Salem Witch Trials In Colonial America Essay

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.

How far would you go to get what you want or admire ? In Massachusetts Bay there's a variety of things young foolish girls would do. Which left a mark in time, the period of The Salem Witch Trials Hysteria 1692. Furthermore, to say the Salem witch trials was when male and women were either an accuser or the accused of witchcraft but, that was acquisitiveness the time. Finally, to say The Salem witch trial Mania was caused by three main reasons, the first reason for the hysteria in Salem Village was when the young, single women of Salem accused older, married women of witchcraft to get a husband for themselves. The second reason was that the beset girls was lying and there parents protected them. The third reason was the conflict of the west (farmers) and the east (Political/wealthy).

humanity would have come to an end, but that was not so. In 1692 a

The article later on examines “In an effort to explain by scientific means the strange afflictions suffered by those "bewitched" Salem residents in 1692, a study published in Science magazine in 1976 cited the fungus ergot (found in rye, wheat and other cereals), which toxicologists say can cause symptoms such as delusions, vomiting and muscle spasms.” By stating this new-found resource, this gives the reading a logos appeal to reason the circumstance that there wasn’t anything supernatural involved with the hysteria in 1692. The outbursts caused by this unknown fungus and the resentment of the neighboring townsfolk heightened their suspicion toward themselves and

Currently the most widely accepted view is that the cause of the trials, was due to fraud and hysteria. It is rarely debated that it was the girl's diagnoses of being bewitched that was the catalyst for the trials so if it could be proved that the girls symptoms were fraudulent, then this could be easily be ascribed as the ‘cause' of the trials.

The Salem Witch Trials was an uncanny and eerie event of hearings and prosecutions of people being accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. Although it lasted from 1691 to 1692, it lead to more than 200 people, including men and women, being accused and arrested of witchcraft and 20 of those people executed. The hysteria began with two young girls: Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams claiming to be possessed by the devil, causing the “witch-fever” among the Salem village. In this essay the circumstances behind poor harvest, sickness and the conjecture of witches and witchcraft being highly considered as a cause in this era will be described. The Salem Witch Trials were caused by environmental factors because the Salem community had limited understanding of natural causes such as poor harvest, sickness and diseases.

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

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

In Cotton Mather’s The Wonders of the Invisible World, he explores the evidence presented at the Salem witch trial of Martha Carrier. Mather explains the spectral evidence presented at the trial as strange phenomena worked by the devil, when in reality it is simply the exploitation and fear that brewed underneath the surface colonial America.

The Salem Witch trials and what caused them is very debatable. Some theories lead to Rye poisoning from bread to even people faking it. The most believable claim is that people were faking it. Everyone had a motive and they all just wanted to save themselves. It was a time when people were selfish and only cared for themselves.

In 1692 mass hysteria broke out as the Salem Witch Trials came to their peak and executed 20 and imprisoned 200. Salem, located in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was a highly religious community running away from England’s prosecution like many other colonies. They found themselves in multiple conflicts that slowly was tearing them a part and increasing tension among the colonists. In 1691, the new king and queen of England, Mary and William, issued a more antireligious charter. They combined the Massachusetts Bay colony, Plymouth, and several others so they could be under closer watch. The bay colony mostly consisted of Puritans who felt they were under attack and still under England’s strict religious persecution. They began to believe that the devil was punishing them by attacking them with external factors. This made their fear manifest to anxiety so real it could be easily manipulated by even children. All of this would lead to the demise of innocent people and the tearing apart of a community.

Theories about the cause of the Salem Witch Trials include ergot poisoning, cold weather, boredom, Salem politics, and Puritans’ strong belief in witchcraft. One of the possible causes of the witch hysteria in Salem is a biological one. Bread was a main source of food in colonial America. Historians have speculated that ergot poisoning could have been

Do not you see these afflicted persons and hear them accuse you.” The approach of the judges shows their inability to try to consider Nurse’s side in the case, as they show bias in their questioning of Nurse, trying to lead her to a confession. The judges take almost any accusation that is in accordance with that of Ann Putnam Jr, or another member close to the Parris family, and deem it as “credible information.” They fail to consider possible networks between the Parris family and other people joining in with further accusations. Therefore, the judges also fail to consider opposing argument to the Parris family.

In the year 1692, a sort of craze ran through the village of Salem, Massachusetts. Accusations of witches among them caused an intense hysteria and also an opportunity to the villagers, some historians even believe there may have been more motive behind the shocking amount of accusations made. Though the trials all began with a charge of a devilish possession they may not have ended with the same sin in mind. By observing the 3 original targets the trial of the first woman hanged, Bridget Bishop, and Mary Easty’s final plead for the innocent what is brought to light is a slight acknowledgment to the sexism and Puritanical beliefs that fed the trials rapid growing flames.

The central issue at stake for people during the Salem witch trials were a series of hearing and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft. It all started in Salem Village, in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. A man by the name of Richard Godbeer, the author of “The Salem Witch Hunt” and several other books is a professor at the University of Miami. Godbeer’s research and teaching interests center on colonial and revolutionary America. Also, his fields of interest are in gender, sex, witchcraft and religious culture.