The Devil Discovered: Salem Witchcraft, 1692 One of the most horrific events that occurred in American history was The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 that took place in Salem Village, Massachusetts, now known as Danvers, Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials were the accusations of two hundred people that were believed to be practicing witchcraft or worshiping the Devil. The witch trials began in the early year of 1692 and ended in 1693. Enders A. Robinson believes that the witch hunt occurred because of conspiracies formed by the townspeople, and because of the relation of religion and social ideas. Puritan leaders arrested those two hundred people that were accused, and twenty-eight of them were murdered or died in prison. Throughout “The …show more content…
Sarah Good, the homeless beggar, was an easy target because of her low status in the community. After her accusation and imprisonment, her four year old daughter, Dorcas Good, was also imprisoned. The afflicted girls claimed that Dorcas tortured them and forced them to write in the Devil's book, which was the cause of her imprisonment. However, Sarah Osborn was a rich elderly woman who inherited her dead husband's, Robert Prince, belongings. Her unwillingness of granting her two sons the inheritance they deserved caused her to be accused as a thief by Captain John Putnam, who was the husband of Robert Prince's sister. Captain John Putnam wanted justice for his two nephews and he accused Osborn of practicing witchcraft. Both Sarah Osborn and Sarah Good died in the summer of 1692, while Dorca remained in prison for 8 months after her mother's death. Tituba was a slave in the Parris household and was the one who ascended the belief in witchcraft. In the winter of 1691-1692 Tituba taught black magic to a group of young girls. In May 1692, Samuel Parris and his daughter and niece gave testimony against Tituba. The people of Salem Village realized how easy it was to accuse people of witchcraft that they accused anyone that they despised bringing them to …show more content…
He also discusses why he thinks such an absurd conspiracy spread like wildfire throughout the community of Salem Village. Unlike the witch hunt that occcurred in Europe, Salem has several documents that were't lost or destroyed to help piece together a remarkable story. Many of those documents are the arrest warrants of the victims. These warrants consisted of the list of people accused as witches, the name of the person who was making the complaint, and the name of the child who was afflicted. Through these warrants, Robinson argues “the question of whether the witch hunt was driven by mass hysteria or by conspiracy can be answered by simply tabulating all the legal documents filed with the official documents.” By studying these warrants there is a revelation that most of the accusers come from the Putnam family. The Putnam family were a few of the first settlers in New England in the 1630's and 1640's who controlled most of Salem
they had a feud of some kind with the accused. It all started when little Betty Parris and her cousin Abigail met an Indian slave named Tituba and asked for their fortunes. After that, the girls were seen, as put by Reverend Samuel Parris, “getting into Holes, creeping under Chairs and Stools,...” and were questioned on the matter. Under pressure, they identified two local white women and Tituba herself. Throughout the spring, a large chunk of the Salem population was accused, executed, and jailed for being witches.
One of the most notorious periods of American history, the Salem witch trials of 1692 resulted in the execution by hanging of fourteen women and five men who were accused of being witches during a period of mass hysteria. In addition, one man was pressed to death by giant stones for refusing to even plea innocent. At least eight people died in prison, including infants and children alike. Additionally, nearly two hundred people were jailed for months awaiting a trial that never came. Due to the survival of a large multitude of records, including notes and official rulings, the true facts of accusations, trials, and even the executions are known by the public.
During the Salem Witch Trials, which were a series of witchcraft trials that took place in 1692 in Massachusetts, nearly 19 people were executed by hanging and 200 people were accused of witchcraft with various consequences. There are several theories surrounding the causes of the Witch Trials, but most historians agree that they were a result of mass hysteria within the population of Salem and other surrounding towns. The circumstances that contributed to the mass hysteria surrounding the Massachusetts Salem Witch Trials of 1692 include ergot poisoning, family rivalries, and a strong belief in the occult. Each of these theories are very real explanations which could have contributed to the events in Salem, although none of these events have
Sequentially, they accused innocent Puritan people for bewitching them, and a series of court hearings
Tens of thousands of Native Americans lived in Massachusetts prior to colonization in 17 century. European traders and fisherman were carelessly introduced diseases to Native tribes and it devastated their people. Much of the Land was vacant and available to settle. Colonization began in the 1620 with two Massachusetts and Plymouth Colony. Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were dark times in American History in Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of events that occurred within the 1690's. The numerous allegations lead to hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, most of them women. Additionally, the accusations lead to community wide hysteria and blood thirst for the death of nearly all the accused witches.
Doctor William Griggs declared all those afflicted bewitched and the village agreed with this statement. Indian slave couple Tituba and John were accused in the making of the witch-cake which all those afflicted had had. Tituba was reverend Parris slave, caretaker of Abigail and Betty. February 25 and 28 Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good also accused as the tormentors. The first three women to be accused witches were not originally born in Salem and Tituba was also linked towards the Indian war.
One accused witch was crushed to death after he failed to plead guilty or not guilty. As many as thirteen other accused witches died in prison. During this time, the people in Salem feared that the Devil was trying to demolish their beliefs of Christianity. In addition to their fear of the Devil, the people
Can you imagine being accused of committing a crime that you did not commit? Innocent people were being accused of performing witchcraft and being witches. Salem witchcraft started in a town called Salem, which is in the state of Massachusetts, back in 1692. The story behind this was that three girls were one day begining to worry their parents. All the girls did was do normal kid things like climb on furniture and jump around acting crazy.
The Salem Witch Trials The well-known events that took place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1962, were known as the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials quickly began after a group of young girls began making accusations about the use of witchcraft by several members of the community in Salem. “The trials are known as one of the darkest times in American history.” (Brooks)
The book does not offer any new insights into the motivations or reasons that the Witch hysteria peaked as it did in Salem, the author does an excellent job at presenting the material in an easy to read and mentally digest
As a result, the Putnams and their allies wanted to split a large portion of land from Salem Town called “Salem Village”, where the original Puritanism was preserved and free from contamination of merchant life. However, the leaders of Salem Town did not want such a large chunk of land and a large source of tax revenues secede from the Town. Later on though, the grandson of John Putnam, Thomas Putnam Jr, was of the generation that did not do so well economically. After the death of Thomas Jr’s mother (Thomas Sr’s wife), Thomas Sr remarried a woman named Mary Veren, the widow of a ship captain. Together, Thomas Sr bore a son with Mary named Joseph, and when Thomas Sr died, Mary and Joseph got his vast inheritance, not Thomas Jr.
The Salem witch trials was one of the most absurd and tragic events in history of pre-colonial America. A fine example of how believing in accusations and hearsay could affect a lot of people in a short span of time. the justice system is flawed and prejudice was allowed to reign over the people. I found this topic very interesting even though it is one of the most regretted in history. I’ve always been the type of person who likes reading all those weird and peculiar things on the internet.
The Salem Witch Trials The belief of witchcraft can be traced back centuries to as early as the 1300’s. The Salem Witch Trials occurred during 1690’s in which many members of Puritan communities were accused and convicted of witchcraft. These “witch trials” were most famously noted in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Many believe this town to be the starting point for the mass hysteria which spread to many other areas of New England.
Many practicing Christians, at the time, believed that the Devil could persuade people to use the powers that he gave them to harm others. The Salem Witch Trials occurred because of resource struggles, many women were accused and tortured, and in the end the Governor realized that it was a big mistake. (“Salem Witch Trials”, 1). In 1689, English rulers William and Mary started a war with France in the American colonies which sent many refugees into the Essex County and Salem Village.