What Is The Historical Significance Of The Salem Witch Trials

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1. Salem witch trials began in 1692 when a group of young-teenage year old Puritan girls said that they had been possessed by the devil. This caused there to be many panic attacks through all over Massachusetts after this news had spread. The victims of these witch attacks usually were the old, disadvantaged, property-owning females. The whole nation was in panic mode attempting to stay away from and convict the witches. Eventually around 1702, public opinion looked down upon witch trials. The Salem witch trials were also a part of the Great Awakening, when the majority of colonists attempted to become even more religious and pious.

2. The historical significance of the Salem Witch trials was that it showed how fragile the new AMerican …show more content…

The main reason that the Salem witch trials were relatively well-known was largely due to the horror of what could happen in a society; the hanging of many innocent people. The broader picture of the Salem Witch Trials tells us more than the actual event, the Salem Witch trials contextualize two main ideas; the changing role of women and the Great Awakening. The role of women was very rapidly changing in the colonies, and the Witch Trials were society’s best efforts to stop the women. The women was supposed to be caretaker of the home and the children, when women challenged this idea by owning property and not marrying, they became easy targets for others. Especially due to the movement of Indians,the actions of some eccentric women, and a general fear of outsiders, this lead to the witchcraft accusations. The other main idea was the Great Awakening, the inherent desire for the Puritans to go back to living like they had once done, this lead to more religiousness and piety throughout the …show more content…

The significance of the French and Indian War was the scenario that would have transpired if the war had developed differently. The majority of people today living in the Eastern United States would of French descent. The native population would have maintained some parts of land if the English had lost. The United States could have been split between three groups of people; the French, the Native Americans, and the Spaniards. Not only, would have the United States looked different, the entire globe would have been different. The majority of wars have complicated causes that begin them, however the French and Indian War was initiated by a series of very straightforward events. The French were moving into the Ohio River Valley and the Mississippi River down from the St. Laurence River due to their goal of controlling the rivers. Some other natives also lived in the Ohio Valley due to being pushed westward by the English expansion, they acted as traders to both the English and French. They avoided too close a relationship with either group to keep their independence and to avoid antagonizing the other group. The English colonists were also expanding into the Ohio River Valley, all these different cultures and competing groups were essentially matches in a matchbox. After the Iroquois, the primary Indian group in the area, began to grant trade concessions to the English merchants, the French feared the English would use the concessions as a way to expand into French land.

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