A review of A Fever in Salem: A New Interpretation of the New England Witch Trials‚ by Laurie Winn Carlson‚ Ivan R. Dee‚ Chicago‚ 2000; 224 pp. $14.95 Paperback. ISBN: 1-566633095 A FEVER IN SALEM POSITS A biological cause for the early modem witchcraft epidemic‚ which resulted in the hanging of 19 people in Salem‚ MA‚ in 1692. Witchcraft persecution‚ Laurie Carlson writes‚ arose because of the strange behavior of the supposedly bewitched accusers. She concludes that the cause was a disease unrecognizable
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in Salem Village‚ and there is no evidence from the time that Tituba practiced Caribbean black magic‚ yet these trials and executions actually still took place‚ how can you explain why they occurred? <br> <br>The Salem Witchcraft Trials began not as an act of revenge against an ex-lover‚ as they did in The Crucible‚ but as series of seemingly unlinked‚ complex events‚ which a paranoid and scared group of people incorrectly linked. And while there were countless other witchcraft trials‚ Salem ’s trials
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January 1692‚ the colony of Salem‚ Massachusetts would encounter a situation that would change the small colony forever. That year the quiet town would endure a 9-month long span of trials of witchcraft that would leave 200 accused witches and 20 dead. The trials were based on religious beliefs and would separate all the “unholy” citizens from the community. The trials separated the community based on fear and individuals singling out others based on class. The witch-hunts have affected modern society
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Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692 Throughout the late 17th century‚ the New England town of Salem‚ Massachusetts experienced a horrific religious episode. The time known as the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692 cost the life of 20 men and women. One of the contributing factors that led to this incident was the social rivalry of the Putnam and Porter families. The Putnam family resented the Porters and blamed them for their loss of wealth and political influence. The Salem witch trials were also
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the Salem Witch Trials stemmed from sheer ignorance from the Puritan people. The first factor in the ignorance displayed by the people of Salem was a result of their religion. The Puritans held a firm belief in the Bible and had a strict interpretation of the meaning of what was in the Bible. So they took the Bible passage that reads‚ "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live‚" seriously. I think that this is the very root of the problem: ignorance as a result of religion. Had the people of Salem not
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The Salem Witch Trials: A Perfect Storm On September 22‚ 1692‚ eight innocent women were hanged in Salem Village. Just a few months later the town would come to its senses and renounce the failed justice system that had doomed sent them to their deaths. Yet for the women‚ and the dozen others who had died before them‚ the revelation came too late. The infamous Salem Witch Trials‚ chronicled by Arthur Miller’s The Crucible were a pivotal time in history in which civilized society collapsed into madness
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While the Salem witch trials occurred in the late 1600’s‚ a similar unfortunate situation occurred in the 1950’s with an event called McCarthyism. The Red Scare and the Salem witch trials shared many common characteristics. The similarities include continuous accusations‚ leading politicians‚ and the reaction to Satan and communism. The Salem witch trials and the Red Scare both involved ongoing accusations that led to numerous innocent people being accused. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible‚
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McCarthyism Vs. Salem Witch Trials What would your reaction be if you were accused of something and were innocent? This is what happened to many people in the Salem Witch Trials and in McCarthyism. Innocent people were being punished for crimes that they did not commit. Even though there was little evidence‚ they were being hurt simply because somebody didn’t like their personal beliefs. The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are alike in many ways including their accusations‚ trials and were different
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The notorious witch trials of Salem‚ Massachusetts occurred from June through September. It is a brief‚ but turbulent period in history and the causes of the trials have long been a source of discussion among historians. Many try to explain or rationalize the bizarre happenings of the witch hunts and the causes that contributed to them. To understand the trials and how they came to be‚ we must first examine the ideals and views of the people surrounding the events. Salem Village had a very
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A time of death‚ fear‚ witches‚ scapegoating‚ and bizarre miscommunications between a community all in one area Salem‚ Massachusetts. Accusations broke out between the populace and people in 1692. The Salem Witch Hysteria (meaning a chaotic level of fear) of 1692 began with two girls‚ Betty Parris‚ daughter of Samuel Parris‚ and Abigail Williams. The young cousins first accused Tituba‚ a West Indian brought to assist them in their fortunes. Not too long afterwards‚ the young girls began acting strange
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