Salem Society: The Putnams And The Porter

Salem Village was one of many non-urban inhabitants. They were looked upon as country folk because of their interests and beliefs in the church and growing tobacco to survive in this new land. There was not much for children to do except go to church, work on the fields, or go to school. You can imagine how bored these children can get. In such a secluded lifestyle as this, you would be a crazy person if you were at all different, and this episode would be so different that it would be traumatic to the people of this small village. Traumatic as it was, I believe the people just did not know how to react in such a situation.

the Porter faction lived. In opposition to the Putnam faction, the Porters opposed the minister and wanted greater association with the town of Salem. The bitter and contentious disputes between the two factions within Salem Village both before and after the witchcraft outbreak, demonstrate a

In Richard GodBeers novel “Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692” he tells of a witch trial that took place in Stamford Connecticut in 1692. GodBeer starts readers off with the setting taking place in Daniel and Abigail Wescots household. He tells of a dilemma going on in the household pertaining to their servant; Katherine Branch. She was experiencing hallucinated fits that caused her to convulse and scream in pain. The ongoing fits led the Wescot’s and other citizens of Stamford into believing the fits were caused by bewitchment. The suspicion then leads Katherine Branch to tell of visitations from the devil in numerous forms, as well as being tormented by witches. She accuses Elizabeth Clawson, Mercy Disborough, Goody Miller, Mary Staples, and Hannah Harvey as the individuals visiting her and tormenting her in her hallucinations. The accusation then led to a witch hunt trial resulting in the arrestment of all the women Katherine had named. Kate’s accusations led citizens of Stamford to agree with her statements due to past confrontations with any of the accused individuals. The trial resulted in all women being found innocent or given their freedom due to insufficient evidence. The witch hunt trial of Stamford Connecticut corresponded with the infamous witch hunt that took place in Salem Massachusetts in the year 1692. Salem’s trial was ignited by a group of girls whom also fell into convulsions and fits just as

The primary fear that is apparent in the philosophy, “In unity still lay the best promise of safety” (5) is the fear of being accused of making a contact with the devil. In the quote, Miller shows that the citizen’s best way to feel safe is to act the same way everyone else is. He reveals that Salem has a strict social standard such as attending church every Sunday. Breaking away from the unity of their standards will make them victim to false accusations of witchcraft and contracting with the devil. In such a small town, the town folks are quick to notice changes and sometimes try to exploit their neighbors or friends for their personal interests. However by being conforming to Salem’s societal standards, it ensures your safety because one

The town was divided among those who wanted to separate from Salem Town like the farmers, and those who did not want to separate. (Sutter). The Putnams were farmers who had much acreage and wanted to separate from the town. They were strong Puritans and formed their own church under Rev. Samuel Parris (the owner of Tituba). This caused much anger and jealousy.

In New England Puritan ideas of gender dictated acts of gender for women in terms of behavior, demeanor, and speech at home and church, in public and private. Gender roles were clearly defined and categorized women as the weaker, vulnerable sex; physically, emotionally, spiritually and morally, subordinate to men in every instance and venue. Men were the heads of the household and of the church. They ruled what were deemed the important aspects of life. Women's role in society was that of domestic; they owned no property, made no significant wage and were entirely dependent on men for their subsistence. While the primary tenants underlying the American Puritan doctrine of the 17th century stated that women were no more susceptible to

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

xi). “The residents of Salem were after all, Puritans, which means they viewed their community not just as a group of individuals, but as a single entity united under God” (Possible Causes… Par.3). The social tension caused by the differing opinions on the separation of the village from Salem Town strongly contradicted their religious ideals that they were all supposed to be as one. The farming people in Salem Village thought that the thriving economy of the harbor in Salem Town made it far to individualistic (Sutter Par.3).

1692. The year of ill children, women fits of convulsion, and hallucinations. The year also consisted of swimming tests and prayer tests for women with English Puritan backgrounds. The Salem witch trials occurred in Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 300 people were accused of practicing witchcraft (the Devil 's magic). 20 woman were executed. Before all of this happened, life in Salem was like any normal day. Women and children had expectations as well as men did, you did not disobey God nor go against him, or act out of character. Life in the 1690’s was more of a man’s world and which always gave them the upper hand. Women were always looked down upon which gave men greater power. Unlike God’s followers (men), women were considered evil worshipers of the devil. During the trials, men proved that they really did have the upper hand.

Salem Witch Trials Witchcraft in New England • Early beliefs from Europe brought over to New England • Founding of Salem, Massachusetts in 1926 Turning against God, or the use of alternative healing in a superstitious age • Finding the use of herbs to help heal • Opposition from the church The Possession, or the positon of Salem’s elite against Salem’s ordinary citizens. • Accusations of locals of different social classes begin The Salem Witch Trials • The trials begin • Persecution and execution of innocents • Phantasm or fiction After the

Salem Witchcraft Trials Thesis Statement = == == == ==

The Salem Witch Trials was a very dark period in our history that occurred in the colony of Salem, Massachusetts. These trials began in February 1692 and ended in May of 1693. There were over two hundred individuals who were accused of practicing witchcraft. Of those two hundred accused, nearly twenty innocent souls were lost. This was one of the most severe cases of mass hysteria in recorded history. There was a great effort exhorted by the Massachusetts General Court to declare a guilty verdict, that the framers of the United States Constitution went to great lengths to never let this type of tragedy occur again; commonly known as the eighth amendment. Remarkably so, some may argue that there were similarities in Salem and the

Introduction - The Salem Witch trials was a time of hysteria and confusion. People were being accused and giving false confessions of witchcraft being performed on the people of Salem, Massachusetts.

Witchcraft accusations and trials in 1692 rocked the colony of Salem Massachusetts. There are some different views that are offered concerning why neighbors decided to condemn the people around them as witches and why they did what they did to one another. Carol Karlsen in her book The Devil in the Shape of a Woman and Bernard Rosenthal in Salem Story give several factors, ranging from woman hunting to shear malice, that help explain why the Salem trials took place and why they reached the magnitude that they did. The theories put fourth by Karlsen of a society that accusations against women as witches explain the trail, and Rosenthals ideas of discourse in the community are supported or partially disproved by

A good example was with Adam and Eve being punished for the sin of pride,