Cause Of The Salem Witch Trials

2192 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Women witches in the 17th century

The Salem witch trials happened in Colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were suspected of being involved with witchcraft or the “Devil's magic” and more than 19 were executed. Ultimately, the society confessed the trials were an inaccuracy and remunerated the families of those who were found guilty. Since then, the tale of the trials has become indistinguishable with fear and discrimination, and it remains to lure the general mind more than 300 years later. These rare trials intensely change the way that people look at their world. These witchcraft trials in Salem during the summer of 1692 did just that. The misfortune of Salem, which saw nineteen alleged witches hanged and some more accused witches die in prison, caused colonists to reconsider both their association with the supernatural world and the sort of procedural devices necessary to protect accused persons. It is commonly assumed that madness similar to that seen 308 years ago in Massachusetts could never again poison our justice system. More than a few centuries ago, many practicing Christians, and those of other religions, had a sturdy belief that the Devil could give certain people recognized as witches the control to mischief others in return for their loyalty. A "witchcraft craze" rippled through Europe from the 1300s to the end of the 1600s. Tens of thousands of thought to be witches (mostly women) were executed. Nonetheless the Salem trials came on just as the European obsession was winding down, resident circumstances explain their onset. In 1689, English rulers William and Mary started a war with France in the American colonies, known as King William's War to colonists; it wasted regions of upstate New York, Nova Scotia and Queb... ... middle of paper ... ...s reverted back to Salem form, "bad things" have not been far off the pace, and a corrective measure has taken place afterwards to ensure that a spirit of free discourse, heterogeneity, and individual dissent remains as part of the blueprint of American identity. In my opinion I think that the Salem Witch Trials did not have the much of a serious effect on American society. The Salem Witch Trials ended almost as soon as they begun. People attribute many causes to the reason why the Salem Witch Trials even started. These reasons range all the way from economic hardship to teenage boredom. The Salem Witch Trials affected American history by implanting a deep satanic fear in the roots of America, and although with hunts and trials have been continuing throughout all of history, American or not, the Salem Witch Trials are the first to ever me recorded in America.

Show More
Related

  • 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 Causes Of The Salem Witchcraft Trials Of 1692

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    First, the Puritan values and expectations were strict, and those who had defied their teachings would have been at a much higher chance of being accused as a witch. Second, economic struggles within Salem Town and Village had further divided the two, by crop failure and livestock death. Ultimately causing economic damages. Third, personal opinions and disputes had contributed to the trials and accusations. The law system was unfair during the trials, so when or if someone was accused the court would side with the accuser, unless of course, they were a witch themselves. In conclusion, the people who died and who were accused of witchcraft were not really witches, Salem and it’s inhabitants were under the influence of mass hysteria, personal beliefs and grudges that eventually became the chaos of the Salem witch hunts of

    Read More

  • Research Paper On The Salem Witch Trials

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    Upon arriving 1692, Salem faced trial after trial that had destroyed their community. From having no governor, to not enough resources, to having to follow strict guidelines set by people with higher authority, it was a given something in Salem was bound to go wrong. The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692 and lasted for over six months. A total of two hundred people were accused for witchcraft and 19 people actually got convicted and executed, five of which were men. One man, Giles Corey, even got pressed to death because he refused to cooperate with the court. There’s no exact answer on why people started accusing other people of false accusations,

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    More than three centuries ago, an entire community in Salem, Massachusetts, just 5 miles from Salem Town fell victim to what would become the most notorious instance of witch hysteria in United States history. The infamous witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts remain one of the most unscrupulous and inexplicable phenomena in the United States, having resulted in a total of 20 deaths and 165 accusations related to Witchcraft within the span of four months. [3] The brief, but tumultuous period has long been a source of debate amongst historians. For nearly a century, it was widely accepted that social tensions and Puritan religious beliefs were the primary cause of the trials, but in the 1970’s, a college undergraduate suggested ergot poisoning might be to blame. Ergotism – ergot poisoning – is born from the fungus Claviceps purpurea, which is known to infect rye and other cereal grains, it produces a chemical known as ergotamine which is the base for toxic hallucinogenic chemicals such as LSD. [2] Studies have shown that the consumption of ergot-contaminated food results in symptoms much like those associated with the afflicted girls in Salem, 1692. [2] Collectively, Ergot poisoning, and the implication Puritanism and Puritan values had on the genuine fear of witches, and socioeconomic tension caused the events that would become the Salem witch hysteria of 1692.

    Read More

  • Factors and Influence of the Salem Witch Trials

    2043 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Salem witch trials transpired in the late 1600’s and caused uncertainty and controversy throughout the society. The town of Salem is where most of the trials occurred, and practicing witchcraft, and our American government forced over a dozen citizens to pay with their lives. The witch trials happened because of conflicts dealing with religion, fear, and feuds. The trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of adolescent girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and they accused several local women of witchcraft. A wave of hysteria spread throughout Massachusetts, and a special court place was set up to hear the cases. During the Salem witch trials “nineteen were hung on Gallows Hill, a 71-year-old man was pressed to death with heavy stones, several people died in jail and nearly 200 people, overall, had been accused”(Wigfall, Lyric).The first condemned witch, Bridget Bishop, hung in June and eighteen others followed. A man named Giles Corey, pressed to death with stones for not pleading guilty or not guilty, also condemned. One hundred and fifty more men, women, and children indicted over the next several months because of accusations. The puritan religion arguably caused a breaking point in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, which lead to the persecution of twenty innocent people. The Salem witch trials affected the American culture with the horrendous events that occurred during 1692.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The Salem Witch Trials

    2182 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...lenged due to their relationship with the accused. Thus, is someone were to be accused, the person was basically found guilty until proven innocent. In trials and cases nowadays, more care is taken in what could be accepted as concrete evidence, referring to the admittance of spectral evidence during the Salem Witch Trials. This event has also proven to us that hysterias and tragic events can be caused if we are blindly religious, superstitious etc. The unfairness of the trials led to an improvement of the rules, which did not allow the use of spectral evidence in a trial. Also, it drew attention of the world to the discrimination suffered by women, although the event did not have much impact on discrimination against women. If any benefit came out of it, the Salem Witch Trials had opened up opportunities to develop and improve rules and procedures as people have

    Read More

  • Causes And Effects Of The Salem Witch Trials

    1363 Words  | 3 Pages

    after 1962 over 200 people were hung or imprisoned for witchcraft. Many of the people that were imprisoned or hung were innocent. The aftermath of the Salem witch trials was really bad. there was a huge crop failure because the farms of the imprisoned people were left unattended, and were not able to be kept up to speed. Also, many of the imprisoned people were not able to get out of jail because they lacked money to pay for their food and rooming in jail. the people that did make it out of jail were left homeless because the government would sell the accused people’s homes.

    Read More

  • The Salem Witch Trials

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the years of 1692 and 1693 the fear of witchcraft swept through Salem, Massachusetts like a plague. Witchcraft strongly defied Puritan beliefs, and the Puritans executed any accused witches. Throughout the hysteria in Salem, 185 people were accused of practicing witchcraft. Rumors of witchcraft put many people’s lives in danger. Witchcraft was defined as entering into a compact with the devil in exchange for certain powers to do evil. It was considered a sin against God’s superiority; a strict rule against Puritan beliefs (Conforti). Although the Salem witch trials was an important and remarkable event that occurred to the Puritan people, there were not really witches in Salem, only hysteria and suspicion.

    Read More

  • What Happened In The Salem Witch Trials

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the January of 1692 two girls, Elizabeth Parris and her cousin Abigail, were throwing, screaming, and contorting or moving themselves into strange positions. Reverend Parris, Elizabeth's mom, called a doctor to check up on the two little girls. The doctor was believed to be Dr. William Griggs, examined the two girls and said there was nothing wrong with them and that they were bewitched. Paranoia spread and everybody was scared of the devil, and his “witches” he used to get to everybody. Christians accused people, and ended up closing some churches because even a priest was accused of being a witch, sentenced, and hung.

    Read More

  • Who Is To Blame For The Salem Witch Trials Inhumane?

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever been accused of something you honestly didn’t do? Have you ever used somebody as a scapegoat because you were afraid of getting in trouble yourself? In 1692 in the small community of Salem, Massachusetts, a strange sickness had started to ail a young girl. She had fits of pain, hallucinations, and she vomited uncontrollably. The doctor’s diagnosis? Bewitchment. Thus, the hysteria called the Salem Witchcraft Trials began. The Salem Witchcraft Trials were fear-driven acts that were inhumane because the persecutions were unjust, innocent people were killed in horrid ways, and the Salem community was full of filthy, fearful liars.

    Read More

  • The History of Witches and Witchcraft

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    For many centuries to the present day, Christians have lived in fear of witches. They were known as to be the devils child who only practiced black magic and thought of as the Christians “persecution”. Witches have been known to mankind since the 1200’s. Throughout the 1400’s, the examination of witches was more focus and moved from the Jews. In the church’s law, it was stated that the belief of existence and practices of witchcraft was “heresy”. Because of what the Christians believed, churches would then torture and hunt down anyone who they thought were witches and killed the many women and only a few of the men. They even made them make the confession of flying through the midnight sky, being in love with the devil himself, practicing black magic and even turning into animals.

    Read More

  • crucible

    1884 Words  | 4 Pages

    Through out time many people have viewed witches as bad people. Even in religion witches are viewed as workers of Satan himself. “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them” Leviticus 20:27 King James Bible. Throughout our world’s history there have been thousands if not millions of witch hunt cases around the world. During the Bubonic Plague people blamed witches for what was going on. Then in the early years of the Dark Ages people where convinced of these so called witches and other mythological creatures. At first people where scared to go outside at night because they thought that the witches, would get them. However, when people began to learn how to read, they realized that witchcraft was against what the bible says. So this led to even more people being accused of being a witch. During the colonial era when the European countries where colonizing the world, England was a breeding ground for witch hunts. The religious persecution of small Christian groups in England led to the Puritans leaving the country. Arriving in the 13 colonies, here one of the worst witch trials in American history took place in Salem Massachusetts. These are known as the Salem Witch Trials, in which over 100 people were blamed for witchcraft and almost all of them were killed. These trials were not alone though, many others countries have their own versions of the Salem trials. However, in today’s time these so called witch hunts are not common in countries like the US, and there are laws that prevent actual witch hunts from happening. There are still countries that have witch hunts within their borders ba...

    Read More

  • The Effects Of The Salem Witch Trials

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Salem Witch Trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed for this. Eventually, the town admitted the trials were a mistake and repayed the families of those killed in this horrible scenario. Since then, the story of the trials has become crazy with Satanism and injustice, and it continues to baffle the imagination of our generation more than 300 years later. Several centuries ago, many practicing Christians, and those of other religions, had a strong belief that the Devil could give certain people known as witches the power to harm others in return for their loyalty. A "witchcraft craze" ran through Europe from the 1300s to the end of the 1600s. Tens of thousands of supposed witches (mostly women) were executed. Though the Salem trials came on just as the craze was winding down, the Salem Witch trials sparked them up again.

    Read More

  • The Salem Witch Trials Description

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since ancient times, the world has been plagued by the belief that witches roam freely. Witch trials have long been an iniquitous way to get rid of the presumably evil men and women who lurk throughout the deepest parts of the earth. From the beginning of time, an estimated 50 to 200 thousand people have been killed because of witch trials ; however, the most famous witch trial that ever took place was the Salem Witch Trials that occurred during 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem Massachusetts was settled by English Puritans in 1630; it was inhibited by close to six hundred residents, who lived in two unmistakably different societies: Salem town, and Salem Village. By early 1690, feuds had erupted between the citizens of Salem Town, and Salem Village; The inhabitants of Salem Village believed that “The Bible was the final law in all things, even matters of civil government.” The citizens were scrutinized by their neighbors for any wrongdoings and were subsequently reported to the church, but the occupants of Salem town believed that family and wealth was important above all else. Hence, the rulers of Salem town granted freedom to the members of Salem Village. In 1689, Samuel Parris came into power as the new minister of Salem Village; his reign in Salem was strict, and as a result, Salem soon was overcome with religious conflict, which in turn began to affect the way that children and adults lived their everyday lives. The Salem Witch Trials where in fact a ploy for the accusers to get attention, and all of the Witches in the Salem Witch Trials where falsely accused.

    Read More

  • Free Essays on The Crucible: Ann Hutchinson Crucible Essays

    1846 Words  | 4 Pages

    The American weakness in times of trouble is the instinctive act of finding a scapegoat. Stemming from the Calvinistic religious beliefs of the Puritans who immigrated to America, anything that strays from the predestined lives of these puritanical people is the result of sin. The ideas of "original sin" and "predestination" are at the heart of Calvinism. Thus, the Calvinist Puritans have their lives planned out for them by God before birth and anything that disrupts that plan must be eradicated. It was on the basis of this stringent religious way of life that the witch-hunts on 1692 came about. The accusation of people, beginning in Salem, Massachusetts and quickly spreading throughout the Puritan community began because the Puritans needed a scapegoat for their problems. The Puritans accused people of being a witch for actions that were hardly considered illegal and usually had to do with a threat posed to the church. Webster's Dictionary defines a "witch" as 1. A woman practicing the black arts; 2. A charming or alluring woman; 3. An ugly old woman; 4. One supposed to possess supernatural powers with the devil or a familiar. The last definition being the only applicable definition here is hardly pertinent. The phenomenon of the witch-hunts in Puritan New England rose out of flawed theory, sexism, and fear as seen in John Winthrop's account of the trial of Anne Hutchinson, the actual transcript of the trial of Anne Hutchinson, and Arthur Miller's The Crucible.

    Read More

More about Cause Of The Salem Witch Trials

Open Document