The Salem Witch Trials : Causes And Delusions

Samuel Parris was the new reverend of the Salem church and he knew that Abigail and the three girls weren’t possessed by demons. He was a horrible man who sabotaged people’s trials so that they would die because he didn’t want to lose his job. In the end Samuel Parris was driven out by Sarah's husband who took over the town. The people of Salem were afraid. They didn’t want to cause harm, but they did want to stay away from witches. About 100 people were accused of being witches but were never killed,

Between the months of June to September of 1692, the infamous witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts resulted in the hanging of 19 men and women; the deaths of five others, including two children, while imprisoned in jail; the pressing to death of an 80-year old man, and the stoning of two dogs for collaborating with the Devil. Hundreds of others faced accusations and dozens more were jailed for months during the progress of the trials. For over three hundred years these events have not only captured the general publics' imagination, but that of the academic community. Beginning with Charles Upham, in 1867, historians have attempted to explain the mass hysteria that swept through Salem in 1692. These accounts vary both in their

Puritans settled in the Massachusetts town of Salem in 1630, with their leader John Winthrop. Winthrop claimed that Salem would be “As a City Upon a Hill,” meaning that the Puritans coming to the New World would set a religious and civilized example among other colonies. However, this wasn’t the case. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of accusations and persecutions due to what was thought to be witchcraft among Salem townspeople. King Philip’s War played a role in the trials. It caused regional mass hysteria which lead to the accusing of witches in Salem. Samuel Parris was the local preacher of Salem and in 1691 he started preaching about the devil and focused more on hell instead of more positive things which also played a role in the crafting of the witch trials. Rich versus poor feuds, the desire to feel around and inspect women, and easily being able to have someone punished by accusing them of being a witch, fueled and motivated the Witch Trials of Salem in 1692.

The Salem Witch Trials began during the spring of 1692 after a group of young girls in Salem Village, MA, said they were being possessed by the devil and accused local women of witchcraft. With chaos running around the village, the special court began taking on cases. Bridget Bishop, the first convicted witch, was hung that June month. Many people of the Salem community had major consequences including death and harrassment. Belief that the devil could give certain humans, or witches, power to harm others in return for their loyalty emerged throughout europe as early as the 14th century. All of this chaos and phenomenon led to a pointing fingers game of who is guilty. Chaos also brought up the question of why it happened, malice, spite, or

The Salem Witch Trials were a series of accusations, trials, and executions based on the supposed outbreak of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. The trials began during the spring of 1692, and the last of them ended in 1693. It all started when two young girls, Abigail and Betty Parris, began experiencing violent convulsions and outbursts, which were thought to be brought about by witchcraft. Whether they were faking these symptoms, were afflicted with an actual sickness, or were experiencing them because of some sort of psychological reason is widely debated, though it is known that the sisters accused their maid, Tituba, of forcing them to participate in witchcraft with her. Some who theorize about the causes of the trials dismiss the Parris girls involvement in the beginning and instead attribute the outbreak of accusations to judgement upon the members of society who break social or religious rules, or who struck the upright members of society as ‘strange’ and ‘suspicious’, such as the homeless, the poor, and old or widowed women. The cause of the hysteria that went on in Salem after this is what is speculated by so many. There are probably hundreds of theories out there, but a few in particular are more widely known, accepted, and supported than others.

There have been many theories and conspiracies following up the Salem Witch Trials of 1962 in Salem, Massachusetts. Many claims try to explain the existence of witches during the time but very few try to disprove those claims as well. Although they hold strong arguments only one theory has been able to be proven scientifically through the accounts of actual victims. Ergot poisonings have been very evident through the beginning of the “bewitchments” and throughout the trials. In 1962, eight young girls began to experience sickly symptoms and strange happenings that no nurse or doctor could explain. As they were left clueless with no explanation they concluded that girls were “bewitched” and ended up accusing three elderly women of being the witches of Satan while conducting spiritual acts of terrorism on them for sacrificial reasons. These women admitted to the crime and were sentenced to jail although more accounts of the same symptoms and happenings were spreading to even more people in the area. The theory of ergotism may be proven by the location and time period of the trials, the side effects of the ergot poisoning, and even the authentic accounts of the “bewitched” victims.

The Salem Witch Trials has been argued as one of the most important and controversial topics in American history. The Salem Witch Trials concluded the war between faithful people and evil people, and brought the long awaited justice to Salem village. Different historians presented varying opinions about the consequences and effects of the Salem Witch Trials. Reverend Samuel Parris played a pivotal role in preaching Christianity as well as eradicating evil from Salem village at that time. Religion was enforced among the people of Salem village, which created dispute against church-members and the non-church members. Moreover, religion created social segregation and disunity existed between these two groups of people. When it was revealed that witches were diminishing the holiness of Salem village, witch-hunt was initiated, and proved to be very effective, resulting in many witches being brought to justice.

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 Salem Witch Trials were a questionable and scandalous time in New England history that led to the deaths of 14 women and 6 men, all of whom had been charged with practicing witchcraft. The trials were the result of the strange and unexplainable behavior of two young girls, who exhibited violent convulsions and uncontrollable outburst of screaming and fits that left them unable to see,speak or hear. After a local doctor examined them and found no physical reason for their fits, diagnosed them as bewitched. This diagnosis sent salem into hysteria and in the summer of 1692, nearly 200 people were accused and arrested for practicing witchcraft. In January of 1692, Betty Parris, age nine, and Abigail Williams, age eleven, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris, began having what was recorded as fits. The girls threw things around the room, uttered strange sounds and contorted their bodies. They also started covering their ears during sermons. After their diagnosis, other young girls in the village began exhibiting the same symptoms. In February, scared by events, the villagers held fasts and prayed for the afflicted. Wanting the influence of witchcraft out of the village, the girls were pressured into providing names of whomever had bewitched them. Three women were named, Sarah Good, Sarah Osburne and an old slave named Tituba. It was easy to believe that the three women were guilty due to them being unpopular within the village. Sarah Good was a beggar and had

The type of people involved in the trials was the surroundings of the Salem village, puritan religion, but mostly women. Their belief was sacred to both, god and devil. They believed that women were too weak to fight the devil and lose so they become the devil's servant, which is a witch. Puritans also believed in predestination which is having god already knowing it they go to heaven or hell. No matter what life they had, whether good or bad, they will be going to the place god assigns them.

This is about witchcraft and is started like this: In the winter of 1691-92, several people in Salem Village, most of them young women, but eventually including a few men and boys, began behaving in a "strange & unusual manner”, with an affect which was interpreted as illness. The town's minister, Samuel Parris, whose daughter and niece were among those with this odd affect, sought to cure the perceived problem with prayer; others, including a doctor of physic who was called in, felt that the people in question were afflicted with a witch's supernatural curse, and this diagnosis came to be accepted as true. Friends and relatives prompted the "afflicted" people to name their supposed tormentors. On 29 February 1691/92,

You wake up, the screams of terror surrounding you. They take you away, out of your bed and away from your family throw you in a jail cell. You are a witch, this is what they tell you. Your tied up neck to heels the blood rushing to your head and eventually leaving your body. There is nothing you can do, nothing you can say. You have been condemned for a crime that you did not commit.

What makes a little town implode and cause a standout amongst the most heartbreaking occasions in U.S. history? Amid the mid year of 1692 pressures were high and many individuals started to isolate from the congregation. Puritan pioneers started to stress they were losing control of the group and needed to counteract change in the strict social hierarchy. The pioneers needed to guarantee that the lessons of the congregation would be tailed anybody not following the congregation was just blamed for being a witch and rebuffed in like manner. Witchcraft was viewed as a wrongdoing of conspiracy, and discipline was extreme. The Salem witchcraft trials came about because of social hierarchy , fanaticism, and religious intolerance .

In 1692-1693 in a town called Salem, there was a series of hangings and deaths. 20 people died in these ¨witch trials¨ many were women. Why did the people believe these women were witches? What causes them to believe? The cause of these deaths was the fear and belief in witches.

The year 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts was a time of fear and allegation provoked by religious fanatics and young girls who shared stories of witchcraft. It was the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The famous witch-hunt is much more than just a part of America’s history, it is also a major addition to the history of women. Witchcraft is defined as the practice of magic, and it is believed to be possible through associations with the devil. The concept of witchcraft induces ideas about women, bringing fears and questions of their place in society. The Salem witch trials contributed to labelling women in an act of prejudice, turning them against one another, and creating an inequitable atmosphere for women and their rights.