Salem was surprised and scared of what happened during the 1690’s. Rosalyn Schanzer wrote the book Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem, which is a book that describes the life in Salem during the witch trials. The witch trials was a period of time when people accused others for being witches and using witchcraft. It was a devastating time for the Puritans. Family accused family and friends accused friends. These accusations lasted from February 1692 to May 1693, and more than 200 people were accused for witchcraft. 19 of the the 200 were were hanged and one was pressed to death. Many people accused others for being witches because of fear, popularity, and revenge.
Fear was one of the main reasons for the witch accusations
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(Schanzer 50). The trials started when the daughters of Reverend Samuel Parris starting acting strange, he took them to the doctor and he said the two girls convulsions were caused by witchcraft. Later that week an old beggar came up to Samuel Parris’s house to ask for food, and he gave her something and the beggar mumbled under her breath. Parris thought she was being cantankerous, so he accused Sarah Good because he thought she was ungrateful for what he gave her. “Maybe their tormentors were the usual suspects, people their family did not like or respect” (Schanzer 27). So many people wanted revenge on someone else that they would get people killed just because they disrespected them. It seems as though nobody was ever embittered about their actions. “Burroughs had escaped from every single Indian attack on the frontier without a scratch. Did Lewis believe he was an ally of the Indians? She thought the Indians were Devils, and she certainly wanted to get him in trouble, because this is what she swore under the oath on April 3:” (Schanzer 69). Many people wanted to get rid of others because of family feuds and new
Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem was a book written by Rosalyn Schanzer. The book covered a set of trials that took place in Salem. Many people accused twenty other people of being witches or wizards. There were even some people who were executed for being witches.
In the May of 1692, Increase Mather returned to New England with Sir William Phipps. By the time of their arrival, the witch trials were already taking place, having started a few months prior in February. As the witch hunt in Salem escalated, the prison cells started to fill up with individuals accused of witchcraft. The confusing political situation following the ascension on William and Mary and the new charter allowed for a court Oyer and Terminer to be put in place on the 27th of May 1692. The lieutenant governor, William Stoughton, became the chief magistrate for this newly appointed court.
The Civil Rights Movement and The Salem Witch Hunts “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” - Martin Luther King Jr. In both the 1690’s Salem Witch Trials and the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement there were groups of people who were mistreated and faced dark times. Leading up to the protests in The Civil Rights there was enormous tension in the USA between African-Americans and their oppressors due to the history of slavery and discrimination against the minority. African-American citizens, like those accused of witchcraft in The Crucible, suffered from the inability to work, they were more likely to be assaulted or a victim of a violent crime, and were segregated from the public.
The Innocence of People During The Salem Witch Trials why did so many people during the colonial era devote their time to witchcraft? where they falsely accused or did they actually make a deal with a devil? The people that had to die or suffer were either witches or innocent peopIle. The colonial people back in 1692 were unaccepting of differences in people; therefore, they killed anyone they believed practiced witchcraft whether it was true or not. Court Trials
One thing that might have caused the witch trials is profit, “ Mary Walcott ,Anns step cousin ,named an astonishing 69 witches”(page 56). This almost proves that she might have been accusing people for money/profit. “Abigail Williams, fingered 41 different witches for attacking her; Ann Putnam Jr. accused 53;her servant Mercy Lewis named 54; and a girl named Mary Walcott who was Ann’s step-cousin, named an astonishing 69 witches”(page 56). This means they were fervently,maliciously, wanted to abolish some of these people,and that most of the accusers stated accused more than 40 people. “Not all witches are human beings.
Also, people thought they themselves would be accused, so they kept accusing more people. They would not be able to defend themselves from the devil. Therefore, they were most likely witches. For example, 110 of the 134 that were accused were women. If one confessed they were set free.
Ty Landis Morgan Roediger ENGL 103-008 12 January 2023 I am interested in how historical events have shaped modern events. I enjoy exploring “butterfly effects” in which one event has led to another event occur. An infamous example of this, which happens to be the concept’s namesake, is a butterfly flapping its wings causing a tsunami. Obviously, the former event does not cause the latter, but the two could be connected by many smaller events. When reflecting on topic I have researched in the past, I always take special interest in the Salem Witch Trials.
Salem, Massachusetts, USA and occurred between February 1692 and May 1693. Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned and even more accused; but not pursued by the authorities. 29 were convicted of witchcraft but only 19 were hanged. The best known trials were in the Court of Oyer and Terminer.
The years of 1692 and 1693 were a terrible time in Salem Massachusetts. The presence of the devil was in Salem. People living there were practicing witchcraft. Young women were barking like dogs and acting strangely. All this behavior would lead to what became known as the Salem witch trials.
Did you know that more women were accused of being a witch than men. People In Salem, Massachusetts were involved. There was a high number of people being accused of a witchcraft in 1692. Evidence suggests that the Salem Witch trials happened because single women were jealous that they didn't have a husband. Salem Witch Trial in Salem Massachusetts, 1692
The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 may have been instigated by religious, social, geographic and even biological factors. During these trials, 134 people were condemned as witches and 19 were hanged. These statistics also include 5 more deaths that occurred prior to their execution date. It is interesting to look into the causes of this stain on American History, when as shown in document B, eight citizens were hanged in only one day.
In Witches: The Absolutely True Tale Of Disaster In Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer people in the town of Salem were Condemned for being witches. By the end of it all more than 200 people were accused and 20 were executed. Horridly they accused people from all ages, everyone from teenager to ancient was accused. But why? The Salem Witch Trials were caused by hysteria, popularity, and revenge.
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.
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.