The Puritans followed the Bible as closely as possible. The magistrates referred to one scripture in the Bible time and time again as to see how to deal with the accused witches, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Exodus 22:18). Since the Puritans followed the Bible so strictly, they believed all accused witches that had been proven guilty were to be hanged or burned at the stake. The Puritans also believed North America to be the Devils country. They began to fear anything new and anything that went against or made them question their beliefs. In 1620 a new era was on the rise, an era that would become more science based and had less church involvement. This made Puritans cling on to their beliefs and ways of the church. They continued…
The Salem witch trials were the first and only witch hunt to result in numerous deaths and rely mainly on spectral evidence. Most importantly, Salem did not follow the standard set by previous possessions: to keep the accusations made by the possessed inside the household. The accusations were used for selfish and greedy reasons. Salem Village was dealing with land disputes within the village and trying to gain independence from Salem Town in 1692. Some of Salem’s residents moved from Maine due…
after being accused of using witchcraft in 1692. In Massachusetts Salem Trials first began in January of 1692 when a group of young girls, who later came to known as the “afflicted girls” felt sick after playing a fortune-telling game and began behaving strangely(Brooks). More than 200 people were accused of using witch craft. Like many other people the write, found this information interesting that she chose to learn more about it. Doing so she used the website…
person was undoubtedly a witch. Last, the judges considered a confession from the accused. As the trials went on, it was obvious that sometimes this was the only way out (“Witchcraft in Salem”). The judges wanted to keep convicted witches in prison for as long as possible, in hopes that they would list other unknown witches (Meltzer 80). The verdict of each woman…
According to Blumberg, the Salem of witch trials it was a really bad part of the United State. There were people who didn’t understanding why they were getting accused. This happed during the 1692 and 1693 in Massachusetts this really happed during this time. The main parts that started atnd fueled the trials were politics, religion, family, feuds, economics, and the imaginations and fears of people (Sutter). The seeds of the hysteria are afflicted Salem village, Massachusetts was sown on…
The Salem Witch Trials The Salem witch trials took place between February of 1692 and May of 1693, by the end of the trials hundreds were accused of witchcraft, nineteen were executed and several more died while imprisoned awaiting either trial or execution. Some of the ‘symptoms’ associated with witchcraft could have included fever, contortions due to excessive pain, stress, asthma, guilt, boredom, child abuse, epilepsy, and delusional psychosis. One scientist did research and found that the…
The Salem witch trials began in February 1692 when two young children, Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Parris, began to act in a strange manner (chronology of events relating to the Salem witch trials, n.d.), showing signs of fits and hysterics (important persons in the Salem court records, n.d.). During this period in time where fear of the devil was much more common and superstition was a part of daily life for practically everyone it was easiest to blame witchcraft when both girls spoke of…
The People of Salem The Salem witch trial was a period of time where the citizens of Salem (mostly women) were persecuted of witchcraft. The panic took place around February of 1692 to May of 1693. The occupants of Salem were mostly Purist, Protestants who left the Roman Catholic Church due to corruption during the reformation period. They were a group of hard working individuals who were heavily God fearing. During the trials 19 people were executed, from either hanging or body pressing. Among…
In the year 1692, unusual and incomprehensible events occurred in Salem Village, Massachusetts, after a group of young girls had sinister episodes. For instance, “they would fall on the floor, shaking and trembling in seizures, or sit and stare off into space, unaware of the world around them. They would cry and shout curses uncontrollably” (Magoon 7). The Puritan settlers in the Salem community grew fearful as more girls became victims of these episodes. The village began to suspect that…
In 1692 hysteria hit the town of Salem. This iconic event in American history has had historians puzzled for centuries, because there is no clear evidence for why this witch hunt became more intense than any other American witch trial before it. Through my research, and previous knowledge, I have discovered that there are two main sources of fuel for the witch trials. The first, the leaders of Salem decided they could take advantage of the situation and pushed people into “the loop,” where…