Salem Witchcraft Trials
Throughout history citizens have branded people as witches. Maybe, a person act's differently than other people or they have strange habits but does this that make them a witch? Witchcraft is a phenomenon that has captured the minds of millions since the beginning of history. These so-called witches have caused fear, hatred, interest, widespread panic, and a variety of other emotions in other people from all over the world. Every society and civilization on this planet have all heard some form of witchcraft in their history. Witchcraft itself has a deep history of its own causing it to be recognized in literature and modern society. Many of the American colonists brought with them from Europe a belief in witches and the devil. Witches were said "to have special powers, be able to predict the future, to become invisible, to fly, and to cause other people to fly "(1). Many people believed that witches could change their lives. During the seventeenth century, people were executed for being witches and follower of Satan. Witchcraft is thought to harm people or damage their property. A person would sell their soul to the devil in return for magical power (2). The most common age group for a witch was someone wh
In conclusion, witches, in all their forms, have played an important role in the world, as we know it. They have caused such things as literature, culture, and society all a little more interesting by creating fear and curiosity. But, more often than not those who are different from everyone else are regarded as witches and not even treated with proper dignity. Possibly in the future people will reach a greater understanding of the so-called witches in society and become more aware of those who are different from them. As one can see the power of superstition and the hearsay can distort the truth. The Salem witch trials were horrifying and it changes many people's lives. The belief in witches did not end with the strange excitement. Although the law is innocent until proven guilty, and had been practiced before the trials, in the case of the witchcraft trials and the modern day witch-hunts, the accused witches were guilty until proven innocent. Not many were given the chance to prove themselves to be innocent. In 1697, Reverend John Hale stated that the courts were wrong because of ignorance. He had said that innocent people had died with the guilty people (28). The witchcraft scare lasted for about a year. It was the leading ministers of the colony who ended all the chaos (16). There are numerous theories as to why there was a witch-hunt. Many historians believe that because there were numberless counts of disputes between neighbors and family members over property (17). Other speculations are that their were "political unrest, greed, religious conflicts, psychological and socialogical forces, hysteria and even ergot, which is a substance in rye used to make the bread that can have LSD- like effects (18). The Salem witch trials began with the accusation of people in Salem of being witches. It began in the middle of January of 1692 at the home of Reverend Parris (6). Reverend Parris had two slaves. They were John Indian and his wife Tituba. Tituba took care of Reverend Parris' daughter, Betty Parris, and his niece, Abigail Williams. Tituba told the girls stories about her home in Barbados. She played fortune-telling games with the girls and their friends even though it was forbidden in their society (7). Pretty soon though Parris and Williams started to act oddly and Reverend Parris tried to pray over them but it didn't work. The town started to wonder what could be happening to these girls and Reverend Parris concluded that they were bewitched. Soon the girls would mention names of people in the community that they said were tormenting them (8). During the trials, the girls would go into fits when the accused witches were put on trial. They claimed that the accused people were tormenting them with their spirit (9). The accused witches had unfair trials. They had to face eight judges alone and they had no one to defend their innocence (10
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1930
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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