First, the persecution of witches began with the Cathars, this later cause paranoia which the people did not take lightly and many people were killed because of it. Secondly, witches were identified through tests such as the sinking, weighing, and devil’s mark tests, which almost always ended in the suspect’s death. Lastly, after the true witch trials took place, the church began to persecute those who were a threat to the church such as women, heretics, and homosexuals. Because the church was among the official powers in this time, many people followed and feared them which made the amplified the reaction to
Those who would admit to being a witch would go to jail, but for those who denied having interaction with the devil would have been trialed and hung, so really, anyway you put it it’s a lose-lose situation. Things like politics, religion, imaginations, and fear of people were just some of the main factors of what aided people into believing that Satan was upon the town of Salem. They believed that the humans were with devil and doing as he said which in turn gave them the power to harm others. One girl named Tituba was trying to save herself by confessing to witchcraft. She didn’t just confess but she also accused many other women about being witches and she said that they all were in the “hands of Satan”.
In the Salem Witch Trials, society believed that doing certain things were wrong or against what they believed in due to their religion. And there were consequences for doing things that were against the majority rule, such as death. Therefore, if people saw or knew about someone practicing witchcraft they would turn them in, because they knew it was against the law. They were doing what they knew to be the right and acceptable thing to do, similar to what Millie had done, because she knew turning him in would be the right thing to do by society’s
During the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, they used to tie accused witches to chairs and throw them in a lake, if they sank they were innocent. The Salem Witchcraft Trials were crazy, irrational and disturbing times. Young girls accused their neighbors and strangers of practicing witchcraft. The town decided to hold trials to see whether or not the accused really were witches. While they awaited their trials, they were held in a filthy jail.
They claimed that had seen these other people in visions performing the devils work. At this time, most villagers were Puritans, so magic was strictly forbidden. Although the witch trials aimed to rid the community of the devil, the event negatively influenced society in the late 1600’s because people were falsely convicted, it was inhumane, … Belief in the supernatural had surfaced in Europe during the 14th century. Supernatural belief was spread throughout the colonial New England. The rough reality of life in the Puritan community of Salem Village had settled in through the community.
He was probably teetering on the brink of for and against the trials, when his wife was accused and it put him over the edge. After this he came out against the Salem Witch Trials, proclaiming them hysteric. Years later, he published a book commenting on the witch trials. Although the book never denies that witches are real, his book did say that the fear that everyone felt that people were compelled to believe the girls’ accusations, “Such was the darkness of the day, the tortures and lamentations of the afflicted, and the power of the former presidents, that we walked in the clouds, and could not see our way. And we have most cause to be humbled for error on that hand, which cannot be retrieved.” This quote shows Hale admitting his wrongs, and apologizing for his errors.
The Salem witch trials was one of the most absurd and tragic events in history of pre-colonial America. A fine example of how believing in accusations and hearsay could affect a lot of people in a short span of time. the justice system is flawed and prejudice was allowed to reign over the people. I found this topic very interesting even though it is one of the most regretted in history. I’ve always been the type of person who likes reading all those weird and peculiar things on the internet.
Also, the accusations themselves were just incredibly random, and the judges were so gullible that they would just believe almost anything. The accusers had absolutely no evidence is a reason for the unfairness of the Salem Witch Trials. Towards the end of the book, they started using what is known as spectral evidence, which is basically referring to “a witness testimony that the accused person’s spirit or spectral shape
Rosalyn Schanzer’s book Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem describes the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, during which twenty innocent people died and many more were stripped of everything they had. To this day it is unclear exactly why this tragic event happened, but there are many theories. My theory is that the salem witch trials began due to a combination of hysteria, post traumatic stress disorder, and religious views. The Salem Witch Trials started because two young girls fell into fits and convulsions claiming that they had been bewitched.
The difference is that I try to take my agony home and teach it to sing” (Arthur Miller, AZ Quotes). In the play, the Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Salem, Massachusetts was a place of constant hysteria in the 1600s because of what would come to be commonly known as the Salem Witch Trials. This was a full-blown witch hunt for people found to display signs of witchcraft. Abigail Williams was the main person to blame for this pursuit of witches in Salem because, first off, she was the one who caused hysteria about witchcraft just to cover up the fact that