How was the idea of a witch created or thought of? It started when two girls asked an Indian woman their fortune. Their reverend father noticed odd behavior, and as the result of a testimony, the first three woman were sent to jail. After that there were more accusations of people being witches. But what made people believe or know that another was a witch? There were at least three causes of the Salem witch trial hysteria. They were anti-female bias, strong beliefs and lying/acting girls, and jealousy of poor versus rich. One cause of the witch trial hysteria was anti-female bias. Out of the twenty people hung, thirteen were women and seven were men. (Doc. A) In a total one-hundred thirty-four people were accused, one hundred and
Another purpose as to the root cause of the Salem Witch Hysteria is because economic dislocation. Documents 5, 4, and 3 are charts representing the location of thing that occurred and were there placed. The charts are socially stratified. They were separated economically, also if you look closely the people who are like leaders of the village are actually more richer. Document 9 is a photograph of Matthew Hopkins the witchfinder.
The Salem Witch Trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 was most defiantly a time when one could attribute “moral panic” to the deaths of 20 people who were hung for being what society deemed as witches. It was a time when Christianity was prominent and no one steered away from the biblical beliefs. The small town of Salem, where everyone knew their neighbors was stricken by the physical unnatural actions of two young girls, Abigail Williams and Betty Parris. “The two girls were known to throw fits that involved screaming, crying, crawling, destroying property and contorting themselves in ways that society seen as abnormal bizarre behavior” (Salem Witch Trials HIstory Channel, 2014). These behaviors brought about increased
Alana Alvarado Professor Krammer March 7, 2023 Salem Witch Trials Throughout this class, we have learned what witches are throughout history and how they have had an impact on our history, and some of the misfortunes that took place. Learning about the history of witches and witchcraft helped us understand the build-up to the witch trials in Salem Massachusetts, which began in 1692 and lasted until 1693. During these witch trials in Salem about 150 people were accused of being a witch, and about 25 people died as a result of these trials. Many things had an impact on the unfortunate event in history from warfare, gender, and economic issues, but I will be focusing on how Religion and Gender played a big part in the Salem witch trials.
"There are such strange people in the world, when a fly walks over their body, it must be witchcraft. " Anna Roleffes said this quote during her trial after she was accused of witchcraft. It verifies that people were accused of being witches and wizards with very little and inconsistent evidence. However, more than 150 people were indicted, and 20 were executed. The chilling havoc spread during the winter of 1692 in Salem Village when a doctor "diagnosed" three ladies with peculiar visions and fits, with bewitchment.
What Caused the Salem Witch Trials Hysteria of 1692? In Exodus 22:18, it proclaims, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!” In 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, the Puritans believed every word that the Bible said, causing the death of twenty people because they were accused of witchcraft. What caused the panic and alarm that lead to the death of twenty people in Salem?
In total, the process of his execution took two full days (Findling 162-163). Executions consumed the summer of 1692 for Salem Village. Finally realizing how awful the court system and executions were, the Salem Witch Trials came to an end. Although the chaos caused by the trials had started to resolve, some of the same original fits occurred in the years following (“Salem Witch Trials” n. pag.). Salem Village was ready to move on, so the victims were ignored.
Let me just start by saying the Salem witch trials were brutal. Over 20 girls were hung and burned and 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft. It was in 1692 to 1693. The reason these women and occasionally men were tried was because the Salem witch trials were basically an era in American history where if we did not like someone all we had to do is claim them for witchcraft. Little girls would be in the church during the trials and start screaming and freaking out saying these women were sending their demons and satan’s helpers to attack them and that they were biting and scratching at their ankles and poking their eyes.
It all started between the months of June to September of 1692, the witch trials of Salem. Men, women, and even dogs accused of witchcraft, many jailed and executed. There are many theories and beliefs of why this hysteria had spread across salem. Satan, internal problems, religion, revenge and sickness were what the people of Salem had believed what caused this hysteria. What really caused all this to happen ?
The mass mentality of the people made the problem soon become out of hand. More and more women and some men were accused; the numbers soon grew to over fifty supposed witches. Many of the accusations were made by the three original girls who were afflicted. However, some historians believe that the parents of the girls were telling them who to accuse as revenge (@rbeatricebrooks). By the end of May 1692, local prisons were full and over one hundred people were on the charge of witchcraft.
The idea of witches stemmed from religious folks believing that the Devil could give certain people, known as witches, the power to harm others in return for their loyalty (Smithsonian). Due to the popularity of religion and supernatural beliefs, many people believed that the source of evil was the Devil. This idea appeared in Europe as early as the 14th century and it was quite popular in New England colonies. Villagers often blamed unfortunate things upon the Devil and other spectral sources of evil due to their lack of knowledge.
This paper investigates how the Salem witch trials could have been the outcome of Puritan girls having undergone great deals of stress, thus leading the girls to exhibit unusual behaviors. The stressors that Puritan women of the time would have been experiencing, as well as the stressors placed upon the group of afflicted girls as a result of their afflictions, would have placed a lot of pressure upon the afflicted girls prior to the Salem witch trials. Studies have shown that stress affects the minds of women much more profoundly than it affects the brains of men. Similarly, stress has been known to have a greater and more negative impact upon children and teenagers than upon any other age group, thus leaving the Salem susceptible to the influences of stress. Mental disorders with symptoms similar to those experienced by the afflicted girls in Salem have been identified, including functional disorders.
In my opinion I think the Salem witch trials were caused by Jealous females looking for a wealthy husband. Why you ask well let me tell you. Coming from Doc E imagine Salem divided in half, straight through the middle. Making an east and west side. Now on the east side imagine 5 witches spread around with only 30 accusers.
The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 may have been instigated by religious, social, geographic and even biological factors. During these trials, 134 people were condemned as witches and 19 were hanged. These statistics also include 5 more deaths that occurred prior to their execution date. It is interesting to look into the causes of this stain on American History, when as shown in document B, eight citizens were hanged in only one day.
Imagine being a wealthy 45-year-old woman in 1692 being accused of being a witch. The Salem Witch trials were caused by jealousy, fear, and lying. People believed that the devil was real and that one of his tricks was to enter a normal person 's body and turn that person into a witch. This caused many deaths and became a serious problem in 1692. First of all, jealousy was one of the causes of the Salem witch trials.
The Salem witch trial was a time about accusing your fellow neighbor or being accused yourself, this all began in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. During this time many people were being accused of being a witch, a majority of the time it was because either someone truly believed that you were a witch and were reeking havoc or they were trying to find someone to take the blame if they were to being accused. So this leads us to question, what began the Salem Witch Trials? There were at least three causes of the Salem witch trials hysteria. These were Betty Parris and Abigail Williams story, Ergotism, and the acknowledgment of hysteria.