Salem Witch Trials In The 1600's

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.

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.

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.

During the seventeenth century, many Puritans became fed up with the Church of England and its devilish ways. They wanted to break free from it, and make changes elsewhere. They got permission to set up a colony in Massachusetts Bay, and soon after that, over twenty-thousand Puritans fled from England to America. They decided to base their colony on the word of God, and believed God would protect them if they followed his commandments. This meant that if anyone were to sin, “they didn’t want God to protect them because they already worshiped the devil,” and “anyone who worshipped the devil was a witch who used witchcraft to possess others.” Because of this theory, many people were accused of being witches and using witchcraft. The most notorious series of hearings and prosecutions for those accused of witchcraft took place in Salem Village, Massachusetts, known as the Salem Witch Trials.

The Salem Witch Trials were a sequence of hearings, prosecutions, and hangings of people who were thought to be involved in witchcraft in Massachusetts. These trials occurred between February 1692 and May 1693("The Salem Witch Trials, 1692." ). The Trials resulted in the execution of twenty people, in fact, most of them were women. The first of the trials began in several towns in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, such as Salem Village (currently known as Danvers), Salem Town, Ipswich, and Andover("Salem Witch Museum." ). The most infamous trials were tried by the Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692, in Salem Town. Robert Calef, the author of More Wonders of the Invisible World, a book composed throughout the mid-1690s denouncing the recent Salem witch trials of 1692, summarized the trials saying

The Salem Witch Trials were a prime part of American history during the early 17th century. During this time, religion was the prime focus and way of life within colonies. This was especially true for the Puritan way of life. Puritans first came to America in hopes of practicing Christianity their own way, to the purest form. The Puritans were fundamentalists who believed every word transcribed in the Bible by God was to be followed exactly for what it was. The idea of the devil controlling a woman and forming her into a Witch was originated from people’s lack of awareness on illness, disease or simple hysteria. The Colonists lack of expertise on the methodical approach through sciences, left them concluding to a spiritual phenomenon.

Salem was a very disperse community in the Massachusetts Bay colony with a growing Puritan community in the northern America. Towns in the colony were scattered by a half days travel or more. In view of this, transportation and communication was a very slow and the settlers were threatened by the attack of bears and other wild animals. Puritans were spiritual people and believed that God is the ruler of everything they possessed. The puritans believed that they were the chosen people and therefore they had to seek perfection. They were also of the believe that it was God who provided them with good health, riches and fortunes. Salvation was an important virtue of the puritans and God could take away their salvation if they sinned and went contrary to the bible. Also, misfortunes and bad things happened to them as a presence of evil and showed Gods disapproval of their salvation. Bible reading, fasting, prayers and preaching formed an integral part of the puritan community

In 1692, the world was plagued by the idea that witches roamed freely on Earth. The Witch trials and hunts have long been a sinful way in getting rid of the presumably evil people who lurked in the deepest parts of the Earth. The conviction of witches and witchcraft was prevalent in 1692 in New England, and one of the most fervent strong believers was Cotton Mather who was an honored Boston minister and who wrote several topics on religion. This will explore and illustrate parts of Cotton Mather’s life and how he was the heart of the destruction of people's lives in Salem.

The year 1692 is remembered as one of the most scandalous times in American History. Throughout the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, over a hundred people were accused of practicing witchcraft (the majority of them being women). 14 women were hung, and 5 men were accused leading to a total of 19 people dying due to these trials. One man was even pressed to death by substantial weights for declining to enter a plea (Linder 1). No less than eight individuals passed on in jail, including one baby and one child; and more than one hundred and fifty people were imprisoned while anticipating trial. The primary reasons for the witch trials were clashes over managing governmental issues, religion, family, financial aspects, and apprehensions of the citizens. The Salem Witch Trials reflect the harsh and rigid judgements of the Puritans and citizens of Salem. It is one of the most intriguing story in American History.

Salem Witch Trials was a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in the Salem Village of the 17th century New England. The trials caused executions of many people but mostly women. Salem Witch Trials exposed the different roles men and women were supposed to play during the seventeenth century. Women were supposed to take on “wifely duties” such as, be mothers and housewives. Women were thought to follow the men. The trials also revealed that there were strict religious norms during the seventeenth century. There was a rigid moral code believed that God would punish sinful behavior. Those who were under the covenant by the church of the Salem Village believed that Satan would select those to fulfill his work

The infamous Salem witch trials of colonial Massachusetts took place between 1692 and 1693. They involved the execution of fourteen women and five men within the brief time period. What is now the New England region had been established by a homogenous Puritan population, which emigrated from England. Abiding by a strict set of beliefs, the Puritans did not accept people of other backgrounds,therefore it might follow that the Salem Witch Trials of New England were a result of the strict Puritan society, which was actually primarily untrue. The Salem Witch Trials were not enacted as a result of Puritanism, but rather as a result of circumstance surrounding Rye.

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a dark and very crucial time in American history. The late sixteen hundreds consisted of relying on young girls for the truth; but to what extent did the puritan’s religion and culture have in the proceedings of the Salem Witch Trials? A focus on the religion that the puritans believed in and their culture will be discussed. Also, how their faith turned them against those who were accused of witchcraft. It is also needed to discuss how they faith of the puritan’s even came about.

In 1692, the subjects of Salem Massachusetts turned on each other, and blamed hundreds for their own neighbors with Witchcraft. Amid the era of June to September 1692, nineteen individuals were unjustifiably killed after ridiculous trials discovered them liable of demonstrations of Witchcraft. The explanations for the trials themselves are perplexing and multifaceted. Financial matters, religious imperatives, financial class issues, corrupted nourishment supply, property question, congregational quarrels and juvenile young ladies ailing in consideration all remain at the center of the Salem Witch

Far too often in history, a person’s negative or evile views have influenced others to commit terrible atrocities. In the 1930s, Adolph Hitler hated the Jews and blamed them for the declining economy, high unemployment rate, and other ills in the world. Because he was a master orator , he easily convinced the German citizens to agree with his views, including the belief that the Jewish people should be punished, causung their mass execution during World War II. In recent years, leaders of various terrorist cells have used similar tactics of vengeance, brotherhood, and patriotism, recruiting impressionable young adults, promising eternal salvation as a reward for torture, murder, and even suicide. Closer to home , in Massachusetts during the 17th century, a few people negatively influenced normally snae, religious, and honorable Puritans into believing witchcraft had taken a hold over the community. What evidence convinced such religious people it ironically and hypocritically offer torture and mass hangings as a

Colonial America has had its patches of conflict and strife. From the struggle for independence, to trouble with native peoples, to sickness, the colonies were no stranger to hardship. One of the most infamous historical events within the colonies was the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 and 1693. Many theories exist regarding the root of this issue. During this time, due to the colonies’ belief in the occult, prejudice, and a possible spread of diseased food crops, many women were accused of witchcraft and were put to death wrongly, with no advocate for their freedom. Cotton Mather’s account of “The Trial of Martha Carrier” gives insight into this dark period in American history, including the root of the conflict that sentenced so many women to execution in one short year.