Witchcraft Hysteria in Salem

1013 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Critique of puritanism

Between the mid-16th century and the early 17th centuries, immigrants branched from the Church of England, and absconded to America to construct a religion that “…steer[ed] the church toward a more Protestant, Calvinistic theology, and purge[d] the church of all remnants of Catholicism.” (Salisbury) These settlers were quick to become known as Puritans as they wanted to “…purify the Church of England.” (Salisbury) To the Puritans, souls were tainted in the eyes of God until they proved themselves pure. Therefore, colonists developed strong beliefs about what was a sin. Those who had sinned would be gruesomely, publicly punished to tarnish their name and status in the settlement. (Kizer) The mutual unity in their spiritual religion strengthened the community to create a cohesive environment in which every Tom, Dick, and Harry knew each person’s business. (Differing) In the play The Crucible, these extreme Puritan beliefs were shown through Abigail’s constant lies which led the judges to believe that the Devil was present in Salem. Strong Puritan beliefs and lifestyles fueled the hysteria of the Salem, Massachusetts village as their strict principles prevented them from sinning against God; when witchcraft was reported in the close-knit community, fears that they were not pure and that the Devil would soon take over the most innocent of souls, had commenced widespread hysteria.
The Puritan religion based on the Church of England was one of the most intense and devoted faiths of the time period. (Differing) They strongly believed that they would receive God’s wrath had they sinned, and nothing was worse than his wrath. (Differing) Rigid and stringent moral codes including not practicing, “…lying and idleness, general lewdness…bad be...

... middle of paper ...

...made this form of Puritanism quite dangerous.” (Differing) The Puritan religion itself was extreme, but punishments and paranoia in “the Salem variety was a whole different caliber altogether.” (Differing)

Works Cited

Salisbury, Joyce E. and Perter Seelig. “Law, Crime, and Punishment in New England: 17th and 18th Centuries.” Daily Life through History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.
Kizer, Kay. “PURITANS.” N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014
“Differing Views on the Salem Witch Trials.” Puritanculture. N.p.,n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
“Religious Aspects.” Religious Aspects. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
“History.org: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Official History & Citizenship Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014
“Puritan Life.” Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Show More
Related

  • The Evolving Role of Women in American History

    2170 Words  | 5 Pages

    Smith, Carter. Daily Life, A Sourcebook on Colonial America: The Millbrook Press, Brookfield, Connecticut 1991

    Read More

  • Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter and John Proctor from The Crucible

    1483 Words  | 3 Pages

    Phelps, Brian. "Crime and Punishment in the Massachusetts Colonies." Crime and Punishment in the Massachusetts Colonies. PhelpsTek, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. .

    Read More

  • What Caused the People of Salem to Have Mass Hysteria?

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    Randomly accusing innocent people of being devilish, atrocious witches is extremely far fetched and unusual for people to do today. However, in the 1690’s in Salem, Massachusetts, it was a daily occurrence. After seeing people do odd things happening at the time, people got scared and accused them of witches to get rid of them, send them to jail, and possibly kill them. Even worse, the accusers may have actually been sick or insane, or they could of been faking it to get revenge on their enemies. Why would these people randomly accuse innocent people of being witches? Something had to have caused all the mass Hysteria leading to the witch trials in Salem.

    Read More

  • The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria Of 1692

    395 Words  | 1 Pages

    “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”, Exodus 22:18. In 1692 , in Salem Massachusetts , the Puritans believed everything in the bible, they also believed in witches and that witches should not be able to live.There were at least 3 causes for the Salem witch trial hysteria. There are: age, gender, and marital status , lying girls, and a divided town.

    Read More

  • Summary: Margret Jones And The Salem Witch Trials

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    Puritans also believed that the devil was present in their towns. They thought that the devil was running out of time to convert and torture mankind. The community believed that he had begun to recruit people to carry out his work. Settlers believed that God would protect them and keep them out harm’s way if they served him. Leading them into trying to eliminate the witches and all evil in the

    Read More

  • The History of the Salem Witchcraft Trials

    2587 Words  | 6 Pages

    During the time of the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692, more than twenty people died an innocent death. All of those innocent people were accused of one thing, witchcraft. During 1692, in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts many terrible events happened. A group of Puritans lived in Salem during this time. They had come from England, where they were prosecuted because of their religious beliefs. They chose to come live in America and choose their own way to live. They were very strict people, who did not like to act different from others. They were also very simple people who devoted most of their lives to God. Men hunted for food and were ministers. Women worked at home doing chores like sewing, cooking, cleaning, and making clothes. The Puritans were also very superstitious. They believed that the devil would cause people to do bad things on earth by using the people who worshiped him. Witches sent out their specters and harmed others. Puritans believed by putting heavy chains on a witch, that it would hold down their specter. Puritans also believed that by hanging a witch, all the people the witch cast a spell on would be healed. Hysteria took over the town and caused them to believe that their neighbors were practicing witchcraft. If there was a wind storm and a fence was knocked down, people believed that their neighbors used witchcraft to do it. Everyone from ordinary people to the governor’s wife was accused of witchcraft. Even a pregnant woman and the most perfect puritan woman were accused. No one in the small town was safe. As one can see, the chaotic Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were caused by superstition, the strict puritan lifestyle, religious beliefs, and hysteria.

    Read More

  • The Salem Witch Trials, Hysteria and Religion

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    Salem Massachusetts became the center of a horrible tragedy, which changed the life of many people. It was a hard time, because of the bad crops and diseases. The people in Salem had to blame someone or something. This people accused innocent people by calling them witches. They were accused by having contact with the devil, hurting people, to pinch people on their bodies and more. These actions were result of hysteria. Maybe those extraneous symptoms were result of an illness or bacteria. On the Bible says “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” This mean that any type of witch or curse will not live, so I think that quote or versus in the Bible want to explain that we need to fight against the devil, those people who are practicing witchcraft need to be light, to be with God. Those people were confused because is not necessary to kill innocent people and the Bible says that if someone kills is a sin.

    Read More

  • What Challenges did Explorers and Colonists Face in what Became North America from the 1580's to the 1630's

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    "History.org: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's Official History and Citizenship Website." We are starved : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History & Citizenship Site. http://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Winter07/starving.cfm (accessed April 1, 2014).

    Read More

  • Women And The Salem Witch Trials

    1678 Words  | 4 Pages

    Puritans believed in the devil and his role as strong as they believed in God and his role. For many centuries, Puritans had the idea that the weakest individuals in society often committed diabolical acts and sins. Furthermore, Satan selected the most vulnerable individuals to do his bidding, among these individuals, women were often held responsible for many sins, including witchcraft. (Godbeer 12). According to Richard Godbeer, in his book, The Salem Witch Hunt, “it was Eve who first gave away to Satan and seduced Adam.” (Godbeer 12). In 1692, witchcraft became a panic among Puritan society. Even though both men and women were accused of witchcraft, women were seventy-six percent more likely to be accused in Salem than men. (Godbeer 12). Puritan society was a male dominate society and men looked down upon women. There were two particular reasons to why women were often accused of being witches. The first reason, was in due to the Puritan belief that women were the source of evil. The second reason was because of certain events that associated with accusations. These events were being of relatively low social status and income, being rich or financially independent and being a midwife or nurse.

    Read More

  • The Salem Witchcraft Trials

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    Puritans believed in strict religious dedications, by trying to follow the holy commandment. “The discipline of the family, in those days, was of a far more rigid kind than now.”(Hawthorne 9). They wanted to be considered the holiest of all people because they try to reflect a world of perfection in the sight of God. While they where trying to portray a holy life; however, they where also living a sinful life because they have been judgmental, slandering, uncompassionate, resentment, and forbearing, which are all sinful acts of the bible.

    Read More

  • The Salem Witch Trials

    2023 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ty men and women had been accused of being witches. Of those, nineteen of them plead innocent and were hung. One man refused to acknowledge the accusation and refused to enter a plea. He was legally crushed to death. Of the ones who plead guilty and were sent to jail, many contracted illnesses and later died. The outbreak of hysteria caused many to suffer and die, families to break apart, and a society to succumb to the whims of children. In the Puritans quest to create a perfect society based on pure beliefs only created a society ripped apart by tension, anxiety and fear.

    Read More

  • A Summary of the Salem Witch Trials

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1692, the occurrence of “witchcraft” began after the Massachusetts Bay Charter revolution and the outbreak of small pox. The rebellion caused hysteria and a sad injustice. Friends were pinned against friends; upstanding citizens were forced to flee for their lives and men and women were put to death (Jurist Legal News and Research Services 2008).The fear of the devil influenced the cruelty that took place. Most of the settlers that established their homes in the colony were puritans, a member of a group of English Protestants who revolted against the Church of England. The belief that God punished sinful behavior with misfortune did not help circumstances. The puritans targeted outcasts, people who never really fit it in; they wanted to rid the towns of these suspected sinners.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    In modern times, the most infamous witch trials are the one that occurred in Salem. These specific witch trials are known for the unjust killings of several accused women and men. The Salem witch trials of 1692, is a big portion of what people refer to, when they want to analyze how Puritan life was during the colonial period. According to ‘Salem Witch Trials’, “The witch trials are often taken as a lens to view the whole Puritan period in New England and to serve as an example of religious prejudice…” (Ray p.32). However, as more fragments of textual evidence occur, historians are making new evaluations of how the witch trials were exaggerated by recent literature. Some historians like Richard Godbeer, analyze how witch trials were conducted during the colonial times, but in a different setting, Stamford, Connecticut. In this book,

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Salem Possessed: The Social Origins Of Witchcraft

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    In order to understand the outbreak of the witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, authors of Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft, explore the social and economic divisions and tensions within Salem and the surrounding communities. Both Boyer and Nissenbaum have a strong background in history. Paul Boyer (1935-2012) was the Merle Curti Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as a cultural and intellectual historian who authored several other books. Stephen Nissenbaum was a Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst who authored several other books as well. In Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of

    Read More

More about Witchcraft Hysteria in Salem

Open Document