The Criticism Of George Jacobs

George Jacobs Sr. was wrongly convicted as a wizard during the witch trials, because his accusers either had a distain against him or they attempted to save themselves from being wrongly accused and eventually end up executed, like so many of the accused during the time of the Salem Witch Trials.

Was the criticism of Gov./Col. Sibley justified? Describe what his explanations were and the arguments of those who wanted him to hurry up. Draw a conclusion evaluating which arguments were best.

These trials ceased when governor’s wife was questioned for possibly being involved in witchcraft. Following the false accusations involving the governor’s wife, many of the falsely accused witches were released from jail, although, sadly, many had already been

All the horrified villagers and upperclassmen saw the witches in action they saw the monstrous effect that black magic was apparently having on poor little child Abigail and twelve year old Ann Putnam Jr., a spell bounded choreography of outburst and spasms. “Look to her! She will have a fit presently,” one girl would cry out, pointing to another, who would promptly commence convulsing. “At other times they warned, ‘We shall all fall!’ and about seven girls would pass out, babbling to the floor. The head of the courtroom on that day was Thomas Danforth, deputy governor of Massachusetts and Harvard’s longtime treasurer, one of the several senior colonial officials . Betty's father called in more authorities to decide if witchcraft was the reason for the girl’s illness. Seeing that nothing was working not the praying or the vigils nor the sermons. Reverend decided to call in the doctors. Being puritan they did not believe in science but there were no options left. Betty was sent away, and did not participate in the trials; the other girls were joined by other young women in staging publicly putting on displays of their distress when in the presence of accused

One the most distinguished artists of the twentieth century, Jacob Lawrence was born in Atlantic City and spnt part of his child hood in Pennsylvania. After his parents split up in 1924, he went with his mother and siblings to New York, settling in Harlem. "He trained as a painter at the Harlem Art Workshop, inside the New York Public Library's 113 5th Street branch. Younger than the artists and writers who took part in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, Lawrence was also at an angle to them: he was not interested in the kind of idealized, fake-primitive images of blacks - the Noble Negroes in Art Deco guise - that tended to be produced as an antidote to the toxic racist stereotypes with which white popular culture had flooded

     When people talk about J.P. Morgan, they often refer to one man. The J.P. Morgan dynasty was in fact a combined effort of three generations of Morgans. In 1838, American businessman George Peabody opened the London merchant banking firm that would establish the roots of the House of Morgan. In 1854, Junius S. Morgan became the partner of George Peabody and eventually took over the firm in 1864, renaming it J.S. Morgan & Co. At the age of twenty four, J. Pierpont Morgan inherited his father’s business, renamed the business to J.P. Morgan & Co., and made a point to consolidate the firm’s American and European interests. Under Pierpont’s authority, J.P. Morgan

Ann Putnam, Mercy Lewis, who is her servant, and Mary Wilcott, who was Ann’s best friend, were the first to accuse people. Mercy, Ann, and Mary Wilcott would listen to Tituba, an Indian servant, and her tales of voodoo and supernatural events in her native Barbados. They reported seeing a ghost by a coffin and started having strange symptoms, such as pain, would speak gibberish, became contorted into strange positions, and crawl under tables and chairs. Abigail Williams and Ann Putman became the most active and youngest of the accusers. “The accused witches were brought before the magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne and questioned, even as their accusers appeared in the courtroom in a grand display of spasms, contortions, and screaming and writhing” (history.com). Ann claimed to be afflicted by sixty two people. In 1706, Ann Putnam offered a public apology for her participation in the witch trials at Salem. She stood in church while her apology was read: “I desire to be humbled before God. It was a great delusion of Satan that deceived me in that sad time. I did not do it out of anger, malice, or ill will” (history.com). Putman was the only one of the afflicted girls to make an apology. Mysterously, she never married and devoted her life to raising her

The first argument between Giles and Putnam is presented when Mr. Putnam first enters the court. The argument is used to prove Putnam prompted his daughter to cry witchery upon George Jacobs who had been put in jail. Giles gives the judge his deposition. The argument is

In light of pleading innocent, Bridget Bishop was held accountable for her witchcraft. Her innocence is proven in that these evidences presented against her were majority based on speculation. These speculations being that she was an owner of two taverns in which she knew how to entertain men, her husbands passed away by unknown causes linked to her sorcery, who dressed flamboyant, because it was odd to the puritans and her plea in court was not convincing enough.

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 caused hysteria throughout the town rapidly. Fear and paranoia were major causes of why this incident blew out of proportion and became such an intense historical event. When terror struck in the small town of Salem, the society went berserk. The fear of being hanged for witchcraft overcame the women of the community. The constant fright to be accused of trafficking with spirits, even if one knew they were not guilty, created this accusation frenzy. All the girls who had originally claimed they were “possessed by the devil” started blaming others for being witches and conjuring these spirits upon them, especially Abigail Williams. The court of Salem had said that all who did not confess were to be hanged because they were paranoid that if the women were to lie, there still would be witches lingering in their town. Some women decided to confess, even if they were innocent, because of the fear of death. Others did not confess because they were afraid of their reputation being ruined. Rebecca Nurse, a sweet, frail old woman in the town, exclaims, “Why, it is a lie, it is a lie; how may I damn myself? I cannot, I cannot” when the court tries to convince her to follow John Proctor’s lead and confess her sins. She will not confess because she knows she truly is innocent; she would rather be hanged over creating a lying confession and ruining her name. Fear and paranoia was the root cause of the Salem Witch Trials.

Greed is another human failing that leads to the false accusations of the trials. Thomas Putnam uses the hysteria to his advantage by prompting his daughter, Ruth, to accuse people of witchcraft in order to take their land. Giles Corey points this out to the judges:

Several characters that accused others seemed to have other motifs than to cleanse the town of witchcraft. One, for instance, was Thomas Putnam. Putnam was a wealthy and greedy citizen of Salem. During the play, he accuses people of witchcraft to acquire more land. In the play, Giles Corey states that Putnam told his daughter to accuse George Jacobs of witchcraft. If Jacobs were to hang, the only citizen in Salem wealthy enough to buy his land was Putnam. Giles reported this and when he would not name the man who told him, Danforth arrests him for contempt of court. They torture Giles by placing large stones on his chest, making it hard to breathe, until he confesses. The only words Giles spoke were “more weight”.

Evidence shows that Margaret Hossack had many reason as to why she killed her husband John Hossack. In Frank Keller’s testimony he told everyone in the courtroom about

He stooped down to pick up the rake or pitchfork to strike her, when she vanished.”2 The slave testified against her as a witch, and even though she was not convicted of witchcraft this earlier trial demonstrates that Bridget was previously suspected of witchcraft.

As the trials go on, many more accusations are made. Giles Corey accuses Putnam of trying to get other landowners hanged for witchcraft so that he can have their land for himself. Marshall Danforth asks for a source and the person’s name. Giles says that he cannot give out the person’s name. Giles is in the court because his wife, Martha Corey had been arrested and accused of witchcraft. She gave away a pig to a man, and the pig became ill and died shortly after the pig was acquired. Francis Nurse is in the court because his wife, Rebecca Nurse was arrested too. He along with Giles continue to confront Danforth about Putnam’s doing, but Danforth responds with that they will have to put their thoughts into writing