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. Everyone was scared and suspicious, the town was in chaos. Abigail, the main character in The Sacrifice, is a young girl who was one of the many accused as a witch. She sees first-hand the all the horrors of the time. In The Sacrifice by Kathleen Benner Duble, the Salem Witchcraft Trials are accurately depicted …show more content…
The jail smelled bad because of all the body odor and filth, one of the first things Abigail notices as she enters. It was always an uncomfortable temperature, too hot in the summer, to cold in the winter. It was crowded, at one point there was up to 150 people in Salem Jail (Weiser). Prisoners were required to pay for basic essentials, and if they couldn’t afford it, they went without. Poor people were put in cells so small you couldn’t lie down and were given nothing to survive on. The witches were tied up with cords and chains so they “couldn’t torment anyone while imprisoned”. Salem Jail was very close to the coast, and when it rained the jails flooded. Water would cover the floor, rising up to prisoner’s ankles. The jails were infested with rats and lice, which was very unhygienic, many people died of illnesses. Over a dozen people died in Salem Jail (Weiser), if the family wanted to give the relative a proper burial, they had to pay for the removal of the body. Sarah Good was sentenced to death, but was pregnant so her execution was delayed (Weiser), similarly to what Abigail’s mother did to get her children out of prison. Kathleen Benner Duble’s The Sacrifice, accurately describes the Salem Witch Trials, as the author describes puritan life during the witch hysteria, and the shocking conditions of Salem Jail where witches were held as they awaited trial. The novel portrays everyday lifestyle during the Salem Witch Trials, giving the reader a better understanding of the time, and accurately depicts Salem Jail, describing how the accused lived in bondage. The Salem Witch Trials were very irrational, but people were so fearful they did terrible
It was a time full of hatred, heartbreak, and unfairness. Speaking of unfairness, there was a lot of it in the questioning and trials. The Salem witch trials were unfair because of the lack witnesses in court, the way that spectral evidence was used, and the defendant not having any protection. In the witch trials, the person who was accused would probably be hanged because of all the witnesses testifying against him and the lack of witnesses defending him.
In the book Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem, Rosalyn Schanzer discusses an outbreak of witch accusations in the little town of Salem, Massachusetts in late 1692. People were accusing friends, enemies, and even family members of being witches and plotting evil schemes with the devil. No one was safe anymore. If a person were to be accused, they were stuck in a stinky, grubby jail where they were pelted with never-ending questions.
Throughout the trials, more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft and 20 were executed. The people of Salem lived in constant fear of witchcraft accusations being brought against them, which only enhanced the hysteria in the village. The females got really sick when they went back home that could cause illness or death. The main point is that a large group of
The Salem Witch trials happened between the years 1692-1693, in Massachusetts Bay Colony, Salem town. Between Feb 1692 and May 1693, over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned, with many more accused but not properly brought to justice by the authorities, and 19 were eventually hanged. The best known trials, were conducted by the Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692 in Salem Town. Betty Parris and Abigail Williams were the first to experience the “witchcraft,” and reported it. The first accused were Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba.
Do you want to be hanged because you are practicing witchcraft? The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria happened in the year of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The story is that the people of Salem, Massachusetts were Puritans. The Puritans thought that they were going to be like a “city upon a hill” which meant they thought that they were going to make it look like they were more perfect than everyone else and they were closer to God. They made it like this because they believed that every word in the Bible was the true word of God and was to be followed to the exact letter of every word.
Abigail Williams' remorseless behavior cruelly ended the lives of 19 in Salem. An example of this is when the girls are discovered in the woods,” Parris caught them dancing, with Tituba singing and one of the girls being naked ”(Miller,10-11). Once Abigail was caught, she desperately tried to conceal her actions of that night because Her option to kill his wife would reveal her affair with John Proctor and Have her accused of witchcraft. To deflect the blame from herself she accuses many of witchcraft. Abigail’s remorseless behavior caused deaths because the accused were arrested and many were hanged or died in the jail.
What Happened During The Salem Witch Trials In the 1600’s, colonial america feared the devil and his servants, also known as witches, and would do anything to prevent any devil related harm from, entering their towns. During the Salem Witch Trials, many accused witches were punished in both unfair and inhuman ways.
REVIEW OF LITRATURE A.) SUMMARY SOURCE A Although the whole book had information on the Salem witch trials. The introduction, chapter 1 and 2 and the conclusion had information regarding the research needed • Introduction: states what the Salem witch trials where and who they accused.
Between February 1692 and May 1693, there were a series of hearings where people were being accused of witchcraft. The outcome of the hearings ended with 20 people being executed, but more than 200 people were accused of performing witchcraft. The hearings and prosecutions are very well known as the Salem witch trials. The trials took place in colonial Massachusetts. Nineteen accused witches were convicted and hanged on Gallows Hill in 1692.
The Salem witch trials was one of the most famous witch hunt in history. More than 200 accused witched occupied the local jail. 19 people executed, were hanged, one pressed with rocks to death and few more died in jail within a year from 1692-1693. It happened in Salem Village, New England in Massachusetts, now known as Danvers. Witchcraft was second among the hierarchy of crimes which was above blasphemy, murder and poisoning in the Puritan Code of 1641.
The Salem witch trials took place because of people practicing witchcraft and they were not witches. This resulted in the imprisonment /execution of more than 200 people. Centuries ago many Christians and those who practiced other religions believed that the Devil gave certain people known as witches power to bring harm to other people in exchange for their loyalty to him. From 1300 to the end of 1600 raged in Europe.
In the Salem Witch first instance of witchery is Betty/Elizabeth Parris, along with Abigail Williams when they started to scream and giggle uncontrollably, along with delusions, vomiting, muscle spasms, screaming, and writhing. William Griggs, a physician, diagnosed witchcraftery to the women. Soon, fueled by resentment and paranoia, more and more women were accused of being witches, while the community and system of justice piled up. The Trials had lasted from 1692 to 1693. Some women acted peculiar because of a fungus called “Ergot” that grew on cereals and wheat.
“But God made my face; you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary.” (pg.115). During this time people of the town were easily persuaded to persecute their fellow neighbors, due to their religion and it’s principles. Thirty years before the infamous Salem Witch Trials there was a witch scare in Hartford,Connecticut, resulting in raised tensions about witches, making the hangings of 20 people more of a safety precaution rather than a righteous and fair trial.
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.
Not many people know much about what actually happened in the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe someone would think that it was just about witchcraft and crazy people being hanged, but it is a lot more than that. The Salem Witch Trials only occurred between 1692 and 1693, but a lot of damage had been done. The idea of the Salem Witch Trials came from Europe during the “witchcraft craze” from the 1300s-1600s. In Europe, many of the accused witches were executed by hanging.