Salem Witch Trials Dbq

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Salem Witch Trials DBQ During the late 1600s continuing in the early 1700s Salem, Massachusetts was faced with a mounting hysteria over the probability of witches living among them. The dishonorable Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692. This Hysteria led Massachusetts colonists to try, convict, and execute numerous individuals on behalf of the capital crime of witchcraft; many of which were said to be triggered due to the economic, social and religious aspects arising at the time. There is truly no one cause for the actions that took place from end to end the Salem witch trials. A mixture of diverse events and factors assisted the commencement of the trials. There was a quantity of religious factors that contributed to the Salem witch trials. Among these factors is the guidance of the strict Puritan lifestyle along with the believed presence of the Devil in the community (Document 7). The Puritan way of life was subjective heavily by the church and Christian beliefs. Church was fundamentally the base of the Puritan society for the duration of this time period. The Puritan laws were severe, and commonly based on the 10 commandments in the Bible. “Thou shalt not lie”; the prior statement is one of the many very well-known Christian beliefs stating that lying is in fact a sin. As luck would have it, about 6 people were convicted for lying then accused of which craft due to the same crime (Document 13). The importance of truth during this time period to the Puritans may be gathered from the fact that all those executed were innocent and could in fact save themselves by lying. Admitting to the capital crime of which craft predestined that you would live, in other words be acquitted or released, nevertheless denying it inevitably meant they would be hung (Document C). However, approximately 12 people, if not more chose to perish rather than lie and say

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