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 intang
The first person to be tried in the Court of Oyer and Terminer was Bridget Bishop. "Have you made no contract with the devil?", "No", answered Sarah Good (Hill 43). As the hunt continued, many different types of people began to be accused. Some women were even let free, but because of protest from victims, they were forced to be arrested for a second time. After the execution of Bishop, accusations of witchcraft escalated. In a letter written by Governor Phips dated the twelfth of October 1692, he tells of his findings of all the proceeding happening in the town of Salem. He was dissatisfied with the proceedings. The Salem witch trials is just one example of types of hunts that have gone on in American history. Magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin examined Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne in the meeting house in Salem Village. Prayer Services and community fasting were organized by the Reverend Samuel Parris in hopes of relieving the evil forces that supposedly plagued the community. Efforts to expose the witches were also performed. The General Court of the colony created a Superior Court to try the remaining witchcraft cases. The Puritans of Massachusetts were the first to enforce a sense of political correctness. Unable to determine any physical cause for the symptoms and behavior, doctors concluded that the girls were under the influence of Satan.
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