Witchcraft is a belief in Satan who is known for tempting human beings and destroying their lives by creating desperation in mankind and leading them into the dark side. Humans are vulnerable and can easily be manipulated and used for one’s own gain. Witchcraft is considered evil, impure, a nightmare from hell, and a rebellion against religion since it associates itself with the Devil. The Devil is known to manipulate and attack an individual’s mind and gain control of them for wrongdoings. An individual can be blinded by evil and can be taken away from God to glorify the Devil. In the book Witchcraft, Magic, and Religion in 17th-Century Massachusetts by Richard Weisman, the writer focuses on the origins of witchcraft in the village Salem in the 17th century. Weisman’s goal is to portray the people accused during the Salem trials as ordinary human beings and not witches; therefore, innocent lives had been killed due to merely popular allegations and an injustice court system.
I believe the real threat of witchcraft was not the damage it caused but the way people were up to mischief on land and no one had any actual evidence besides assumptions and people’s testimonies. People were blinded by the idea of witchcraft and took innocent lives. Satan did tempt accusers to do immoral acts against other human beings but it was mainly the accusers own fault. The actions they took were by their own free will and no one had to force them. They were aware this could be taken seriously, but they did not know it would change their world forever. Weisman successfully explores the origins of witchcraft and magic, social beliefs of Puritans, and witchcraft persecutions that led to the downfall of Massachusetts.
The author, a sociologist by the ...
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...ommitted in the Salem trials. He wrote this book because he wanted to show how humans can so cruel for their own gain and that the court system and government cannot always be trusted. He wants the world to not commit a mistake like this again. He was not biased and explained his approach through proof and evidence from other sources and psychologists as well. The formal language of the book was extremely complex at times; I had a hard time comprehending some parts. I think that could have been improved and made it understandable. I thought the textbook was more appropriate with language than this book, but overall it is a good read. I would recommend this book to others because it conveys interesting controversial topics that are always debated on. This book can teach others not to make the same mistake again and not repeat history but actually learn from the past.
The problem with this is the fact that he only used one case. The case he uses shows how it was not the same as Salem but does not give the reader the idea that this was the norm. Salem is the most well known witch hunt and trial in American History, and most Americans know about it. But, for the ones who are not aware or educated on the event, Godbeer’s purpose of writing the book would be hard for the reader to understand. This is a downfall in this writing.
Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft is a concise, 231 page informational text by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum. Published in 1974, it explores the economic and social conditions present in the Salem village during the 1600s that led to the hysteria surrounding witchcraft. Multiple graphs and illustrations are present, as well as an average sized font, an abundance of footnotes typically on the left page, and a prominent voice from the authors. The book was written to serve as a more comprehensive informational piece on the Salem witch trials due to the authors finding other pieces written about the same topic to be inaccurate. Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum wanted to create something that utilized
In Exodus 22:18, it says “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” It was chaos In Salem, Massachusetts, during 1692, 19 people were accused and hanged and one brutally pressed. this is because the puritans believed almost everything the bible said. One subject that the bible covers, is that the Devil is real and really clever, and is able to enter a normal person's body and turn them into a witch. There are three interconnected causes that might have caused the drama, and panic that was the Salem witch trial hysteria, which are: age, gender, and marital status, lying girls and they’re folk tales they made up, and a divided town.
...appenings of everyday life turned into something more. From the belief that women were more susceptible to evil intimidation and for having a weaker constitution since Eve was tempted by the Devil to having a non-existent court system to settle disputes between neighbors or just the fact that there were people who saw an opportunity to gain personal wealth, the Salem witch hunt and trials was more than just a religious cleansing of the community by pious people. They were a microcosm of what could happen when people do not understand the relationships between themselves, their neighbors and the natural cause and effect of the world around them.
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.
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.
Kent, Deborah. Witchcraft Trials: Fear, Betrayal, and Death in Salem. Library ed. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2009. Print.
The term witchcraft is defines as the practice of magic intended to influence nature. It is believed that only people associated with the devil can perform such acts. The Salem Witch Trials was much more than just America’s history, it’s also part of the history of women. The story of witchcraft is first and foremost the story of women. Especially in its western life, Karlsen (1989) noted that “witchcraft challenges us with ideas about women, with fears about women, with the place of women in society and with women themselves”. Witchcraft also confronts us too with violence against women. Even through some men were executed as witches during the witch hunts, the numbers were far less then women. Witches were generally thought to be women and most of those who were accused and executed for being witches were women. Why were women there so many women accused of witchcraft compared to men? Were woman accused of witchcraft because men thought it was a way to control these women? It all happened in 1692, in an era where women were expected to behave a certain way, and women were punished if they threatened what was considered the right way of life. The emphasis of this paper is the explanation of Salem proceedings in view of the role and the position of women in Colonial America.
...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.
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.
In the early years of America, people were mostly unaware of certain things. Sickness, for instance, was an important issue for people didn't know how to manage or cure such complex illnesses. The Puritans, during the colonial times, didn't have much information about certain things. They came to believe that certain unexplainable events were done by a powerful source of evil thus brought about superstitions. The infamous Witch Trials done at Salem, Massachusetts, which spread across the continent, was an example of people's injustice acts in response to superstitions. One of the major cause of the Salem Witchcraft trials was superstition, an "irrational belief or practice resulting from ignorance or fear of the unknown" (www.encyclopedia.com). A lack of scientific knowledge led many people to be convinced that, witches were responsible to the death of an animal or a livestock: John Rogger "testified that upon the threatening words " of Martha Carrier " his cattle would be strangely bewitched."(Mather, p55) John Roger believed on superstitions; thus he proposed that Martha was a witch who was killing his cows. It is easy to see how the people of Salem were so vulnerable to the notion of witches taking over their town. Furthermore Tituba, Reverend Parris's slave, practiced ritual dance and "black magic" in her early years in Africa. She influenced most of the girls in town through her stories. The girls believed on superstitions which overall started the Salem Witch Trials and made it possible for the witch trials to occur for a long duration.
Witchcraft was a highly widespread phenomenon in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. In many different places, there were many different factors which allowed the rise of witchcraft persecutions or witch trials. In some areas, power played a main role behind the influence toward witchcraft accusations. If we examine American witchcraft, particularly in Salem, Massachusetts, we can see people with high recognition behind the early stages of witchcraft accusations in the village of Salem. Such people include government officials, such as judges, and the Parris family, where Samuel Parris is a well known, Protestant minister who held tremendous influence to his followers. It is through some Salem documents where this power structure is evident.
Religious influence, the manipulation of fear, and the frightening aspects of witchcraft all are very influential to the popular belief of witchcraft during this time period. The popularity of witchcraft in this time period is important because it has shown how in the past when there is no logical explanation they would automatically blame Satan and say it was Satan’s doing. It also shows that history repeats itself because during the Cold War many individuals were accused of being communist even though there was no hard evidence proving this accusation; however, out of fear people will still be convicted, just like during the witch trials. Moreover, witch trials were not only influenced by many things but they have been influential; therefore, showing that they influenced things in our time
The Salem, Massachusetts Witch Trials have generated extensive evaluation and interpretation. To explain the events in Salem, psychological, political, environmental, physical, and sociological analysis have all been examined. The authors Linnda Caporael, Elaine Breslaw, Anne Zeller, and Richard Latner all present differing perspectives to speculate about the events of the Salem Witch Trials. This changing interpretation and perspective has resulted in an extensive historiography to explain the
...se, destroy and threaten the survival of the Christian world. However, the threats to the Church were economic and sociopolitical and not witchcraft. The Church was struggling with internal conflicts, rebellions, social changes as a result of the breakdown of the feudal system and they were reflected in terms of religious dissatisfaction that demanded religious reform. These threats were treated as heresy rather than political dissent and its response was to frame the motives and practices of heretics in terms of satanism. Witchcraft threatened Christianity because it provided an alternative values system compared to the established patriarchal institutions and questioned male power. Witch beliefs represented the inverse of the positive values in medieval patriarchal society and the stereotype of the witch is the negative standard for women.