The Pros And Cons Of The Salem Witchcraft Trials

The Salem Witch Trials brought havoc among the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts starting in 1692. Many of the people within the town continued to have strong loyalties to their new Puritan religion and their old king back home. The church of England had moved away from the Catholic religion with the help of King Henry VIII and the Puritans were a new group of people who accepted the split from Catholicism but still believed that the church of England had a lot of aspects that remained with the Catholic religion. Despite this, loyalty to the king remained strong because the Puritans were not looking to break off from the Church of England instead they wanted to reform the religion and make it their own. These loyalties stretched to such an extent that any sin committed was also considered an act of treason and thus punished. The Salem community was constantly searching for evil within their town to prove their righteousness to God which lead to high rates of fear and paranoia in their daily lives. The strict Puritan religion soon became the root cause of the monstrous imagination that started to form within the community of Salem. Many people still feared the presence of Catholic ideas within their communities and in response were willing to go to any extent to irradiate these views. Some historians also account the beginning of the trials to divisions within the two towns of Salem that lead to tensions and turmoil between the townsmen. But without the increased belief in their new religion, women around town wouldn’t have been persecuted. The strict belief in the Puritan religion and culture was the root cause of fear and paranoia that led to the mass execution of many women and townspeople during the Salem Witch Trials.

Did you know that the Salem witch trials resulted in the execution of only twenty people? Most people believe that hundreds of people were executed during the Salem witch trials, which is often a very common thought but in actuality only twenty people (mostly women) were executed. The Salem witch trials was a huge part of American history, they are important to remember because they are probably a crucial turning point for America, because before the trials religion and superstition were very important and after the trials happened rational thinking became more and more important. The Salem witch trials had such an impact on American people that they are still remembered and talked of in today’s society. These trials are still today widely thought of as being important, because they showed an excellent example of how people hate or fear what they do not understand, which is still a behavior that is seen in present society. The Salem Witch Trials had many causes which all could have been prevented if the Puritan government would have taken the time to investigate the accusations of the alleged crimes being committed. The Salem witch trials provide many interesting aspects to discuss such as, the historical information on the Salem witch trials, how the Puritan government could have prevented this by not accepting spectral evidence, and why the puritan government was so willing to accept the accusations being made.

The Puritans that comprised the colony of Salem, Massachusetts, were extremely religious, attributing biblical meaning to all aspects of their lives and being accustomed to personify the devil (Kocić, 2010). Specifically, church elders strongly believed that their congregation was superlatively righteous and for this reason the devil would try to target it with attacks in all forms, hence it was impressed upon the community to be vigilant against any signs of his presence. Such signs were subject to interpretation, yet they were generally concentrated on negative events which occurred unexplainably in the colony, for instance in the eventuality of a crop failure, stillborn children, or serious disease of an unknown nature. Common perception identified a witch as someone who bonded their body and

The Salem witch trials were a difficult time for the citizens of the Massachusetts Colony in the late seventeenth century. They were accused of practicing the Devil’s magic, which many believed to be real; so real that people were being imprisoned and executed for it. Between the years 1692 and 1693 there were over two hundred accusations and about 20 people and two dogs were killed altogether.

The Salem Witch trials are a very known event in history. Groups of people were accused as being witches by the church and its followers. The murders of the West Memphis is another very similar situation of the West Memphis police blaming three teenage boys because they stood out from other citizens. There are many similarities between these two events of mass hysteria and false accusations.

The Salem Witch Trials occurred in 1692 and 1693 in colonial Massachusetts. “More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft – the Devil’s magic – and 20 were executed” as detailed by Jess Blumberg on the web article A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials (Blumberg 2007). The trials had a major impact on the American society and the effects could be seen in colonial America as well as today.

The Salem Witch Trials was a harsh time in Spring 1692. A time when young girls were accused of witchcraft. The Salem Witch Trials included harsh torturing methods for those accused of witchcraft. Torturing methods included swimming test, prayer test, touch test, witch cakes, witch marks, pricking and scratching test, incantations. These were some harsh punishments. Practicing witchcraft was considered a horrible crime on a scale with rape and murder. The 18th century Code of Hammurabi contained punishment against sorcery, and many medieval legal systems listed specific reasons for identifying, trying and even executing suspected witches and warlocks. Since finding proof of evil was no easy task, witch-hunters often went to some particular experiments in their journey to kill accused witches. From awful tortures and terrible dessert dishes to unwinnable trials by ordeal, find out more about unusual tests once used against evil misconduct.

The Salem Witch Trials affected the city greatly and caused a division between the people. Cotton Mather wanted to do something right for the city; he wanted to restore all that was lost. He hoped that by his book could bring a stronger unity to the community. In doing so, he shined the light on the people about the devil and his existence to truly kill, steal, and destroy. The people needed to recognize how disturbed and displeased the devil was once they arrived to this land. Mather stressed on the fact that the devil was making sure any form of religious beliefs of groups didn’t threaten his territory. Therefore, Satan began a battle with the people of New England and Mather wanted to inform them about the wicked spirit that was roaming

The events that happen throughout history influence the world as they happen. History can be good or bad, fact or fiction, globally influential or locally influential; it is important for people to learn about the events that happened throughout history in order to study the past failures and past successes. One globally known event from history is The Salem Witch Trials. During the Salem Witch Trials, different types of people were wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft. When a person was accused of being a witch, he or she was put on trial. Because a person accused of witchcraft was already considered guilty, many people were either put in jail or put to death. The Salem witch trials were a bad part of history that were influenced by religious

​An infamous episode in American history, the Salem Witch Trials, resulted in over a hundred people accused of practicing witchcraft and the deaths of many innocent men and women. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of trials that occurred in Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. What started out as teenagers trying to beat boredom led to the worst case of witch hysteria in American history. Although the hysteria was triggered by the teenagers, a combination of events and factors contributed to the birth and growth of the trials. The main causes of the hysteria during the Salem Witch Trials were societal, religious, and political issues.

The Salem Witch Trials were officially stopped on October 12, 1692 after the incarceration of hundreds of people and the murder of 20 innocents and two dogs. “Governor Phips issued [an] order that protected the current prisoners from harm and suspended any more arrest of people accused of witchcraft. Robert Calef, a merchant outraged by the progress of the trials, stated that Governor Phips only issued these orders on the belief that his own wife had been accused of working for Satan” (The End of the Salem Witch Trials). The aftermath of the trials was severe and left families completely broken. Those of which who died during the trials received no aid or closure for their families and those who were convicted and accused but still survived

Many explanations for the cause of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 have been offered by historians since the first girl fell ill to bewitchment in December 1961. This marked the beginning of the witch hunt that ended with the death of twenty convicted “witches”. Historical writers have tried to allocate one particular factor or event as the cause of the Trials, but it is more likely that many of these factors and events are connected and a number of these issues are at the centre of the trials. The context that these historians are writing in are reflected in their work and perspectives and are also influenced by their own emotions and opinions. For this reason alone, no objective reasonings have been or may not ever be brought forward to explain what truly caused the Witch Trials to occur.

The Salem Witch Trials have gone down in history as a very brutal and cruel time, due to the fact that several innocent people were convicted and murdered because of false accusations. Today we look back on the trials seeing that it has not only affected our mentality, but incredibly so, our government as well.

Could something like The Salem Witch Trials happen again? My answer is yes. The Salem Witch Trials started in the spring of 1692 when a group of girls claimed to be possessed by the devil. The village began fasting and praying to try and rid them from the devils influence in the month of February. Over time, more girls started to act possessed which only gave people more of a reason to believe in witches. The girls accused many local women in the Salem Village of preforming witch craft. During the month of March, many women were examined, charged or killed, if accused of being a witch. Victims of the witch hunt experienced different death penalties. Nineteen were hung, one had been crushed to death under the weight of stones, and many died

Alright kiddos buckle up because I’m about to take you on a journey. This journey will be a hate fueled extravaganza as I spaz out about my religion and misconceptions while struggling to sound official. Here we go kiddos, I’m listening to sassy music and spewing words out on a paper. Time to write some garbage about how Salem puritans were really stupid. Step into my candy store and enjoy a nice lollipop flavored with my rage and self-hate that is being poured into this paper.