Early American History: The Salem Witch Trials

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The Witch Trials of Salem Massachusetts

In American history, one year in particular traumatizes many humans still to this day. Although not a blood drawn battle or war, 1692 was a year filled with frustration, accusations, and many uncalled for deaths. The Salem Witch Trials started from a spark of fear and superstitions that revolved around the harsh Puritan lifestyle and call for God. This infamous event is a primary example of how religious intolerance and unproven accusations led to to the unjust death of many innocent people.

Yet, the hanging of the accused, or so called “witches”, did not begin in the notorious town of Salem Massachusetts, but in England. When the many executions and protests from the Puritan citizens angered James I and Charles I (successor), both forced the Puritans to move to New England in 1920. With them, the foreigners brought along their superstitions and beliefs that they were the chosen people of God. The Puritan’s entire life revolved around the Christian Bible. The church controlled the lives of all that lived there and claimed that any sinful act was an act …show more content…
After a year, ministers attempted to rid of the trials and finally, on October 29, Governor Philps officially dismissed them. This dismissal not only ended the trials in New England, but it led to the cessation of these superstitions throughout the entire Western civilization. Although the families of the departed were rewarded with financial compensation, they grieved heavily over the tragedy of death that overcame their loved ones.. The remaining prisoners were discharged, as the town leaders tried to redeem themselves after endorsing and permitting the trials when they first began (Billings and Manning, Salem Witchcraft Trials) (Boyer, Salem witchcraft trials) (The Salem Witch Trials (no author

Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

chapters in American history took place in the small colonial village of Salem, Massachusetts—present-day Danvers. It covers a little over eighteen square miles, and it boasts a population of forty-four thousand, four hundred, eighty inhabitants. It is a residential area that also possesses many historic landmarks that attract tourists (“Salem, Massachusetts”). Yet, in 1692, this town was filled with fear, judgment, and paranoia. Why do you need to be a member? Because accusations and trials were beginning…

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Essay On The Scottsboro Boys

similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and the Scottsboro Trials are clear. The Scottsboro Trials are the longest running court case for a crime that didn’t occur (The Trials of The Scottsboro Boys). The case produced many trials, convictions and retrials (The Trials of The Scottsboro Boys). It involved nine black teen boys and two white girls (The Trials of The Scottsboro Boys). This was a case of an alleged gang rape on a Southern Railroad freight, on March 25, 1931 (The Trials of The Scottsboro…

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The Salem Witch Trial

well celebrated October 31. Halloween is officially of the only occasion people really talk about witchcraft now days; but in the early days, witchcraft was a serious matter. Historically, United States early days of witchcraft is associated with the Salem Witches Trial . The first documented and most famous witchcraft trial in the United Stated history, The Salem Trial. Almost two hundred man and women were accused, and a combined of nineteen were executed. The names involved were: Bridget Bishop…

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Salem Possessed Analysis

The Salem witch trials are one of the most infamous moments in early colonial American history. In 1692, Salem was the center of attention in colonial America. In what is now modern day Salem, Massachusetts a series of illness were attribute to Witchcraft. Drawing the attention of the world it still remains a huge part of New England culture and has made its way into history books. However the story is much more than a story of wrongly accused people. Like anything else, the Salem witch trials have…

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Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

In the late 1600s, a small county known as Salem was suddenly taken over by mass hysteria and accusations of several women believed to be practicing witchcraft. This resulted in over 100 imprisoned individuals and nearly two dozen people, mainly women, being publicly executed. The Salem Witch Trials stands to be one of the darkest times in American history, marked by extensive fear, hysteria, and loss of innocent lives. Discussion will be made on the motives of these accusations, raising questions…

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Genocide Of 1944 Essay

Hysteria Vs. The Crucible 1 The genocide and the Salem witch trials are two incredibly similar events in history but also very different. They both had significant cases of hysteria involved. Hysteria is defined by Dictionary.com “ an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear , often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping, etc . (Hysteria).” The word hysteria defines both the genocide and the Salem witch trials. The development of both situations of hysteria were almost the same…

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Salem Witch Research Paper

or Witchcraft? The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, most of them women. Despite being generally known as the Salem witch trials, the preliminary hearings in 1692 were conducted in several towns in the Province of Massachusetts Bay: Salem Village, Salem Town, Ipswich and Andover. The most infamous trials were conducted by…

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Hawthorne: Nathaniel Hawthorne and Young Goodman Brown Essay

lives forever. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born and raised in Salem Massachusetts, this is a common setting for many of Hawthorne’s stories such as the story of “Young Goodman Brown.” Nathaniel was by far one of the greatest American writers of the nineteenth century. Hawthorne witnessed the Salem Witch trials at which Hawthorne’s Great Grandfather, John Hathorne, was a judge. Young Goodman Brown also witnessed the witch trials along his travel in the woods. Goody Cloyse, a character in “Young…

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Historiography of the Salem Witch Trials Essay

The changing historiography of the Salem Witch Persecutions of 1692. How current/contemporary and historical interpretations of this event reflect the changing nature of historiography. The number of different interpretations of the Salem Witch Trials illustrates that historiography is ever changing. The historians, Hale, Starkey, Upham, Boyer and Nissenbaum, Caporal, Norton and Mattosian have all been fascinated by the trials in one way or another because they have all attempted to prove or…

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Dbq Salem Witch Trials

During the Spring of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, panic was spreading over the rising accusations of affiliation with the occult and witchcraft (Goss 1). Salem contained many persons of the Puritan belief, and therefore had a strong affirmation in God and the devil. Along with the belief of these ethereal beings, the townspeople also had a long-held belief in the occult and spirits, which began in as early as the fourteenth century (Goss 2). Puritan belief held dark magic accountable for the bad…

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