Salem Witch Trials Essay - 1478 Words

The year 1692 marked a major event in history in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem Witchcraft Trials still leaves this country with so many questions as to what happened in that small town. With all the documentation and accounts of the story, people are still wondering why 19 people died as a result of these trials. This paper will discuss the events leading up to the Salem Witch Trials and the events that took place during and after the trials, and the men and women who were killed or spent the remainder of their lives in jail. The Salem Witch Trials has become one of the countries most fascinating stories. HISTORY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS Salem founded in 1926 at the mouth of the Naumkeag River by some English†¦show more content†¦The only books in a Puritan household were that of religious content. â€Å"Given the constant thundering by Puritans about Satan, sin and witches’ spells, it is not surprising that a sensitive child might be subject to fits and weeping and hysterical talk about witchcraft.† (Kallen, 2005) The settlers would live for many years with only one major crime happening in 1638, where a woman by the name of Dorothy Talbye was hanged for murdering her daughter. It was in 1641, when English law made witchcraft a capital crime. Later in 1688, after a disagreement with Goody Glover, a 13 year old girl, Martha Goodwin began exhibiting â€Å"signs† of bizarre behavior. The behavior spreads to her brothers and sisters and Goody Glover is arrested for â€Å"bewitching† the Goodwin children. The Reverend Cotton Mather tries to persuade Goody Glover to repent her witchcraft, but she is later hanged. Martha Goodwin’s behavior continues and worsens. Later that year, Reverend Mather publishes â€Å"Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions.† In November of 1689, Samuel Parris is named the new minister of Salem and he moves from Boston to Salem to preside over the small town. It was in the early months of 1692, when a little girl by the name Elizabeth â€Å"Betty† Parris became ill. It was during this time that â€Å"witchcraft† began to takeShow MoreRelatedSalem Witch Trials And The Witch Trial1494 Words   |  6 PagesFirst of all, I wanted to talk about what Salem Witch Trial is and who are the persons involve in this event. Salem Witch Trials, according to Encyclopedia Britannica is â€Å"A series of investigations and persecutions that caused 19 convicted â€Å"witches† to be hanged and many other many suspects to be imprisoned in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.† There are many people involve in Salem Witch Trials and I’ll be going to describe their role in this event, followed by the different case studiesRead MoreSalem Witch Trials And The Witch Trial Essay2225 Words   |  9 Pagesaccused of witchcraft in Salem Village, Massachusetts, many more died in jail, and around 200 people total were accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Records from the event indicate that the Salem Witch Trials started when a group of young girls began acting strange, claiming they had been possessed by the Devil and bewitched by local villagers. The Salem Witch Trials is a much debated event; historians argue over the motivation and causes behind the trials and executions, not overRead MoreThe Trial Of The Salem Witch Trials905 Words   |  4 PagesI. Introduction In January 1692, when a group of juvenile girls began to display bizarre behavior, the tight-knit Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts couldn’t explain the unusual afflictions and came to a conclusion. Witches had invaded Salem. This was the beginning of a period of mass hysteria known as The Salem Witch Trials. Hundreds of people were falsely accused of witchcraft and many paid the ultimate price of death. Nineteen people were hung, one was pressed to death, and as many asRead MoreThe Salem Witch Trials691 Words   |  3 Pageswere the Salem Witch Trials? The Trials happened in 1692 in Puritan Massachusetts, in a town called Salem. Nineteen men and women were hanged on grounds of practicing dark magic and making a pact with Satan (in other words, for being witches). Hundreds of people were imprisoned; several died there. Additionally, one man (of over seventy years!) was crushed to death with heavy stones and the lives of many were irrevocably changed. (Salem Witch Museum) IQ #2- How and why did the Salem WitchRead MoreThe Salem Witch Trials1202 Words   |  5 PagesThe Salem Witch Trials were a prime part of American history during the early 17th century. During this time, religion was the prime focus and way of life within colonies. This was especially true for the Puritan way of life. Puritans first came to America in hopes of practicing Christianity their own way, to the purest form. The Puritans were fundamentalists who believed every word transcribed in the Bible by God was to be followed exactly for what it was. The idea of the devil controlling a womanRead MoreThe Trials Of The Salem Witch Trials1866 Words   |  8 Pagessurrounding the cause of the Salem Witch Trials 1692 makes the topic captivating as many historian perspectives offer explanations for the causation of the trials, yet the personal context of each historian has determined its historic reliability. This questions the level of objectivity each historian has in their responses to the Trials. The aims and purposes of a historian, as well as their differing methodologies may alter the approach the have towards the investigation of the Trials. Many interpretationsRead MoreThe Trials Of Salem Witch Trials Essay1267 Words   |  6 PagesThe notorious witch trials in Salem began in Spring of 1692. This started after a young group of girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, professed they were possessed by the devil. These young girls even went as far as accusing some local women of practicing witchcraft. As a frenzy spreaded throughout colonial Massachusetts, a specific court was summoned to hear cases. Bridget Bishop was the first convicted witch and she was hung in that June following her trial. Eighteen other people followed BishopRead MoreThe Trials Of Salem Witch Trials1069 Words   |  5 PagesEven though the Salem witch trials were made to seem formal, they were actually subjective and not based on fact. Since there were multiple people being accused of witchcraft, the trials were short and quick to sentence. The witch trials lasted less than a year. The first arrests were made on March 1, 1692, and the final hanging day was September 22, 1692. The Court of Oyer and Terminer was dissolved in October of 1692. The Salem Witch Trials occurred in the spring of 1692, when a groupRead MoreThe Trials Of The Salem Witch Trials1635 Words   |  7 Pagesovercome was the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials occurred in 1692 and 1693 in colonial Massachusetts. â€Å"More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft – the Devil’s magic – and 20 were executed† as detailed by Jess Blumberg on the web article A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials (Blumberg 2007). The trials had a major impact on the American society and the effects could be seen in colonial America as well as today. Why did the injustice of the Salam Witch Trials occur and whyRead MoreThe Trials Of The Salem Witch Trials2197 Words   |  9 Pagesestablish colonies based on the word of God. Salem, like many other towns at the time, had little distinction between church and state and focused all aspects of their society on God. (Roach) Due to these conditions, Salem became the site of the largest and most violent witch hunts in America. The significance of the trials comes from the large impact they had on American law. The conditions before, during, and after the Salem Trials were unlike the witch hunts in any other colonies in the New World