The Salem Witch Trials Found in Massachusetts, Salem resides at coordinates 42.5168 degrees North and 70.8985 degrees West. According to the Salem Witch Museum, the accusations against the “witches” occurred during January of 1692, and the trials themselves began in June of the same year. Salem represented a community full of fear and loyalty to religion. With loyalty to religion came a strong beliefs in the devil and witchcraft. The beliefs of those residing in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 included Puritan ideals. For example, the Puritans believed in moral code and attending church. The church dictated the laws in the village and town of Salem and outlawed certain actions, such as dancing, sleeping in church, and witchcraft. Also, the residents of Salem believed in punishing all sins. Responsibility for the accusations of witchcraft falls upon numerous members of Salem. The accusations began when Betty Parris fell ill and experienced fits related to that of someone possessed and controlled by the devil. Mrs. Putnam may also be credited with the accusations due to the claims that she desired Ruth, her daughter, to conjure the spirits of her dead siblings with the help of Tituba. All members of Salem played a role in the accusations of witchcraft in someway. Examples of crimes …show more content…
accused against witches included bewitching, spellcasting, and befriending the devil. Punishable by death, those accused of witchcraft experienced death in the forms of hanging and drowning. Senator Joseph McCarthy and HUAC A Republican Senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy attempted to reveal communists, those who believes in the ideas of communism, within the government of the United States. McCarthyism refers to the making of false accusations against someone in regards to their disloyalty to the government, specifically the United States, with lack of proof to validate the claims. Originally, the House Un-American Activities Committee served purpose of revealing citizens linked to the Nazis who resided in the United States.Although, the committees most well known cause revolved around investigating the claims of communism of the 1950s against numerous citizens in the public eye. The activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee compare to the Salem witch trials because in both instances, one side accuses another of participating in illegal and unacceptable activities with little to no proof of the victims involvement. The accusations of witchcraft in one scenario and the accusations of communism in the other represent the only differences between the House Un-American Activities Committee and the Salem witch trials. The persecution of American Muslims represents an example of a modern day witch hunt. Countless Muslims suffer due to the events that occurred on the eleventh of September in 2001. For example, in 2011 chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee called a hearing after multiple events involving American Muslims. According to the Washington Post, the committee’s agenda included studying “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response.” Similarly to the Salem witch trials, other Americans seek Muslim Americans and terrorists in fear of potential harm. Also, some Muslim Americans, corresponding to the factors of the Salem witch trials, receive wrong treatment due to certain characteristics resembling possible ideas. Arthur Miller Born on October 17, 1915 in New York, the life of Arthur Miller began. After attending the University of Michigan, Arthur started creating dramas and plays, such as Death of a Salesman. Arthur Miller also wrote The Crucible, a play based during the time of the Salem witch trials. Several years later in 1957, a judge found Miller guilty of “contempt of Congress.” During the trial, Marilyn Monroe accompanied him, but later the couple split due to incompatibility. Unfortunately, Arthur Miller’s works and life came to an end on February 10, 2005 at the ripe age of eighty-nine. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1952 when he visited Salem for the first time. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to demonstrate the parallels between the witch trials and the communist scare of the 1950s. Arthur Miller probably thought terribly little of the House Un-American Activities Committee due his personal persecution from the committee. As mentioned above, a judge found Miller guilty on the grounds of “contempt of Congress” in 1957, which resulted in a fine, a spot on the blacklist, as well as rejecting Miller of possessing an United States passport; thus, Miller probably thought of the House Un-American Activities Committee in the least favorable way. Arthur Miller possibly set his play in Salem, hundreds of years ago, rather than the 20th century to show human nature never wavers.
Over two hundred years of history rests between the Salem witch trials and the publication of The Crucible, but innumerable resemblances rests between the times. From the wrongful deaths during the witch trials to the punishments throughout the reign of McCarthyism, all occurred without much validation other than someone’s word over someone else’s. Also, Miller possibly set his play hundreds of years ago to give a voice to the accused citizens of Salem who lost theirs in a similar way to those haunted by the accusations against them during the Red
Scare.
The focus of Miller’s The Crucible is an appalling witch trial that morfs the once-peaceful town of Salem into a cutthroat slaughterhouse. As a lucrative playwright and a not-so-subtle allegory author, Miller is a seasoned wordsmith who addresses people akin to himself, and is not secretive about that information. The Crucible best serves its purpose as a learning device and a social statement, especially at the time of its publishing. Miller‘s piece showcases the appeals in an easy-to-identify manner that is perfect for middle or high school students who are new to the appeals, or for English majors who have no problem pinpointing them, making this play ideal for a classroom setting.
In his article, “Why I Wrote The Crucible,” Arthur Miller speaks of the 1950’s “which nobody seems to remember clearly”- a time of fearful insanity and unrest. Anyone could be accused. Showing excessive opposition ensured prosecution. Most shrunk back from disputing the McCarthy hearings for fear of their safety. Now, this period of panic is viewed as absurd. As Miller describes Hitler as being almost comical to his generation, the modern generation sees the Salem witch trials as foolish scuffles between ignorant people. The actual events were much different as perceived. Just as a feud with a neighbor seems trivial to those not involved but of intense frustration to the embroiled , the trials were not silly and insignificant. The trials were more about personal issues between rivals than witchcraft itself- the witchcraft was a weapon for Salemites to obtain revenge on their enemies. A tool Miller uses to show the reader this emotion is Rebecca Nurse, seventy-year-old grandmother, wife, and respected member of Salem society. Miller modifies her character in his play. Some facts remain true in the play, others are altered, and some have been neglected altogether. What did he change, and what did he regret to? Why did Miller take such liberties with Rebecca’s character in his play?
More than two hundred years have gone by since the discovery of the new world. People of with all types of backgrounds and problems came flocking over the ocean to start anew. Jamestown, Virginia and Salem, Massachusetts, were very early settlements, and perhaps two of the most known names of colonies. Jamestown was known for many things, including Bacon’s Rebellion. And Salem was known for one reason, the Salem Witch Trials. These two pieces of history reflect the tensions of the unstable society and of their beliefs.
“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.
The Salem Witch trials were when hundreds of citizens of Salem, Massachusetts were put on trial for devil-worship or witchcraft and more than 20 were executed in 1692. This is an example of mass religion paranoia. The whole ordeal began in the home of Reverend Samuel Parris. People soon began to notice strange behavior from Parris’s slave, Tituba, and his daughters. Many claimed to have seen Parris’s daughters doing back magic dances in the woods, and fall to the floor screaming hysterically. Not so long after, this strange behavior began to spread across Salem.
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.
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
At that time, Salem was a small town or village; it was a farming community that was only 550 of population. Their goal was that they want to be a model society on the hills. Not all of them were puritans because there were people that want a better life and want to live in a society out of England; their life in England were difficult. There were two groups in the village: those who were separatists and others that were puritans (those who believe in predetermination and follow the rules). Samuel Parris was a reverend that was the minister of the group of the separatist. He helped divide these two groups. The reverend Parris and his wife had 2 children living with them, who were Betty and Abigail. These two girls were the motive that the trials started. These girls screamed, rolled their eyes back into their heads, shook, twist...
The play “The Crucible” is an allegory for the McCarthyism hysteria that occurred in the late 1940’s to the late 1950’s. Arthur Miller’s play “the crucible” and the McCarthyism era demonstrates how fear can begin conflict. The term McCarthyism has come to mean “the practice of making accusations of disloyalty”, which is the basis of the Salem witch trials presented in Arthur Miller’s play. The fear that the trials generate leads to the internal and external conflicts that some of the characters are faced with, in the play. The town’s people fear the consequences of admitting their displeasure of the trials and the character of John Proctor faces the same external conflict, but also his own internal conflict. The trials begin due to Abigail and her friends fearing the consequences of their defiance of Salem’s puritan society.
To better understand the events of the Salem witch trials, it is necessary to understand the time period in which the accusations of witchcraft occurred. There were the ordinary stresses of 17th-century life in Massachusetts Bay Colony. A strong belief in the devil, factions among Salem Village fanatics, and rivalry with nearby Salem Town all played a part in the stress. There was also a recent small pox epidemic and the threat of an attack by warring tribes created a fertile ground for fear and suspicion. Soon prisons were filled with more than 150 men and women from towns surrounding Salem.
Authors often have underlying reasons for giving their stories certain themes or settings. Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of art inspired by actual events as a response to political and moral issues. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible proves to have its roots in events of the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as the activities of the House Un-American Committee and the “Red Scare.” Though the play provides an accurate account of the Salem witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues of Miller’s time that it dealswith.
The Salem Witch trials were started by small grudge by a girl and ended up growing into something much bigger. They provided other characters with the opportunity to harm others, and also gave characters a chance to put away their foes for good. The Salem Witch trials signify the competitive nature of people in a small village that want to have an advantage over each other, and will induce heinous acts in order accomplish that.
Salem Village, Massachusetts was the home of a Puritan community with a strict moral code through 1691. No one could have ever anticipated the unexplainable events that were to ambush the community’s stability. The crisis that took place in Salem in 1962 still remains a mystery, but the accusations made by the young girls could be a result of ergot poisoning or the need for social power; this leads the people of Salem to succumb to the genuine fear of witchcraft.
The Salem Witch Trials took place in the summer and into the fall of the year 1692, and during this dark time of American history, over 200 people had been accused of witchcraft and put in jail. Twenty of these accused were executed; nineteen of them were found guilty and were put to death by hanging. One refused to plead guilty, so the villagers tortured him by pressing him with large stones until he died. The Salem Witch Trials was an infamous, scary time period in American history that exhibited the amount of fear people had of the devil and the supernatural; the people of this time period accused, arrested, and executed many innocent people because of this fear, and there are several theories as to why the trials happened (Brooks).
In 1692 the area of Salem town and Salem village became very vulnerable to conflict. Severe weather such as hurricanes had damaged land and crops, the effects of King Phillips War began to impact New England society, and colonists were being forced off of the frontiers by Native peoples. The Church and the government were in heavy conflict. And those residing in Salem began to grow suspicious of one another when some prospered and others hadn’t (Marcus, p13).