In the seventeenth century, England Puritans noticed that the Church of England was tolerating too many practices that were associated with the Church of Rome. The Puritans frowned upon this. The Puritans held a high view of scripture and believed that the English Reformation had not gone far enough in reforming the church (The Puritan Beliefs, 2004). The England Puritans desired to ‘purify’ and change the church from within, however it was unsuccessful in England and Puritans relocated. In the early-mid seventeenth century, thousands of England Puritans migrated from England to North America, primarily New England, to practice religious freedom. (What is Puritanism and what did the Puritans believe?, 2015) The Puritans’ very conservative view on religion and the idea of purifying the Church of England led them to live and worship as God would like them to. Because of their view on religion, any acts/behaviors that seemed unusual or abnormal was thought to be the work of the devil. This lead to a series of court cases involving the accusations of persons doing witchcraft/interacting with the devil, also known as the Salem witch trials. The Salem witch trials began in February 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts. It all started with a group of young girls that claimed to be possessed by the devil that started all of the mayhem soon to follow. The allegedly possessed group of young girls began accusing several local women of witchcraft; the town broke out into mass
Erikson explains that to most English people of the 16th century, Puritans became an annoying sect of rebels. Overbearing and unrelenting, many detested the exaggeration of conventional values that the Puritans displayed. Feeling restricted by the formalities of the Church, Puritans quickly became deviant in the eyes of society. By moving to Massachusetts Bay, Puritans hoped to create their own ideas of what is “right” and “wrong”, much like any community attempting to set boundaries. However, problems arose when laws were to be mandated in a Biblical sense. God could not sit at a pulpit in a courtroom, so then how would a strictly religious group maintain itself? As Erikson states, “one of the surest ways to confirm an identity, for communities as well as individuals, is to find some way of measuring what one is not”. From this, they developed a keen sense of Devil distinction – that is, ways in which the Devil presented himself through the behaviors of individuals.
Puritans were extremely religious and sought to restore Christianity (Henrietta, James 83). The act of committing any sin including summoning the devil was frowned upon because it was seen as an act of turning away from God. The persecution of witches was viewed as a purge of sin for some. Witchcraft was a serious offense because it was believed that witches made pacts with the devil to charm or kill another. “…power of darkness …murdering witch.”
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 occurred in seventeenth century Massachusetts. The small Puritan town of Salem was first burdened with the accusations of witchcraft in January of 1692, according to the article “Salem Witch Trials” on “History.com.” The article also states that two local girls, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, began having violent fits accompanied with bloodcurdling screams (“Salem Witch Trials). When the girls never healed, the town doctor, William Griggs, was called to the girls’ homes says the article “The 1962 Salem Witch Trials.”
Three centuries ago, the Puritan religion was the base of the Salem village and many townspeople strongly believed in the existence of witches and witchcraft. According to the common Puritan belief, witches were in alliance with the devil and were granted power to harm. People were blamed for illness, failed crops, to bad weather, and many other things that were evident centuries ago. Due to the belief in witchcraft villagers were, perhaps, inclined to the most improbable explanations. The Puritans held strict views, ways of living, perspectives fears, and fantasies. Many Puritan ministers used the the fear of witchcraft to scare the believers into following the church. Historians believe these strict Puritan ways of life may have brought upon the witchcraft hysteria in Salem. At the time, witches and witchcraft were a serious and viewed as a real threat; almost as real as
In the 17th century church was the foundation of the people of New England. The main religion of the time was Puritanism which carried over when most of the colonist moved to Massachusetts. The main reason that the colonist moved was to find religious tolerance away from the strict Puritan lifestyle. Puritans believed that the smallest sin could result in a huge misfortune. They were also frowned upon for expressing their feelings and opinions, and were expected to have no individual differences. They believed in the devil just as much as they believed in God. The Puritan people constantly struggled between good and evil, which often led to giving into the temptation of Satan. Those who gave into the temptations and followed Satan were considered witches.
The Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 when citizens turned on each other and accused their neighbors of witchcraft, the Devil’s magic. The trials, which lasted from June to September, resulted in nineteen men and women being hanged, one man being pressed to death, and many other people dying in jail. Almost as soon as it began, the hysteria that had swept through Puritan Massachusetts ended. There are many opinions as to why the witchcraft trials caused such hysteria in Salem but many conclude that it was triggered by a spoiled food supply, Puritan religious beliefs, the constricted roles of females in Salem society, and the political and social tensions in the colony.
The Salem witch trials were start after several young girls said they were possessed and blamed several local women for witchcraft in Salem Village, Massachusetts (2011). During the Salem Witch Trials a lot of people were wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft and some of them were hanged or put in jail. During the Salem Witch Trials eight people were hanged and seven of them
The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692 and became one of the most infamous witchcraft episodes in United States history. It all started in the small Puritan village of Salem when little Betty Parris and Abigail Williams become ill and did not show any sign of improvement. This is when Reverend Parris, Betty’s father, called in the village doctor William Griggs. His diagnosis of bewitchment had the village overtaken with mass hysteria that would continue to plague them long after the May 1693 end. During the trials one hundred and fifty six people were accused of witchcraft: fifty four of which confessed, nineteen of which were hanged, four of which died in jail, and one whom was pressed to death.
In 1692, in Massachusetts Bay Colony town of Salem Village there were many contributing factors to the execution of fourteen women, five men, and two dogs. The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. It began as a few girls being accused of witchcraft, then slowly and more progressively it was many people that were being accused. The first few started it out of boredom, then it gout out of hand. The process of identifying witches began with suspicions or rumours.
In 1692 the Salem Witch Trials happened in Salem, Massachusettes. The trials were to prosecute people who were accused of witch craft. Some of the people were hung and many others were arrested. The trials went from 1692 and 1693.
The Puritans tried to reform the Church of England during the 1600’s because of their dislike of the Church's corruption and new rules. The men, women, and children set sail for the new world for America in the 1630’s. When they arrived, the relied on God to get them through the hard winters, hard summers, and the harsh Native American tribes. Although they sought to reform, the did not leave the Church, still relying on God and The Bible to get through the hardships of creating a new society. As they left, the led normal lives with prayers, worships, and services.
The witch trials all started in 1692 after a group of girls created conflict throughout Salem Massachusetts. The group of girls in Salem Village claimed
The witch trials started when Abigail told the other girls to follow her lead and lie about
Originally, Puritanism was considered a reform movement in the Church of England. The movement began during the late 16th century in England; however, it later spread to other Northern English territories in the New World (Collinson 5). The American Puritans laid the foundation for political, social and religious order. American Puritans assisted greatly in transforming the society, politics and religion of the American history. In a society that has adequate resources, an individual should have legal right to the benefits of state-supplied welfare. The right should be conditional, under the conditions that one is willing to work. The Puritan position focuses on the rights of mentally and physically disabled people. The position assumes that there are no free riders on the contribution and efforts of others. The Puritan approach argues that there is the need to work and to ensure self-fulfillment that comes as a result of maintaining individual dignity and independence, while offering an opportunity to participate and contribute in the building of the society. In summary, the Puritan position emphasizes on the right to life. Drawing on Elizabeth Anderson’s arguments in “Welfare, Work Requirements, & Dependent Care,” the puritan position is that very person has a responsibility to play in ensuring that the society is a better place to live in. It is right for the government to support the poor population; however, the government is not obliged to subsidize