...Ben Arsenault October 29, 2015 In colonial Massachusetts in 1692, a series of witch trials took place in a town called Salem. Many theories point out the reasoning for this witch hunt, some say it was due to the belief in evil. Others say, the people in Salem were just acting, or maybe, it was a lack of knowledge. In events like the holocaust, post 9/11, and McCarthyism & the red scare, similar theories can explain the causes.This presents, that the reasons for the Salem witch trials are those same reasons for “witch hunts” throughout history. The belief in evil had a major role in the Salem, Massachusetts witch trials. After just one person in the village became ill and the doctor who evaluated that person said that it was not a sickness,...
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...Salem, Massachusetts known as Danvers, Massachusetts today was founded in 1626 by Roger Conant and a group of immigrants from Cape Ann (United States History). Naumkeag was Salem’s name before it was renamed by the settlers. The settlers found it better to rename the village Salem because it is derived from the Hebrew word for peace (United States History). Well known for the witch craft hysteria that has taken place in the town of Salem. The community went through what we have been taught is The Salem Witch Trials, what were these trials about and how were they solved? The Salem Witch Trials took place in the spring of 1692. However, the 1692 trials were not the start, witch hunts started around the 1300 and 1330s and ended in the late 18th century in Europe (The Salem Witch Trials). Three-fourths of the European witch hunts took place in western Germany, France, northern Italy, and Switzerland. A witch hunt is the process of trying to identify witches rather than the ones that were already thought out to be witches. During these witch hunts 110,000 people were tried for witchcraft and between 40,000 to 60,00 were...
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...Ryan Hasenbeck American Experience Family Feud in Salem In 1692, nineteen people were tried and executed as witches and hundreds more spent months in jail as accused witches. No one knows what exactly caused these Salem Witch Trials, but there are many theories ranging from the most ignored girls of Salem wanting power to actual witchcraft. The most likely theory about these trials however, is that there was a rivalry in Salem politics. Two families, the Putnams and the Porters dominated Salem politics, and there is evidence that the Witch Trials were a method used by one family to attack the other. A power struggle between the two most powerful families in Salem evidently caused the hysteria of the witch trials because the Putnams felt overshadowed by the Porters, the Minister supported by the Putnams was losing power, and there is a relationship in the location of the accusers of witchcraft verses the accused and defenders of the accused. Salem was a very split colony, dominated by two powerful families, the Porters, and the Putnams who lived in their shadow. There is evidence that proves...
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...The salem witch trials occurred between 1692 and 1693. They took place in the colonial Salem in Massachusetts. In total there was one hundred and forty-one people put in prison, nineteen were hanged and one person was even crushed to death. These trials were performed to find out what individuals in the colony were practicing witchcraft. Of the nineteen who were hanged fourteen were women and five were men. Some of the individuals that were in jail died before serving their time. When the bewitchings initially started in Salem they were only targeting younger girls but as they expanded, older women were included to the group. Hearings of the salem witch trials were initially passed on to different towns but the main trial was organized and...
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...The year of 1962 was a major turning point in history in Salem Village, Massachusetts. The trials lasted for about one year. Nineteen people died as a result of the trials and more than a hundred people were found at fault by performing the Prince of Darkness’ sorcery. This paper will debate the events leading up, the events that took place throughout the trials, and the people who suffered because of this. The Salem witch trials began in the spring of 1692. A group of youthful girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts claimed that the demon possessed them and “accused local women of the Devil’s magic” (Salem Witch Trials - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com, 2011). The court announced Bridget Bishop of being a sorceress and sent her to the gallows on June tenth....
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...The Salem witch trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts from June through September of 1692. During the Salem witch trials nineteen women and men were convicted of witchcraft, hundreds of others were accused, and dozens spent months in jail without a trial. The witch trials were first brought about when a young girl named Betty Parris became ill and showing a lot of strange symptoms. William Griggs, a doctor who came to examine her came up with a diagnosis but could not find anything wrong so he then suggested that it may be a supernatural cause for her illness. There was also an Indian war going on less than 70 miles away and people thought that the devil had been there and was now headed to Salem. Shortly after Tituba, a slave from Barbados, was accused of witchcraft and later confessed, making the witch theories to be more believable. More and more girls were being affected by the witches in Salem. A lot of the evidence pointed towards Tituba because she had been known to tell the girls in Salem about...
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...Fares Alkatanani Ap Language March 19, 2024 Mrs. Evans What were some of the possible causes of the witch trials? Le Beau, Bryan F. “Factional Politics Provoked the Crisis in Salem Village.” The Salem Witch Trials. Edited by Laura Marvel. Greenhaven Press, 2003. pp. 113-117. 30 - 36. LeBeau examines the role of internal conflicts within Salem leading up to the trials. He argues that economic tensions and land disputes charged the Salem witch with hysteria. The article takes a further look at power struggles between Salem Town and Village and how they only deepened social tensions, contributing to the occurrence of the trials. The political state of Salem is in crisis. Many were in disagreement, causing high tensions. Salem is divided into...
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...Through the respect of minister Cotton Mather had warned of the dubious value of speculations, “It would be better than ten suspected witches mayescape that one innocent person be condemned.”The Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, when a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil. It was found that there was fungus ergot (found in rye, wheat and other cereals) which toxicologist say can cause symptoms such as delusions, vomiting and muscle spasms. This may have been the cause of why in January 1692, 9 year old Elizabeth Parris and 11 year old Abigail Williams began having fits and violent uncontrollable screaming. Dr. William Griggs, diagnosed bewitchment. In late February, arrest...
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...Around February 1692 in colonial Massachusetts the Salem witch trials took place. There was a large number of trials held by religious extremists that believed there were witches around their town. Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams were the first to start showing signs of bewitchment they would throw random fits and start screaming uncontrollably. Samuel Parris started to worry and took his daughter and niece to the local doctor and there William Griggs diagnosed them to be bewitchment. The two girls started accusing innocent people of bewitching them. The people of Salem were really religious and that is what scared them because they thought the devil could cause harm to anyone if wanted to. At the time the people of Salem were extremely...
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...The Salem Witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of accusations and executions taking place in Salem Massachusetts, a harsh growing environment. The strict religion in Salem made witchcraft sound abominable and needing to be stopped. During the trials many innocent civilians were convicted along with animals. When humans were accused of witchcraft they had various types of tests to check and sometimes lead to accidental death. Puritans were very religious and believed their religion overruled any other. The colony was going through some hardships with colonists and the charter being canceled, but also the eerie subject of witchcraft. Since the religion was worshipping god the thought of people worshipping and working for...
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..."Burn her! Hang her! Kill the witch!", the crowd yelled as young woman was being accused for witchcraft. She was caught in an alley performing strange rituals on a dog. In Massachusetts over twenty five thousand men, woman, and even children were accused of witchcraft. According to, Mitchoff, Kate Housten, author of, "Salem Witch Trials, the trials lasted from around 1600 to about 1700. Although not all guilty most were punished in inhuman ways. Because witchcraft wasn’t legal, anyone accused would be punished. One punishment, and the most civil, was to be throw them in jail. According, Van Gent, Jacqueline, During the Salem Witch Trials, jails were filling, and almost ten thousand people were given life sentences. However, these sentences...
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...Salem Witch Trials was caused by parents who used their children for economic gain. This was a period in Salem, Massachusetts where men and women were accused of witchcraft. The people who were accused of performing witchcraft were mostly likely hanged. Others believe the Salem Witch Trials was caused by Erogototism, hysteria, and people who believed this Satan, demons (thesis). The Salem Witch Trials was one of the tragic periods of time in the U.S.’s history. During this many people were hanged or died in jail. Some people believe the Salem Witch Trials were caused by parents who needed some sort of economic gain. It states in Document I that families that lived in western half of Salem have less fertile land, while in the east had extremely fertile land. This had caused a hunger for better land, for economic gain. And so, this was the start of parents using their children as victims to “witchcraft” for economic gain. In addition, to Document I Documents...
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...Witch-Hunts, Then and Now Witch-Hunts, Then and Now, is the topic I have chosen for my research paper, which will define similarities and differences between the “Salem Witch Trials” and “The Second Red Scare”. The actions that took place during both events played on the fears of citizens to further the personal, political and social agendas of those individuals that conducted the trials. These two events are just two examples of how history repeated itself, where hysteria of the masses has been used as justification to trample on the basic rights that we, as humans, have come to believe as essential to our lives. I chose this research project because the effect of the McCarthy era tactics that infringed on the Constitutional rights of many Americans can be seen today in the policies and actions implemented since September 11, 2001. As an American, I am disturbed to see that we as a people and our government appear not to have learned from our past. During the eras of the Salem Witch Trials and that of McCarthyism, there existed a fear that the values of each society were being threatened from both internal and external entities. During the Court of Oyer and Terminer, influential members of the Salem community used the trials to punish ministers with in the colony who were seen as tolerant to other religions. There was a movement within the colony to relax the strict customs of the Puritans, but the community leaders wanted to maintain a tight control on their spiritual beliefs...
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...Tragic Times In Salem Salem Witch Trials The Salem Witch Trials was a horrific event that occurred in colonial Massachusetts between the years 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 ended up being executed. Some researchers believe that there may have been other current events that were affecting the trials during the same time period. Throughout this research paper I will explain the Salem Witch Trials and show the research I have done in terms of the events that may have a connection to the event, along with other factors that may have influenced the Salem Witch Trials. In the late 16 hundreds in colonial North America, the supernatural was highly considered to be a part of everyday life. Many people were strong believers that Satan was present and active on Earth. These beliefs were first formed in Europe during the fifteenth century and later spread throughout North America. Peasants were known for often using a particular kind of witchcraft to help enhance their crops, and to benefit farming and agriculture. Over time, the idea of witchcraft transformed into a very evil act. It started to became associated with demons and evil spirits. From 1560 to 1670, witchcraft persecutions became common as superstitions became associated with the devil. Through out the colonies, the most common cause for a witch hunt was caused by young girls having a mysterious screaming fit; they would often be diagnosed as having been bewitched...
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...Salem witch trials This research paper is to show the events of the Salem witch trail of 1692 and how it affected American literature. Authors who were inspired to tell the story have written multiple books. The authors wrote about how the resident turned on each other to get what they wanted, and the strict supersticous religious practice they followed. And to tell the personal conflicts that had existed throughout the community. The Salem witch trail began in February 1692 due to a group of teenage girls playing fortune-telling game to see whom their future husband would be. They were caught in the act of fortunetelling game witch is not acceptable in there puritan society. After these event Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam Jr, Mary Walcott and Mercy Lewis, Elizabeth Hubbard, Susannah Sheldon, Mary Warren and Elizabeth Booth started to show symptoms. The symptom the girls started to experience fits, hiding under furniture, uncontrollable pain and experiencing fever. In February Samuel Parris called for doctor to come and check if there was anything medically wrong with the girls. The doctor was unable to find any problems with the girls. The doctor later suggested that The girls might be bewitched. The girls later began to name people who they believed bewitched them. They named the social outcast of Salem. They accused three women, the three women they accused were Sarah Good, Sarah Osborn and a slave named Tituba. These women were seen as easy target to...
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