent, but also very virtuous" (Salem Witch Trials). “…And I cannot but tell you that my faith is strong concerning them, that they are deluded, imposed upon, and under the influence of some evil spirit, and therefore unfit to be evidences, either against themselves or anyone else” (Salem Witchcraft Trials).

In the town of Salem, Massachusetts 1692, the government is a theocracy—rule by God through religious officials. The Salem Witch Trials take place here. The people of Salem, were very religious. They go to church every week, obey the commandments, never play with the devil, and witchcraft. If you did not obey these commandments people thought you were a bad Christian. If you broke these commandments there were major consequences. Church and working takes up most of the people's time.

The Puritans were a group of fundamentalist people. This meant that they led a life that was to be followed as God put in the bible..For instance, in Exodus 22:18 (Doc A.) it is stated, “‘Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live’”,in the eyes of the Puritans this simple phrase translates into this idea that witches exist and that they must then be eliminated because they caused the Puritan life to be stained and impure.. Although, the Bible does not state how to identify a witch, in the eye of the fundamentalist Puritan anyone could be a witch. This caused the Salem Witch