The Salem Witch Trials: An Unforgettable Hysteria Accusations of neighbors, arrests of friends, and hangings of loved ones. That sums up the frightening event that took place in Salem, Massachusetts, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. It all began when two young girls, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, started experiencing fits of screaming and kicking. These fits spread to others and an outbreak occurred. The witch hunts left everyone feeling scared. For a close-knit village, it was devasting to think that one’s neighbor could be practicing witchcraft, an act that the Puritans believed represented evil. This hysteria ultimately identified 144 people as witches, with 19 of them hanged (Magoon 12). Due to this event’s inhumanity, there are …show more content…
Therefore, I am going to examine the reasons why the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 might have occurred, the people who were historically known to be involved, and the aftermath of the trials. When the girls began having unexplained fits, the doctor was unable to diagnose them. However, times have changed since the 1690’s, and there is a newer theory that Ergotism or other diseases could potentially explain the strange episodes. According to Mundra and the other authors of the journal article, “The Salem Witch Trials—Bewitchment or Ergotism”, there is a specific type of food poisoning called Ergotism, which “is caused by the ingestion of alkaloids produced by the Claviceps purpurea fungus present in rye and other grains”. Ergot poisoning is said to be prevalent after a cold winter season, which matches the type of weather that Salem had experienced before the trials began. This reason also …show more content…
The Puritans Tituba, the slave of Samuel Parris, ultimately confessed to making a deal with the Devil. In Ray’s article, he claims that “[t]he magistrates also introduced the Puritan concept of signing the Devil’s book, that is, making a covenant with the Devil, which Tituba readily confessed to doing” (48). This statement shows how the Puritans believed that the Devil was indeed real and capable of attacking their village. When they found out that the Devil played a role in Tituba’s witchcraft, an outbreak occurred. According to Magoon, the Puritans were very religious and believed that the devil had influence over people’s actions and could control the weak (8). Similarly, Semmelhack and Ende makes the point that because the Puritans were the new chosen ones, the Devil was targeting his attack on them (scr. 13). Clearly, when the idea struck that Salem was in danger, many of the villagers broke into a panic, leading to the witch
Puritans believed the devil could persuade people to do evil things. Puritan Ministers compared women women to Eve implying that women were no good from the beginning of time, the minister, Samuel Parris, might have led to the witch hunt with the push to believe in evil things. These beliefs lead to strict physical and mental punishments. Some punishments were sitting in stocks and splitting of tongues. Another punishment was cutting off hands or ears.
The main cause behind the Salem witch trials can be said to be Ergot Poisoning, also known as Ergotism, where a victim would fall to severe Muscle Spasms and the effects of a modern day LSD. A dark time in American History, the Salem witch Trials all began in December of 1691, when the “afflicted” girls first accused Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne of witchcraft. This Hysteria came to an end an year later in the fall of 1692 (Capourel). In this short period a series of unexplainable events took place, starting with a “trigger” in Tituba admitting to in fact working with the Devil(Goodheart). This is all the drama that a insecure, yet religiously devout community, such as Salem needed to turn to witchcraft and the Devil for a scapegoat.
In Salem, Massachusetts, the lives of many residents were at the mercy of a few young girls. The town was ruled by religion which opened many opportunities for residents to fear anything that they believed as against them, their religion, or just simply immoral. The people who lived there called themselves Puritans. The Puritans were a group of English Protestants who believed that they must purify the church of England from its catholic practices. In Salem, the residents were ruled by religious leaders who oversaw the town’s court.
In 1692, A town in Massachusetts by the name of Salem Village became known for 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.
As time passed, people started to question the Salem Witch Trials and how it all started. Around the early 1970s. Linda Caporael, a college student, found out that the Salem farmers farmed their rye and wheat in damp and swamp areas. While the wheat grew inside the swamp areas, a fungus called ergot started to building up around it. Ergot can cause food poisoning; vomiting, hallucinations, muscle spasms, and etc.
Puritans believed that God was constantly at work within their lives, tempting them as well as rewarding them (Winthrop). When God chose to warn people, he either chose to inflict the warning himself or he chose to do it through the Devil. For example, when Minister Cotton Mather’s infant son died suddenly, Mather knew that either the devil was acting in a witch who in turn harmed his child or it was the will of God to directly harm his son (Godbeer Document 3). Mather himself states, “I made little use of, and laid little stress on, this conjecture, desiring to submit unto the will of my heavenly father, without which not a sparrow falls unto the ground.” Another example of the devil working in the lives of the Puritans was interactions with Native Americans.
In the year of 1692, 130 people were persecuted in Salem, Massachusetts on claims of Witchery. 25 of them died. What could have happened in Salem to spark the infamous witch trials of Salem? I believe it was caused by paranoia, attention seekers, and unneighborly conflicts.
The Massachusetts Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were unfortunate, unforgettable tragedies that resulted in the slaughtering of innocents, tests and punishments against accused witches, and ultimately regret that tore a community apart. Puritans were wary of witchcraft so by the end of May 1692 prisons were full of people who were believed to have sold their soul to the devil (Wilson 103). However, the accused citizens had much to say about that outrageous claim. Sarah Good, a woman executed in July of 1692 due to the Salem Witch Trials yelled this as she was being convicted; “You are a liar. I am no more a witch than you are a wizard, and if you take away my life God will give you my blood to drink” (Brandt 34).
There were over twenty people who were tried and executed under the inference of studying witchcraft. Twenty people got executed and fourteen of them were women. Five of these women were imprisoned, including two pure infants. There were over 200 people in total who were accused of practicing this so-called “witchcraft”. This was all an immense rage that started in Europe that lasted from the 14th century all the way to the end of the 17th century and was unfortunately brought back up in the late 19th century.
This new idea of witchcraft gave the church a reason to punish these “devil worshippers” while permanently having the chance to get rid of them before they changed other people’s minds about the church also. As Allison R. Anderson wrote, “By stating that the colonists were concerned for their “individual souls' ' as well as the safety of the region itself, Godbeer brings the Salem witch-hunt’s personal characteristics into his research. He claims in his writing that Puritans were convinced that every part of life, and every “trivial” daily
Salem Witch Trials Mass hysteria, social ignorance, and religious intolerance all describe the chaos that took place in Massachusetts during the year 1692. The Salem Witch Trials were not a positive section of American history but have been used as a learning tool for the United States. According to Plouffe, Jr., the trials were the largest of suspected criminals in the colonial period of American history. More than one hundred and fifty people were arrested on charges of witchcraft, and nineteen of these individuals were convicted and hanged (Plouffe, Jr. n. pag.). Many factors play into the long process of the Salem Witch Trials and have had a lasting impact on American history.
Salem was known for its dark events and history, the Salem Witch Trials was a great hysteria that happened during the spring of 1692 in Salem Massachusetts . This all happened because a group of young girls were said to be possessed by the devil in Salem Village. After this happened, several other women were accused of witchcraft. The first witch to be convicted was Bridget Bishop who, after many times, defended herself saying she had nothing to do with any of the events. But was hung on June 10th, 1692.
Although, surely other causes may help explain the hysteria, for example, a common misconception that those with fits from illness were bewitched, to show the power of the town’s government in the slightest of situations, and etc. However, the most powerful argument was that ergot caused the “signs” of a witch and the Putmans’ western part of the village used that as a way to falsely accuse those infected with ergot. The three main convincing reasons for the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria, like the ergot a parasitic fungus that was a big cause misclassification of “signs” of the bewitched, the Putman family’s motivation to reacquire their position in the village, and the Puritans’ duty to not let a witch suffer to live. The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria
Some of the most unique and historical events regarding witches, took place right here in Massachusetts. The witch trials of the late 1600’s were full of controversy and uncertainty. The Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts was home to most of these trials, and became the center of much unwanted attention. The trials which took place during 1692 resulted in the hanging of fourteen women and five men that were accused of being witches. Also, one man was pressed to death by heavy weights for refusing to enter a plea.
The Salem Witch Trials are a well known event in history. There are multiple theories for why the hysteria occurred. Over time, as more evidence has been found and more has been learned about their life people have hypothesised new theories. Some of the theories for why such hysteria occurred include, weather affecting the food, the fact that the kids weren’t allowed to play as a result of the strict Puritan laws, and they didn’t appreciate differences between people. These are just a few of many theories about why the delirium occurred.