Salem Witch Trials Socioeconomics, Religion, and Fear

SIENA HEIGHTS UNIVERSITY THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS: SOCIOECONOMICS, RELIGION, AND FEAR A PAPER SUBMITTED TO SISTER JEANNE LEFEBVRE FOR HISTORIOGRAPHY AND METHODOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY BY NICHOLAS KNEZEVICH ADRIAN, MICHIGAN MAY 2006 Abstract The Salem Witch Trials were caused by socioeconomic problems that were intertwined with the fabric that held early American life together: religion. Puritanisms lack of set doctrine lent itself to the possibility of corrupt leadership. In 1692 this is exactly what happened. Frightened by the possibility of losing his position as preacher to the Salem Village, Samuel Parris exploited the gravest fear that was held by people of that time period: Satan and witches. The†¦show more content†¦Accusation after accusation was made in an attempt to root out the evil that had taken hold of the New England area and threatened life as they knew it. The first to be afflicted was Abigail Williams, followed closely by Elizabeth Parris and Ann Putnam Jr. Baffled by the symptoms that plagued these girls, Doctor William Griggs was called to come to Salem in mid-February to see if he could remedy the problem. After much examination and deliberation he concluded that there was no medical answer for the problem at hand and therefore witchcraft was at fault. The girls were approached and intensively questioned about the witchcraft, Elizabeth named the Parris slave Tituba as the one who afflicted her, Tituba confessed, but only after Samuel Parris beat her . In late February, the other girls named Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne as their afflicters, and warrants were issued for the arrest of Tituba, Good, and Osborne . Over the next several months, both the afflicted and the accusations grew enormously. In May of that year the Court of Oyer and Terminer was created to deal with the accusations and to find and execute the witches. Bridget Bishop was the first person to be tried and convicted of witchcraft, and was sentenced to death and hung onShow MoreRelatedHistorical Journalism At The Salem Witch Trials863 Words   |  4 PagesHistorical Journalism at the Salem Witch Trials The Salem Witch Trials are one of the best known outbreaks of hysteria and fear in American history. This event began when Betty Parris, who was a daughter of Salem’s church’s minister, and Abigail Williams, who was her cousin, experiences several occasions of odd, violent behavior that they blamed on witchcraft. They accused two white women, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, as well as a slave, Tituba, of practicing witchcraft in the village. The threeRead MoreThe Main Causes Of The Puritans In The Salem Witch Trials1527 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"You’re a liar! I’m no more a witch than you are a wizard! If you take my life away, God will give you blood to drink!† This testimony is one out of the several given during the Salem Witch Trials which has become known as one of the mass hysterias to ever occur in American history. In 1692, individuals known as Puritans settled among a small village named Salem in what is now known as Massachusetts. The Pur itans spent the beginning years of their settlement confronted with epidemics such as famineRead MoreThe Salem Witch Trials Essay2008 Words   |  9 Pageswomen and men. The madness continued for over four months. The notorious witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts occurred from June through September. It is a brief, but turbulent period in history and the causes of the trials have long been a source of discussion among historians. Many try to explain or rationalize the bizarre happenings of the witch hunts and the causes that contributed to them. To understand the trials and how they came to be, we must first examine the ideals and views of the peopleRead MoreThe Role Of Women During The Early American Witch Trials Essay2298 Words   |  10 Pages THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE EARLY AMERICAN WITCH TRIALS the role of women in the early american witch trials Puritan Societal gender biases against women prompted what was called the Witch Trials. Some trials took place in Europe around the same time, but my focus is about the trials that took place in Early America in New England. History notes these areas to be mostly in Hartford, Fairfield, and Salem. The latter being the most infamous and the most published. Although the question has been