Mass Hysteria Research Paper

People have been accused for things they haven't done many times in history. In the 1600s, in Salem Massachusetts; nineteen people got killed for something they had no part in. In many cases hysteria can lead to injustice and harm to the innocent because people are often motivated by fear and suspicion to make bad or dangerous decisions. Which is illustrated in Abigail when she blamed other people for being witches so she doesn't get in trouble for what she did. In my studies, in the Ethel Rosenberg trial (“the Red Scare”)is also a more madern example of hysteria.

The Witch Trials By: Natalie Boggs The Salem Witch Trials were a time between 1692 and 1693. It all started when two young girls who lived in Salem, Massachusetts started having theses fits out of nowhere one minute they would perfectly behaved children then the next they would start having these fits. The girls had claimed somebody had bewitched them and that they were possessed by the Devil. Many historians believed that the strange behaviors could be from the Rye the people in Salem had been eating but what the people of Salem didn't know was that there was a deadly bacteria on the Rye that could have caused the girls fits. I know that from research that the Salem Witch Trials where a time that many people claimed to be possessed by the Devil and they accused innocent people of bewitching them.

The Salem witch trials were established in the spring of 1692, in Salem Village, Massachusetts after a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and indicted local women of witchcraft. Hysteria soon spread throughout colonial Massachusetts, and a court was assembled in Salem to hear these cases. Malefic witchcraft did exist in Salem, Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, but were the Salem Witch Trials an irresponsible act of the clergy and magistrates? Or was it something more logical?

Mass Hysteria is a well known occurrence that involves a group of people that go through an event that may or may not be real that creates paranoia and fear.1 It is sometimes referred to as a physical illness that contributes to hallucinations and having weird symptoms because of a certain witnessing of actions that are questionable. This concept has existed for hundreds of years, and still occurs today in society. Examples of mass hysteria includes 9/11, the holocaust, school shootings, witchcraft, and the ebola outburst. A mass hysteria that was popular in the 1960’s-1970’s was the Zodiac Killer, a horrific murder that shocked society and changed their lives to be surrounded by fear and anxiety.

Throughout history there have been many instances where people were put in jail and even killed for no reason. Two examples of this would be The Salem Witch Trials and The Holocaust. These two events have their similarities and differences, but is ultimately the same situation. The Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 in the town of Salem,Massachusetts (Miller,1124). It all started with a group of young girls(Miller,1124).

Was The Crucible historically accurate? It was loosely accurate. A lot of the stories were definitely over dramatized. There were outrageous accusations on almost everyone. Here is how it all started.

Dear whomever may be reading this letter, I am writing this to show the madness of the witch hunts here in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay colony. Two girls have accused three women of witchcraft, and one of them, a slave confessed to being a witch. She accused four women and three men, and to escape death the accused pleaded guilty and named others, whipping the people of the village into a rabid frenzy. As I am writing this twenty people have been killed, and I pray that no more are sent to follow them to the gallows. About two hundred have been accused, and it seems the only way to escape death is to name more witches.

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.

In the spring of 1692, Salem Massachusetts, the famous Salem Witch Trials begins after a group of girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused a group of women of witchcraft and using the so called “devil’s magic.” As the hysteria spread through the small colonies in Massachusetts a panic began to form as the innocent puritan lifestyle was threatened. In the end, 18 were sent to Salem’s Gallow Hill, and over 200 convicted of witchcraft, the known tradition of the Salem Witch Trials would undergo for years. The Salem Witch Trials grabbed American History by the neck and is not one of our most prideful moments.

During the 1600s witchcraft, had become a large epidemic in New England. Women were the focus when it came to a person being accused of witchcraft. Men cannot be left out of this epidemic. There were a handful of men who were accused. Most of the men who were accused were either married to a female who had been accused of witchcraft.

The Mass Hysteria of Salem Mass hysteria struck colonial Massachusetts in 1692 when several hearings took place known as The Salem Witch Trials. In this small town of Salem, there were 141 people arrested, 19 people hanged, and one person crushed to death. Why would this take place you ask? They were all accused of witchcraft, the Devil’s magic, and it was not taken lightly..

I think you have a valid point but with so many people accused of rape, murder, etc... and the number of times someone has been falsely accused of one of these events, backed up logs of DNA tests to go through, evidence being lost or getting mixed up with another individual, so on and so on. I don't think we should have modern day witch hunts just because someone is accused of a crime that they may not have committed. Obviously, it isn't a quick process of being accused but there have been individuals who were convicted of crimes and released decades later, some even being exonerated after their death. We should work harder to get through cases, so that those who have done the crime are actually

Throughout history, people have been hunted and killed due to false accusations and fear of other powers. In 1692, it was the Salem Witch Trials where people were falsely accused of being witches. They were hung for crimes that they did not commit and crimes that did not exist including using magic to murder someone. In 1950, citizens of the United States had their rights violated due to false accusations of working with communists. These innocent people were arrested without a choice of rebuttal due to the overwhelming fear of communism.

In 1692, people were accused of casting spells, which meant they were siding with the devil in Salem, New England. Many people who lived in the countryside of Salem believed that the Holy Bible were God’s direct words and should be followed precisely. Women were more likely to be accused of casting spells because they were expected to be at home, listen to their husband, and weren’t aloud to be ministers so there were more likely to preach the devil. People believe that women aren’t good enough and men are superior to women, even now in this century. There is still a pay in inequality between the average men and women.