Massachusetts was the location of the Salem Witchcraft hysteria from 1692 to 1693, stemming from uncompromising moral codes and religious beliefs. However, despite problems experienced in farming due to the harsh climate and rugged terrain; Salem also faced political and economic upheavals within the community, during this time. The hysteria commenced when an Indian slave named Tituba was accused of witchcraft by 3 young girls (Roach, 2002). Eventually, under an intense flailing, Tituba was forced to confess of witchcraft to a court official. Tituba's confession ignited a series of witchcraft manhunts leading to women and men being hanged, one man crushed to death by heavy rocks, and 150 more men were held in prison awaiting trail .
Among the “witches” convicted were Sarah Osborne, Tituba, and Sarah Good, who had all been in a distressful state. Osborne was an elderly and impoverished woman, Tituba a slave, and Sarah Good was a homeless beggar. To that, Susannah North Martin had been an old widow, a likely target for the witchcraft conviction. Not only the trials themselves but also the general aura of fear of being persecuted threw Salem and even all of the Massachusetts Bay Colony into disarray, weakening the colony in the air of paranoia. The historical significance of Susannah Martin’s trial is in communion with each other convicted witch, in that an idea can lead to destruction, not only destruction of the lives that were taken due to this idea, but almost to the colony itself.
The authors, Caroline B. Cooney, Harper Lee and William Shakespeare write of violence in their novels and play. In Enter Three Witches, the author writes that people who dislike others and are angry eventually meet a violent end. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee writes that people who are racist are also dishonest and will also eventually meet a violent end. Shakespeare also argues that people who do not except others will meet tragedy. Cooney uses MacBeth to prove her thesis; whereas, Lee uses the character Bob Ewell to prove her thesis, and Shakespeare uses Tybalt to prove his argument.
The town doctor pronounce the girls bewitched after examination, which sent the town into frenzy. Residents even began to accuse their neighbors of being witches to acquire their land. The first three accused women were “women with few defenders.”: Sarah Goode, a poor woman known to beg for food; Sarah Osborne, a woman known for having an affair with her indentured servant and not going to church services; and Tituba, Parris’s slave. Once the frenzy started, it did not take long for greed and jealousy to come into play. The greed of one man in particular was what fostered the trials most.
Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” depicts the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692, in these trials women were accused of being witches; they were sentenced to death, tortured, and their reputation would be forever tarnished. During this revival of religion era faith was central to the government of Salem. Miller makes references to how the events leading up to the trails were unjust, bias and resulted in harsh punishment. The McCarthy hearings were trials in which Senator Joe McCarthy accused government employees of being Communists. (Sowers, Campbell, and Key) He exaggerated and exploited the evidence and ruined many reputations.
In the Salem Witch Trials, Sarah Good, Sarah Osbourne and Tituba were the first three women to be accused of witchcraft for allegedly afflicting Betty Paris and Abigail Williams, two young girls, with a demonic disease. They had been accused of witchcraft out of rumors about their “outcast” natures and eccentricities by other girls and were sent to jail despite any tangible evidence of their alleged connection with witchcraft. A spread of accusations arose within Salem following their arrest, most of which had their basis in rumor rather than on concrete evidence. During the period of McCarthyism, Senator Joseph McCarthy accused two hundred and five people of being “card carrying” communists in a speech in Wheeling, Virginia. He accused government employees,
Salem Witch Trials Research Paper “The Salem witchcraft trials were a mass hysteria, a sort of shared delusion (The Lesson of Salem).” The events leading up to the witch trials was the dancing in the woods, to diagnosing Betty of practicing witchcraft, to people believing everyone were witches in the Village of Salem Massachusetts, and then the witch hunt. People in Salem believed practicing witchcraft was the devils practice. This affected Puritanism in the new nation. In Salem, people jumped to the conclusion of witch craft and in the end of 1692, “150 people got accused and 19 people got hung (The Lesson of Salem).” The Salem witchcraft trials had many historical factors that effected Puritanism in the new nation. “The Salem witchcraft trials were in the winter of 1691 to 1692(The Lesson of Salem).” The daughter, Betty Parris, and the niece of Samuel Parris, a minister in Salem Village, Massachusetts began to dabble in magic.
The physical appearance of the woman concluded the examination and marked them as witches, due to physical signs left by the devil such as a "wart." Ann, and her parents accused many more townspeople, typically those who were enemies of the family. The accusation sent fear to the people as villagers believed that anyone could be a witch. By the time Ann's witch hunt was over, she had accused 62 people . Tituba denied to have practiced any witchcraft and was beated by Parris to confess as he would promise her freedom.
Abigail Williams, the silent devil of Salem who destroyed the lives of many. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play based on the actual events that, in 1692, led to the Salem Witch Trials, a series of hearings before local magistrates to prosecute over 150 people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. Abigail Williams was a main source for the cause of the Salem witch trials for many reasons such as, her false accusations, her thirst for power, and she had a good reputation which made the town believe her every word. Abigail Williams falsely accusations was one of the main causes of the Witch Trials in the Crucible. “HALE: Why can she not wake?
Salem Witch Trial Essay During the summer of 1692 a huge hysteria broke out in the town of Salem. 19 men and women were hung for the accusation of witchcraft. They were proved guilty and trial and were killed for practicing witchcraft which then was a crime. Salem believed then for sure it was witchcraft and no other reasons but I think there is more to it rather than witches and devil. I know that the Salem Witch Trials were caused by rivalries.