Semester Essay The Salem Witch Trials, by Laura Marvel covers the tragedy from the era of witchcraft.. To give a brief overview of the historical event would be tough. Although it was a huge event that happened, most have heard false accusations that did not actually happen. Taking place in Salem Massachusetts, over 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft, also known as the Devil’s Magic! A total of 20 were actually executed, some hung, some burned, and some drowned. It was a matter of whether the judges and court liked you or not, or if you were wealthy. They very much envied people with money or large plots of land. Such a tragic event shaped the society we live in today. The trials impacted the society in many ways, this essay …show more content…
At the time there was no in place form of government. The colony created their own form of a legal system. Made up by community members, the system obviously failed. The first problem is the fact that anyone could be part of the “government”, now one might see where that could go wrong. There were two main parts one could say Salem had. Those who wanted to stay separate from Salem, and those who wanted to be part of Salem. The Putnams were the leaders of the separatists group mainly because they owned almost all of the farmland in the Salem village. They really wanted to join the two parts together, so everyone would get along. Which led to establishing a congregation. The leader was Reverend Samuel Parris. There was not much diversity due to over half of this congregation was Putnams. Most people were not too thrilled about it, but could manage to live with it. “Parris was treated with many things including free house, free firewood, and more land. This made many very angry, so they refused to worship, and pay taxes. Both in which how they had money to pay Parris his very good salary” (Marvel 34). This led to the fallout of the accusing. Everyone was mad at each other for doing nothing wrong, it was just so tense. Now it is a huge process to choose a government. Your average Joe Shmoe can’t just be in the government because he wants to. The legal system took …show more content…
The Puritans was a huge deal in the 1600s. It consisted of colonists who were seeking religious tolerance. Puritans were so strict that it was so far fetched from tolerant. One would be punished to not attend church, it was against the law. Men and women were separated through the day long services. It was against the law to speak out and have opinions, being expected to work hard was not out of the ordinary. Puritans were expected to live by a strict moral code. Believing that all sins should be punished. “They believed that God would be the one punishing for sins and bad behavior. Friends that suffered from loses, and misfortunes would not be helped by Puritans” (Marvel 73). Puritans thought that the Devil was about as real as God is. It is said that they believed Satan would select the weakest out of them all, which was mostly women, children, the insane and punish them. The ones that followed Satan were considered witches. This was one of the greatest crimes say the Puritans. These kind of things truly shape how the religion is now. You can follow and worship anything or anyone. It is totally up to one to chose if they believe in God or not. Some might say that the Puritans resemble a cult because they had such tight rules, and no room for mistakes. They were mistreated plus could never have opinions. Most would realize how strict the Puritans were and wanted to be the exact
On at least one other occasion in seventeenth-century New England, the admission to church membership of a woman with a checkered sexual past fomented an uproar among her neighbors. The same could well have happened in the case of Martha Corey, causing speculation about the validity of her reputed adherence to Christianity,” this shows that the trials were mostly due to hight standards and a rigid culture in where people were discriminated against. The arrival of Parris’ traditions and prejudices made it possible for all the outcasts to be blamed of witchcraft and therefore a type of genocide was occurring in which people were targeted according to how well they fit in society. The
There was more people involved than just the people that were being accused. There were priests, families, execuerters,and civilians that all played a part in the Salem Witch Trials.(History of salem) Throughout this essay you will learn how the trials started, when the first person was arrested for being a witch, how the witches were proven guilty, and how this tragic event affected America.
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
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions due to the accusations of witchcraft. Many innocent people were either executed or sent to jail for a crime they may or may not have committed. The Salem Witch Trials impacted the history of America tremendously. Without the trials, our country might not be the same as it is today.
In Rosalyn Schanzer’s Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem, there is a catastrophe in Salem, Massachusetts, in the 1690’s. There were accusations after accusations after accusations about witchcraft. Also, people weren’t satisfied with just accusing one person. In the end, 25 lives were lost.
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692-1693 was the most infamous witchcraft episode in United State's history. Set in a Puritan New England settlement, Salem Village, the original ten females became afflicted between January 1682 and the madness would not end until May 1693. Salem Village, Massachusetts became engulfed in hysteria. During this time, one hundred and fifty-six people accused of witchcraft, fifty-four people confessed, fourteen women and five men were hanged, a man was pressed to death, three women and a man died in jail. In addition, an infant, who was born in the jail died as welled.
Salem Witch Trials Mass hysteria, social ignorance, and religious intolerance all describe the chaos that took place in Massachusetts during the year 1692. The Salem Witch Trials were not a positive section of American history but have been used as a learning tool for the United States. According to Plouffe, Jr., the trials were the largest of suspected criminals in the colonial period of American history. More than one hundred and fifty people were arrested on charges of witchcraft, and nineteen of these individuals were convicted and hanged (Plouffe, Jr. n. pag.). Many factors play into the long process of the Salem Witch Trials and have had a lasting impact on American history.
History is something that grows every day. Every second that passes turns into history. There are many periods of history that are thought to be special among people. These special times are caused by things that were important and caused an impact on people. The impact these things had on people usually affected the people’s way of life.
In Salem, Massachusetts, Puritans were strong believers in the Bible. The Bible states, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” The Puritans beliefs led to them accusing 20 innocent people of being a witch, this resulted in their deaths in 1692. Even though the Puritans couldn’t see it at the time, their accusations were really based off jealousy, lies, and Salem being divided into two parts. One cause of the Salem witch trial hysteria was jealousy.
They lacked rituals and sacraments. They agreed that men were weak; that they created sin. According to the Puritans God expected them to follow and live life according to the scriptures.2 and that he would protect them if they obeyed the laws.1 Unlike the Pilgrims the Puritans were not separatists, which meant that they wanted to reform their beliefs, but within the church. The Pilgrims on the other hand, wanted to separate completely from the church and start their own churches.
Puritans were a group of reformed protestants that hoped to remove the Roman Catholic beliefs from the Church of England. These individuals believed in living strictly by the scriptures and upholding the strongest moral content. In keeping with living strictly by the scriptures in the Bible, and upholding what was stated in those scriptures, was a leading cause for the trials. Being that Puritans sought to uphold God there was no room for occult practices in Salem. These religious beliefs caused, like so many today, mass hysteria and radicalistic approaches in the hopes of eradicating the issues of witches.
“The Salem witch trials.” http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/witch.htm. 2007. 18 November 2014. D, Elbert.
Salem Witch Trials The Salem Witch Trials were a terrible event that happened in the history of the United States of America was when innocent individuals where accused and sentenced to death for the crime of witch craft. More than 20 people were executed by hanging and one man was pressed to death by stones being stacked on his chest. In England they would burn people at the stake or throw them in a body of water with stones tied on their feet and if they swam to the top, they were a witch is they drowned, they were innocent.
In New England, there was no such thing as religious tolerance. Everyone was required to be part of the Church of England whether they believed or not. This led to a disagreement among those who believed that those who were not “visible saints” should not be allowed to worship in the same place as those who were. These colonists were referred to as the Separatists because they eventually separated from the Church of England. Those who chose to stay with the church were called Puritans, although that term could technically be used to describe both.
Not many people know much about what actually happened in the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe someone would think that it was just about witchcraft and crazy people being hanged, but it is a lot more than that. The Salem Witch Trials only occurred between 1692 and 1693, but a lot of damage had been done. The idea of the Salem Witch Trials came from Europe during the “witchcraft craze” from the 1300s-1600s. In Europe, many of the accused witches were executed by hanging.