Salem Witch Trials
Many of the American colonists brought with them from Europe a belief in witches and the devil. During the seventeenth century, people were executed for being witches and follower of Satan. Most of these executions were performed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Mostly all of the accused were women, which makes some modern historians believe that the charges of witchcraft were a way of controlling the women who threatened the power of the men. During the witchcraft trials, hundreds of arrests were made, and some were even put to death on Gallow's Hill (Karlsen 145).In 1698, the villagers of Salem won the right to establish their own Church. They chose the Reverend Samuel Parris as their minister. Many of the villagers were then sorry that they had done so because of his harsh demands. They then vowed to force him out. There was much pressure surrounding the Parris family. The children of the family would entertain themselves by listening to stories told by Tituba, their slave (National Geographic). January of 1692 is when the mass hysteria of the Salem witch trials first began. The Puritans of this time were very harsh, unyielding, and quick to judge. They condemned innocent women on the basis of int
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). These were some of the reasons that the hysteria started in the first place. The General Court of the colony created a Superior Court to try the remaining witchcraft cases. Some of this behavior included profane screaming, convulsive seizures, trance-like stages, and unexplainable animal-like noises. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishers, 1995. This time no one was convicted (Salem Home Page). The new Governor, Sir William Phips, who was sent from England, set up a special Court of Oyer and Terminer to hear and decide the remaining witchcraft cases. Good and Osborne maintained their innocence, but Tituba confessed saying the devil appeared to her "sometimes like a hog and sometimes like a great dog.
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Acceptance Essays
