Throughout history, there have been many “witch hunts” that have created mass hysteria. Two of which were called the Salem Witch Trials and the Scottsboro Case. The two trials have many similarities to each other and so have many other trials. The Scottsboro Trials, in summary, was about nine young black men being accused of raping two young white women. Although, what really happened was one of the white girls stepped on one of the boys hands and they started fighting and throwing rocks.”8 out of the 9 boys were trialed with death” (Linder). The court during the time had a strong racial dislike for the black race. On January 1932, the court ruled 6-1 on all but one of the convictions. By the end, the main accuser, Ozie Powell, dropped the charges because later on, too much proof showed that the boys did not rape the two girls. …show more content…
“The first to be accused was a slave from Barbados named, Tituba”(Wallenfeldt). The two girls that started all the hysteria was a girl named Abigail, age 11, and Betty, age 9. The two girls would have strange behaviors such as, screaming, throwing things, contorting their bodies, and would have biting and pinching sensations. The two girls were starting to be interested in Fortune telling with Tituba and when people found out they accused Tituba of Witchcraft to save themselves. This made the people believe that this was the work of the devil. Though the citizens of Salem would just use this to take what they wanted. Many innocent people were hung in this tragedy and a memorial has been put up to commemorate the innocent lives taken
Myth-busting: Ergot Poisoning The years 1691 to 1692 mark an important date in Salem Massachusetts. A small village on the North coast of Massachusetts, Salem became notorious for their injustice and cruelty of their Witch Hunts, in which over 20 people, men and women, were executed in half a year. Surrounded by Religious Paranoia and uncertainty in their newfound community, people began looking at practices of the Devil as a scapegoat for unusual happenings. Believed to have been works of the devil for centuries, this idea has been rebuked in recent times, as a study in 1976 strongly suggested the effects of Rye Ergot Poisoning to be the main force behind the Witch trials.
The Salem Witch Trials and The Kent State Shooting are two similar incidents. Both in which many lives were taken when they did nothing wrong and many arrests were made daily and school was closed down for six weeks. Trials were held for several weeks. The guards were even scared for their lives. Universities had to shut down due to the shooting.
Paragraph 1- (Intro) The Salem Witch trials of 1692 were a dark and (prevalent) time for the people of Salem, Massachusetts. During this time, nearly 200-300 people were convicted of witchcraft, and over 60 were officially hanged by the government. This must all be looked at from the colonists’ point of view- they had come from a land where religion was the most important aspect of their everyday life, keeping beliefs close to heart. They took this aspect to the New World, the area inhabited with mysterious other people’s foreign to them, where fears of the devil replaced common fears of everyday life. The floodgates of scapegoating did not truly start, although, until Tituba, a young slave, confessed of witchcraft herself.
Prior to the Salem witch trail 1692. It was a pandemonium year for Salem. A shorten harvest, outbreak of small pox and Indians renew attack on the frontier. The king of England also revoked colony’s charter. The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692.
Why Did Salem Happen? Salem Massachusetts in 1692 was a dark and trying time in the history of America. During this time our young country experienced what some might call an epidemic or an attack, not like the small pox or the Native Americans, but one that was self imposed, and just as destructive. The events started with accusations from young girls, which turned into trials with no proof, then false imprisonment, and ultimately led to the hanging of nineteen innocent people.
In the Summer months of 1692, twenty-four innocent alleged witches and wizards had been hung, pressed to death, or died in jail in Salem, Massachusetts. However, what caused the mass hysteria known as the Salem Witch Trials? Puritans based their life strictly on religion and the Bible in which they had no free time, education, and felt pressured just to be alive; the citizens were fearful of their future, causing their religion to overpower scientific and mathematical reasoning. In June 1692, two young Salem girls, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, accused slave woman Tituba and two other white women of practicing witchcraft after Betty and Abigail began to exhibit strange behavior. Tituba confessed to practicing witchcraft and exclaimed that
The Salem Witch Trials began around February 1692 and lasted until May 1693. During this time, it was really bad for the townspeople of Salem. There was an assumption that people were working with witchcraft, and being unsure who those people were, they were very insecure. They would blame anyone who was accused of this, and then they would execute anyone who seemed a little suspicious to the citizens of Salem. About twenty people were tried and executed.
In January of 1692, the reverends daughter, Elizabeth, and niece, Abigail, started having “fits.” These fits included screaming, throwing items, and being in weird positions. Of course, the colony blamed the supernatural (Wallenfeldt). Witches were considered followers of Satan and were often identified by hearing rumors or suspicions. Tituba, a local slave, was one out of the three women that was blamed by the two girls.
This was the beginning of the infamous Salem Witch Trials
When all of sudden two young ladies rush off the train and accused the boys of raping them. When in actuality most of the boys were not even in the same car as the young ladies. They were really accusing the boys of raping because they were prostitutes and they were crossing state line which was illegally, When you are rape there are more than likely some kind of sign of a struggle but when Dr.John Lynch ,and Dr. R.R. Bridges examined victims Ruby Bates and Victoria Price less than two hours after the alleged rapes occurred the two doctors found semen in the vaginas of both women, they found little evidence to support their claims that they had been raped ,so in all reality they had lied to get people over the fact that they were prostitutes. By the end all of the nine boys that were convicted and found guilty and all served at least eighteen years in a Alabama chain gang before being either pardon or
According to the pope anyone who would give themselves to the devil was a witch and they should be killed. (Linder Douglas 1) (Boraas) The first to be accused was a woman named Tituba she was a slave from Barbados, She was the first to admit to it, even after denying it. She was accused because the Reverands daughter and niece began acting strangely and the doctor said they were bewitched. They would scream and throw fits. Tituba also gave the names of Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn, and accused them of witchcraft.
What a Horrible World In today 's day and age we have more technological, medicinal, societal, and worldly advancements than we did in either 1692 or 1947, but we are still just as easily corrupted by jealousy, power, and paranoia. The years 1692 and 1947 are perfect examples of prospering societies that became undermined through very similar processes. In 1629 the Salem Witch Trials and in 1947 the McCarthy Communist Trials- were both held unjustly, involving condemnation based on unfair trial practices. People desperately admitted to being a witch (1692) or to being a communist (1947) only because they didn’t want to die. Even if you were found innocent your life was virtually over because your career and livelihood had been destroyed
During the “West Memphis Three” trials however, no eye witnesses came forth to the judges and said that they saw the boys do it. In determining if the defendants should be counted guilty, eye witnesses play a huge part in it. During the “West Memphis Three” trials, Jason Baldwin
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. In Salem witchcraft became a very big deal. Twenty people died while over two hundred people were accused and it all happened because of one person. Many people are to blame for the witch trials and deaths of the accused, but Abigail is the most to blame. Before the play started Abigail had an affair with John Proctor and Elizabeth fired her from being their maid.
Later, the Supreme Court reopened the Scottsboro Boys? case. One of the plaintiffs confessed to lying under oath about being raped. Once again, the Scottsboro Boys were still considered guilty. The court?s rationale behind the decision was that they were black. The two young women committed a federal offense by lying under oath.