Many men and women were persecuted‚ tortured‚ burnt and even killed because they were believed to be witches under the devil’s control. In this essay I will talk about what witchcraft was‚ who was accused of practicing it‚ the social response in Salem and what social and religious factors are given to account for the harsh response to witchcraft. The direct definition of witchcraft is the use of supernatural or magical powers. It was often believed that these powers were under the direct influence
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Lyle Koehler argues that the Salem Witch Trials began due to witch hysteria caused by the fits of the young women being affected by witchcraft. They were given power to accuse the witches and used their power to attack their oppressing forces‚ such as authority figures. The act of accusing people of being witches was a scapegoat in order gain and retain power in a situation where people felt powerless. They also targeted nontraditional women as they were easier to justify. Many people were accused
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The changing historiography of the Salem Witch Persecutions of 1692. How current/contemporary and historical interpretations of this event reflect the changing nature of historiography. The number of different interpretations of the Salem Witch Trials illustrates that historiography is ever changing. The historians‚ Hale‚ Starkey‚ Upham‚ Boyer and Nissenbaum‚ Caporal‚ Norton and Mattosian have all been fascinated by the trials in one way or another because they have all attempted to prove or
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accused were innocent. Even the defendants of the accused were punished‚ if the accused were proven guilty. One of the crimes that were taken really seriously was Witchcraft‚ which was punished by death. A lot of innocent women died during those year in Salem. The punishments for crime in colonial times were not fair. The death penalty was one of the main ways a person was punished. The first person executed for murder was John Billington. He had shot and killed a man during a quarrel. After the incident
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The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 In colonial Massachusetts between February of 1692 and May of 1963 over one hundred and fifty people were arrested and imprisoned for the capital felony of witchcraft. Trials were held in Salem Village‚ Ipswich‚ Andover and Salem Town of Essex County of Massachusetts‚ but accusations of witchcraft occurred in surrounding counties as well. Nineteen of the accused‚ fourteen women and five men‚ were hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem Village. Hysteria had swept through
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In 1692‚ Salem‚ Massachusetts broke out into hysteria all because of an accusation about a witch. When a few teenage girls began accusing the older woman of Salem of witchcraft‚ suspicions started flying around. Soon neighbors were accusing each other‚ calling the Puritan church to get involved. After the church got involved many innocents lost their lives. Most of the teenage girls that accused the women of witchcraft‚ wanted their husbands for land and money. Not that the women did anything to
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in Salem‚ Massachusetts in 1692? The answer to that question is still as talked about today as it was in 1692. People today are more open to their thinking about witches and witchcraft. What caused the girls to convulse‚ have visions‚ fall into a trance or babble uncontrollably? Was it something they ate? Was it smallpox? Was it a voodoo curse placed on the girl’s by a Barbados slave? The Puritan Religion beliefs might have led to the witch hysteria in 1692 Salem. The witch hunt
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famous one that sparked people’s interest was the one that took place in the village of Salem‚ Massachusetts. It all started with a group of girls blaming one girl in particular as being a “witch” and from that a ripple effect occurred. During this time the girls who were accused of being a witch held a certain stereotype. This stereotype included being very old and very poor. If someone was found guilty if witch crafted at this time‚ they were given a trail. The punishment for being found guilty of
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This statement coincides with the idea that history repeats itself. A perfect example of this is the similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. The Salem Witch Trials were portrayed in the novel‚ The Crucible. Arthur Miller wrote this novel during the McCarthy era. Arthur Miller was put on trial for communism in the same fashion of many during the Salem Witch Trials. Many of the characters in Arthur Miller’s play are similar to people from his time as well as the similarity of both
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The Salem Witch Crisis began during the winter of 1691-1692. In Salem Village‚ Massachusetts‚ when Betty Parris‚ the nine-year-old daughter of the village’s minister‚ Samuel Parris‚ and his niece‚ Abigail Williams‚ fell strangely ill. The girls complained of pinching‚ prickling sensations‚ knifelike pains‚ and the feeling of being choked. Some weeks later‚ three ore girls showed similar symptoms. Doctors began to suspect that witchcraft was the reason of the girl’s symptoms. Document A is a discourse
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