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Sexism in the salem witch trials
Social issues in witch trials
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The Salem Witch Trials, a series of horrifying events that occurred over 300 years ago, comprise one of the darkest chapters of American History. They began as two Salem girls lit the spark for a wildfire of hysteria and confusion that would consume the innocence of Salem Village. A year and twenty needless deaths later, the trials were put to a sudden stop. In addition, many theories behind the horror relate to events still taking place in the world today. Although this American tragedy occurred hundreds of years ago, the underlying reasons are still not fully understood. The history of the trials began in the New England village of Salem, Massachusetts, late 1692.Two young girls, bored with their restrictive lifestyle and repressive routines, became interested in the folksy customs of Tituba, the family’s black slave. The malignant phenomenon began with Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, the daughter and niece local Puritan minister Samuel Parris'. At first Tituba, the family's black slave, introduced the girls to simple spells and tricks (Starkey 30). As news spread to the village girls about the unfamiliar excitement, a major contrast to the boredom and humdrum of village life, Tituba’s audience numbers began to swell (31). Betty and Abigail decided to try an old fortune telling trick of breaking an egg in a glass of water to discover the occupation of their future husbands. Despite the seeming innocence of the trick, Abigail’s egg formed a coffin shape and both girls, frightened by the haunting results, began thrashing and having hysterical fits. More girls, including Ann Putnam (12) and Elizabeth Hubbard (17), began falling ill, having fits, hiding, and chanting. Suspicions of witchcraft and evil immediately arose. As m... ... middle of paper ... ...ry of 18 Twitching Teenagers in Le Roy." New York Times Magazine. 11 Mar. 2012: MM28. Print. Hill, Frances. Hunting for Witches: A Visitor's Guide to the Salem Witch Trials. Beverly: Commonwealth Editions, 2002. Print. Merali, Zeeya. "'They're Here': The Mechanism of Poltergeist Activity." NewScientist: Physics & Math. NewScientist, 1 Apr. 2008. Web. 5 May 2014. Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. Print. Rice, Earle. The Salem Witch Trials. San Diego : Lucent, 1997. Print. Starkey, Marion Lena. The Devil in Massachusetts: A Modern Enquiry into the Salem Witch Trials. New York: Anchor, 1989. Print. Whitaker, Kati. "Ghana Witch Camps: Widows' Lives in Exile." BBC News Magazine. BBC, 31 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 May 2014.
In Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692 Richard Godbeer recounts to the reader the story and the history behind a witch hunt that took place in 1692 in Stamford Connecticut. The Stamford witch trial was one of two witch trials that would take place in the New England colonies during 1692. The other, more famous, witch hunt would take place in Salem, a town in Massachusetts Bay colony. The Salem witch trials are a significant event in early American history. They are often cited as evidence of the religious fanaticism and the close-mindedness of puritan society. So why then are the events that happened in Stamford not held up as another example of this fanaticism? This is the central issue of Escaping Salem.
Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692 by Richard Godbeer. This book was published in 2005 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Richard Godbeer examines the witch trials in the seventeenth century. When a young girl Katherine Branch of Stamford, Connecticut is stricken with unexplainable convulsions, her master and mistress begin to think it is caused by something supernatural. Godbeer follows the incident without any bias and looks into how the accusations and trials are handled by the townspeople and the people in charge of handling the trails. Godbeer’s purpose of writing this book is to prove that Salem was not the norm. Godbeer’s approach of only one using one case, slightly weakens his effectiveness that Salem was not the norm.
One night in the minute New England town of Salem, Massachusetts, three young girls and a slave from Barbados were caught dancing naked in the forest around an immense kettle. This wasn't something that girls normally did in the 1600s and was also socially unacceptable. These girls, Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Mercy Lewis, and Tituba were immediately accused of being witches just because they were dancing. To get themselves off the hook, the girls pointed their fingers at other women in the town of practicing witchcraft. They indicted some women because their names popped into their heads, but one particular girl, Abigail Williams, accused a woman named Elizabeth Proctor because she had lust for her husband, John Proctor. Abigail Williams and John Proctor had already had an affair. However, unlike Abigail, John wanted to leave that horrible mistake in the past and forget about her. Abigail also did not like other women in Salem because they called her names. They knew of her lust for men, so Abigail took the initiative and they were also charged.
During the time of the Salem Witch Trials the intertwining of religion and government did not allow citizens of Salem, Massachusetts the right to a fair trial, so it was the states responsibility to separate the two. In the 1600’s the Puritan religion was greatly enforced by the government. It wouldn’t be until many years later that separation of church and state became a law.
The first accusers of those on trial for witchcraft were group of teenage girls. The first girl, Betty Parris, began to have painful contortions, fever, and what were most likely hallucinations. These symptoms may have been the result of ergot poisoning, the result of eating bread made with moldy rye, but at the time, no one knew that was possible. The family’s slave, Tituba, had come from Barbados and was knowledgeable in stories of voodoo and black magic. She shared these stories with Betty and her friends. After seeing the attention Betty was getting because of her behavior, her friends began to exhibit the same behavior. Because the local doctor knew of no medical explanation, he suggested the cause was supernatural. Tituba, with her knowledge of magic became the first person accused. She thought she could save her life by confessing and naming other women as her conspirators. Tituba’s accusations were unreliable because she was trying to do anything she could to save her life. Others were also accused by the girls. These women were generally unpopular or strange in some way, so it was easy for them to be targets of the girls accusations. For these girls, who were at the center of the town’s attention and perhaps had no real understanding of the seriousness of their accusati...
Between the months of June to September of 1692, the infamous witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts resulted in the deaths of twenty men and women as a result of witchcraft charges. Hundreds of others faced accusations and dozens were jailed for months during the progress of the trials. There are an infinite number of explanations for the hysteria that overtook the Puritan population of Salem. For example, a combination of economics, religious temperaments, personal rivalries, and precocious imaginations added to the furor (Hoffer, Weisman). Significantly, a book published by Cotton Mathers in 1689, “Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions” also contributed to instigating the events (Silverman).
I am writing this report today to explain the major reasons behind the horrific witchcraft trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the years 1692 and 1693. For years, this event has been ignored. However, after analyzing the evidence in this case, I have some startling news to share. First, I will explain to you several theories that make the most sense. Then, I will to you what I believe caused the Salem community to respond in such a cruel and violent way.
The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were the largest outbreak of witch hunting in colonial New England up to that time. Although it was the largest outbreak, it was not something that was new. Witch-hunting had been a part of colonial New England since the formation of the colonies. Between the years 1648 to 1663, approximately 15 witches were executed. During the winter of 1692 to February of 1693, approximately 150 citizens were accused of being witches and about 25 of those died, either by hanging or while in custody. There is no one clear-cut answer to explain why this plague of accusations happened but rather several that must be examined and tied together. First, at the same time the trials took place, King William's War was raging in present day Maine between the colonists and the Wabanaki Indians with the help of the French. Within this war, many brutal massacres took place on both sides, leaving orphaned children due to the war that had endured very traumatic experiences. Second, many of the witch accusations were based on spectral evidence, most of which were encounters of the accused appearing before the victim and "hurting" them. There were rampant "visions" among the colonies' citizens, which can only be explained as hallucinations due to psychological or medical conditions by virtue of disease, or poisoning.
A dark time in American history could be easily recognized in the chaos and mass hysteria stirred up during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, when many people lost their lives due to crazed accusations and extremist religious beliefs. Today Salem is known as the home of The Salem Witch Trails. Many people visit places like Gallows Hill and the House where they held the accusation meetings. Salem’s rich history makes it a very popular tourist attraction today.
For centuries the Salem witch trials have astonished historians, and people in general. People were executed based on accusations of being a witch. People were afraid of being accused. Chaos continued to ensue as neighbors, friends, and family turned against one another. The very people who lived under the same roof turned around accused their own flesh and blood of witchcraft. The events that occurred during the Witchcraft crisis would claim the lives of nearly 20 men and women via execution. Witchcraft was considered a capital crime and anyone accused was tried and potentially executed. The only escape from execution was to confess. Several girls, women, and even men stood at the center of a pivotal event in history. There is no real answer
Most historians understand the Salem Witch Trials as an outbreak of hysteria starting from the utmost belief of the devil in Salem in the late seventeenth century, which led to the conclusion of witchcraft. Starting from two young girls and their teacher Tituba, the facts overlooked are biases behind the convictions and allegations of the witches; the many innocent people who could not escape the ubiquitous belief of witchcraft in seventeenth century Salem. What may have started as hysteria by Tituba led to accusations and convictions of innocent people, who were simply unaccepted either socially, religiously or personally, by the people of Salem.
Armstrong, Karen/ Hill, Frances. A Delusion of Satan. The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishers, 1995. Ashley, Leonard R.N. The Devil’s Disciples. New York: Barricade Books Inc., 1996. Briggs, Robin. Witches & Neighbors. New York: Penguin Books Ltd.,1996. Brown, Richard D. Massachusetts, A History. New York: W.W.Norton and Company, Inc., 1978. Ferres, John H. (Ed.) 20th Century Interpretations of The Crucible.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1972. Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman. New York:Vintage Books, 1987. The Salem Home Page. The Salem Witch Trials 1692. www. salemweb. com/memorial/. September 25, 1998. Famous American Trials. Petitions Relating to the Trials of Rebecca Nurse. www. law. umkc. Edu /faculty /projects /ftrials/ salem/ ASA_ LETT.htm American Fanaticism. Witch Hunts and Special Persecutions. www.rjeib.com/thoughts/puritan.html Salem Witch Hysteria. Salem Witch Trials. Salem@nationalgeographic.com
The Salem Witch Trials occurred from 1692 to 1693. When two girls, aged 9 and 11, started having strange and peculiar fits, the Puritans believed that the cause of these actions was the work of the devil. The children accused three women of afflicting them: Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne. Tituba was a Caribbean slave owned by the Parris family. Sarah Good was a homeless woman. Sarah Osborne was a poor elderly woman. Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good pleaded innocent. Tituba admitted, “The Devil came to me and bid me serve him.” She described seeing red cats, yellow birds, black dogs, and a black man who asked her to sign his “book”. She confessed to signing the book. All three wo...
On January 20th, 1692, a nine-year-old girl, Elizabeth “Betty” Parris, and an eleven-year-old cousin, Abigail Williams, started the Salem, Massachusetts witch-hunts. Abigail Williams, niece of the village Reverend, began to exhibit sudden, strange behaviors. The young girl screamed blasphemous statements, had horrific convulsions, went into motionless catatonic states, and murmured strange conjurations, and, like clockwork, a small group of Salem children began to evoke the same mysterious behaviors in the puritan village. Two girls continued to ignite one of the most popular trials in witchcraft history because of boredom and personal jealousies.
The incidence of the witch hunts which took place across Europe from the 14-17th centuries that spread to New England and eventually Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 can be used to demonstrate the subjective nature of history. The Salem witch trials is not a subject which is necessarily avoided, typically the events which took place are represented as a historical view of the danger inherent in religious fundamentalism. The fact whic...