The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a dark time in American history. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed during the hysteria. Ever since those dark days ended, the trials have become synonymous with mass hysteria. The witchcraft hysteria in Salem is when a group of young girls, who later came to be known as the “afflicted girls,” fell ill after playing a fortune-tellingdancing in the woods game and began behaving strangely. During this time period, people feared that the Devil was constantly trying to find ways to infiltrate and destroy Christians and their communities. As a devout and strongly religious community living in near isolation in the mysterious New World, the puritans of Salem had a heightened …show more content…
The Soviet Union was growing in power and the threat of a nuclear holocaust was on the forefront of American minds. Eastern Europe had become a conglomerate of Communist satellite nations. Threw in China and Americans began to feel they were surrounded by a Communist threat. Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Senator, made unsubstantiated claims that more than 200 "card carrying" members of the Communist party had infiltrated the United States government but held no proof to his accusation. McCarthy’s unsubstantiated claims ruined lives and led to increased hostility. Those who were accused were assumed guilty, put on trial, and expected to divulge the names of other Communist sympathizers when people Failed to do so led to sanctions. The media were not willing to stand up to Senator McCarthy for fear of being accused of being a Communist. Arthur Miller was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee and subsequently …show more content…
It states clearly in the bible followed with simplicity having an explanation of its symbolic representation that this generation is of the worse in this society and that we will be dealing with series situations like: Witch-craft, Homosexuality, Adulterers, Haters, Liars, False accusers, Hypocrites and all the wicked things you could ever imagine and that’s why people disagree of what’s been said because it’s the truth. We can see it happening everywhere and it has come to reality. Some people fail to realise why? And then they question why life has to be so harsh towards them, why it has to be this way? We see people around us, how they portray themselves their actions, with homosexuality its wrong with a sudden act they react if someone stated something they disliked and get offended with what’s been said then you see their true colours, some encourage it homosexual to still continue even when they know it’s wrong and then others disagree. Do you think it right for a man and a man, women and a women to be together?, that not how things are naturally supposed to be and then along causes the fussing, fighting and arguing over hopeless situation. We see innocent people in this world struggling because of what is happening within their homes, they receive
The trials of McCarthyism were held to judge if you were a part of a group of communism. In The Crucible, the girls were urged to confess that they were conjuring spirits. In the McCarthyism trials, they were urged to name other actors/actresses' names if they were involved. In document A, Kazan said, “I have come to the conclusion that I did wrong to withhold these names.” They wanted to exploit the followers and punish them.
Hysteria During the salem Witch Trials in February 1692 and May 1693 there was a serious case of mass Hysteria. It started when a group of young girls were seen dancing in the woods and claimed to be possessed by the devil, and accused several other women in the town of practicing witchcraft (MacGowan, Douglas). At this time in the village many people had uncontrollable emotion because they were scared of the people that were accused of being witches, and of someone accusing them of being a witch. During this time of mass Hysteria if you were accused of being a witch, or practicing witchcraft you were going to be hung.
What Caused the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 In Salem, Massachusetts there were Witch Trials held during the summer months of 1692. Throughout the seventeenth century in New England, witchcraft was said to be a crime punishable by death. Puritans came to New England in the early 1600’s to practice their Christianity in the purest form possible. They believed every word in the bible and that the words of God were to be followed down to the last sentence there was. Havoc started occurring around the town and 19 women along with men were hanged for witchcraft.
In January 1692, in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts, innocent citizens began to be accused of witchcraft. Two young girls, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams hid under furniture and contorted their bodies into unusual shapes. They screamed and cried out that the spirits of innocent citizens in the town of Salem were torturing them by stabbing them and trying to convince them to sign the Devil’s book. They were thought to have been under witchcraft’s spell, causing the young girls to accuse many people of witchcraft such as their own slave Tituba. More and more people of the town became afflicted with the same symptoms as Betty and Abigail, in the end causing over 200 people to be accused of witchcraft and all found guilty.
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of events that occurred within the 1690's. The numerous allegations lead to hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, most of them women. Additionally, the accusations lead to community wide hysteria and blood thirst for the death of nearly all the accused witches.
The Salem Witch Trials In the summer of 1692, a series of unfortunate events occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, The Salem Witch Trials. These witch trials resulted in the deaths of a score of people, both men and women and imprisonment of more than 200 of the villages residents (Blumberg). There are endless reasons as to why the Puritan village went into hysterics, including but not limited to paranoia, the Puritan’s strict religion, conflict between residents, economic turmoil, an ongoing war, and unexplainable events(Linder).
In 1692, A town in Massachusetts by the name of Salem Village found itself in one most documented cases of mass hysteria in history. This saga started with three girls: Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Parris, and Ann Putnam a neighborhood friend. Abigail Williams, the niece of the town’s minister, began to display weird and questionable behavior. The town’s physician,William Greggs, was called to determine the cause of this sporadic behavior. The town’s physician determined that the three girls were under “the Devil’s influence” and they had been bewitched.
In Colonial Massachusetts, there were series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft between February 1692 and May1693 known as the Salem witch trials. The episode is one of the Colonial America’s most notorious cases of mass hysteria. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, fourteen of them women, and all but one by hanging. Five others, including two infant children died in prison.
Preceding the horrific events of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, the village of Salem was experiencing many difficulties, and in spite of its name, it was hardly a haven of tranquility.(Marvel, 2002, p.14) The town faced varying problems ranging from factional politics, religious problems, and famine. The winter of 1691 leading up to the summer of 1692 brought a time of suspicion, accusations, and mass hysteria. Many accusers, who were often little girls, went through alarming physical symptoms, such as inability to consume and sleep, erratic behavior, seizures, and panic attacks. (Kinchlow, 2011)
In 1692 the beginning of the Salem witch trials began. A few decades later a similar occurrence happened in 1950 with the spread of McCarthyism. What started both the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism was the spread of fear and mass hysteria. Puritans during 1692 believed that the new world should be a holy place with freedom to practice your own personal religion. When witchcraft came around the puritans noticed strange behavior between the young teenage girls for example being choked by an invisible force or falling out on the floor as if possessed.
In today’s society, the idea of witches have generally become a common topic. When Halloween arrives, we see people dressed up to mimic witches in fun spirit. However, during the Salem Witch Trials, witches were considered evil and against God, which caused fear to strike out amongst the people who religiously followed the Bible and believed in God. Thus, the accusations of citizens being involved with witchcraft struck out, and the persecutions began. When the topic of the Salem Witch Trials is mentioned, we think about how creepy it was and how the people were killed.
The Salem Witch Trials began in the spring of 1692. It began whenever two young women in Salem Village, Massachusetts started acting very strangely out of nowhere. Betty Paris and Abagail Williams screamed and threw fits making accusations that they could see and be controlled by spirits of the devil. A frenzy spread through Salem Village through the colonial Massachusetts whenever the two young women accused people in the town of witchcraft. They claimed that had seen these other people in visions performing the devils work.
INTRODUCTION Forming part of the New England region, Salem can be found on the coast of the state of Massachusetts, USA. European Puritans began to settle in Salem as early as 1626. Puritans were a group of English Protestants from the 16th century, which was a religiously-driven era in Europe as God was the central force for the public. As such, the fear of the occult and Satan was pervasive. The Puritans brought these fears to Salem as they colonised New England in an attempt to flee religious maltreatment in Europe.
In 1692, the hysteria of what is now known as the Salem witch trials begun. It all started within the minister’s household when his daughter and niece started to act outlandishly. Witchcraft was blamed for their behavior and actions, which resulted in the madness of accusing almost every woman in the village of Salem. About 20 were eventually executed (Blumberg 1). This delirium ended when minister Cotton Mather and his son pleaded to cease the use of spectral evidence, the “testimony about dreams and visions” (Blumberg 2).
For Salem, 1962 was a very negatively eventful year. Not only were the town’s annual production levels low, but the smallpox virus had run rampant throughout the community. To top off the chaos, the Salem witch trials had begun. These trials were a famously known series of court trials formed to punish people accused of communicating with the devil, otherwise known as witchcraft. From May 1962 through June 1963, many blameless individuals of Salem, Massachusetts were accused of witchcraft and eventually lost their life.