The Many Mysteries Of The Salem Witch Hunt

To learn more about the Salem witchcraft hysteria, Historian Paul Boyer, and Professor Stephen Nissenbaum sought to further understand the accusations of witchcraft. During the late 1600’s life in colonial New England was one led by religion and politics. Salem was broken up into two factions, Salem Village, and Salem Town. Salem Village, which was led by the Putnam family was a rapidly growing

To illustrate, a passage from John Demos’ “Underlying Themes in the Witchcraft of 17th Century New England” states the gender and age range of the accused witches and accusers (Document 5). Furthermore, the document provides proof of the overwhelming amount of widowed, married, and single women, specifically twenty-nine single, sixty-one married, and twenty widowed women. Evidence reveals that mainly women were targeted in the accusations, which suggests that this chaos was brewed out of jealousy and spite. Equally important, the names of the people who were killed throughout the Salem Witchcraft hangings and the dates the deaths occurred are listed in the Salem Court Records (Document 2). Of all the names listed, most were women, revealing that socially, men were not seen as the threat, even though men have always come off as more dominant than women. Names listed also reveal that some of the people were from the same family, confirming that the accusers could have had a vendetta against specific families. From the evidence in these two documents, it can be concluded that there was a social motive for the hysteria of the Salem Witch

Kappanadze, Margaret. "Baker, Emerson W.: A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience." Library Journal 15 Sept. 2014: 92. General OneFile. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.

The number of different interpretations of the Salem Witch Trials illustrates that historiography is ever changing. The historians, Hale, Starkey, Upham, Boyer and Nissenbaum, Caporal, Norton and Mattosian have all been fascinated by the trials in one way or another because they have all attempted to prove or disprove certain elements about the trials. By analysing their augments about the causes of the Salem Witch Crisis, it is evident that this historical event can be examined from a range of different perspectives and interpreted in a range of

for the village, show up as complaints on witchcraft indictments in1692. Similarly, many of the accused witches in Salem belonged to the Porter faction or, according to Boyer and Nissenbaum, represented the projection of the grievances caused by such factionalism upon more obtainable targets like Rebecca Nurse and Martha Cory. Through such a reconstruction of the factional village of Salem, Boyer and Nissenbaum explain the Salem witchcraft episode from within the larger history of the transformation to a modern capitalist society, and the

By reading the two primary sources we are given a clear account of the Salem Witch Trials. John Hale describes the officials involved in the trial and those being prosecuted. Hale states, “I observed in the prosecution of these affairs, that there was in the Justices, Judges and others concerned, a conscientious endeavor to do the thing that was right.” he then later states “But what chiefly carried on this matter to such an height, was the increasing of confessors til they amounted to near about fifty.” While Governor phips goes into more detail in reference to the actual court proceedings, “When the Court came to sit at Salem in the County of Essex they convicted more than twenty persons of being guilty of witchcraft, some of the convicted were such as confessed their Guilt, the Court as I understand began their proceedings with the accusations of the afflicted and then went upon other humane evidences to strengthen that.” Only together the sources are able to give the reader the information needed, showing a disadvantage to using primary sources to evaluate history. These accounts illustrate comprehensively the picture of a court concerned with doing the right thing for their people and trying the accused in the way they see fit. They explain the use of accusations to testify against the convicted and

The view that religious beliefs were behind the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 is predominantly incorrect. While the Puritan culture’s strong Christian beliefs did dictate the behaviour of New England society, for the authorities that instigated the Witch Trials, religion was a mere justification for their actions that allowed them to gain support by instilling in the masses the fear of a higher power. Their true motives lay in the political and social issues of the time, with Salem Town’s division due to two disputing families, the ever-present fear of smallpox, and the male population’s immense opposition to female independence and sexuality. Thus, while society had strong religious beliefs, they were merely a pretext for the political and social factors of family conflict, disease, and fear of women that were the true bases for the accusations dealt in 1692.

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 Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, he writes, “We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!” (Miller 77). This partially fictionalized tale of the Salem Witch Trials points to one of the causes of the trials, vengeance, but the over dramatized tale 's early stages were quiet. The Salem Witch Episode had humble beginnings in the town of Salem Village, Massachusetts, but evolved into one of the most widely known witch trials in American History. The gallows in Salem claimed the lives of nineteen men and woman during the spring and summer of 1692 due to the accusations of witchcraft with over a hundred people who were accused. After all the terror and the uproar of the trials occurred, everything came to a screeching halt (Linder 1). Due to the unique circumstances of this particular set of witch trials, from the rampant accusations to the discontinuation of the trials mass hysteria does not seem to be fault as with other witch trials, but a variety of factors. The Salem witch trials were not just a simple case of mass hysteria, but a combination of factors ranging from poisons to superstitions to scapegoats, resulting in the outbreak of the Salem Witch episode.

The hysteria, craze, trials, and deaths, still rest an unsolved case. The theories of politics, rivalries, religion and the “circle girls” seem the most believable, in my eyes. However, as the happenings in Salem village still continue to mislead and amaze not only historians, but many others, the witch trials lie a great turning point for Salem, and the lives of many; let alone

Have you ever been wrongly accused of something and get in trouble for it? Have you ever wrongly accused somebody because you were mad at them? This is what occurred in Salem Village, Massachusetts during 1692. These erroneous accusations, according to Document A, led to the hanging of 19 people, and the crushing of another. But what caused the accusations? According to An Unsolved Crime: The Salem Witch Trials, the hardships the villagers endured, teenage boredom, and the Puritans strict religion were the causes of the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria. .

During early 1692, in Essex, Massachusetts, a group of girls began to practice “conjuration with sieves and keys, and peas, and nails, and horseshoes”. By February, the adults tried to put into words what was happening to their children: “odd postures,” “foolish, ridiculous speeches”. Local physician William Griggs warned Reverend Samuel Parris, father of two of these girls, that he suspected the “Evil Hand” or more specifically, “malefic witchcraft”. As a result of this bizarre occurrence, rumors and assumptions spread rapidly across the area of Salem Village. The legal system was unkempt and clearly unprepared for something so baffling. As a result, the trials were conducted aimlessly and disorderly, without consideration of the persecuted. Throughout countless records, evidence was slim and weak. This was just the beginning of what is known as the Salem Witch Trials. Due to an unorganized legal system, The Salem Witch Trials exposed Puritan society as unprepared, unlawful, and unethical.

The reason behind the historical witch hunts begin with materialism and abhorrence. Society in Salem appears quiet and dull; however, when rumors spread of witches, society accuses the social outcasts at first. “Research has long passed the old notion that authorities, especially the Church, fell in with the people’s supposed eagerness for scapegoats to blame for poor harvests, disease, or similar catastrophes and used intensive prosecution to further their own authoritarian ends” (Maxwell-Stuart 73). Then, the people of Salem throw accusations at the people that they loath or covet their neighbor’s land. This brought a new change in their society: they show a piece of individuality, even if townspeople’s individuality displays as spreading rumors or lying about their neighbors.

If we were to look through American history, we can witness many victories as well as many shames. One of the most famous ignominies was the Salem witch trials in 1692. During the witch trials, many were wrongfully accused and some were executed. There are many theories about why this horror story commenced, but there are no clear appointed reasons. Medical factors may have contributed to the events such as ergot poisoning, traumatic stress, and mass hysteria. Considering that this was an early time in American history, it was likely that these factors were overlooked and ignored. This is a mystery impossible to overlook.

Throughout the witch hunts, women were the primary target; most victims being midwives, native healers, single women who lived alone, people against whom neighbors had a grudge or practitioners of ancient pagan rituals. Although not all were women, 75 to 90% of accused witches were in fact women (Levack,. p. 124), forcing one to question the affects of the harsh portrayal of women being placed on women.