The Salem Hysteria
Do you believe in witches? Today this question might sound rather ridiculous, but in the 1600's simply mentioning the word "witch" could get you in some serious trouble with the community. This word could make you the center of contraversy, which could ultimately result in death. "Are you a witch? Are you communicating with the devil? Why don't you confess?" How would you respond to these questions? The obvious answer would be to say no, but if you were respond this way you would be hung. In my opinion, the Salem Village wanted to believe that you were a witch. Life in Salem was harsh with high taxes, bad weather, wars, and the smallpox epidemic. It was run under a theocratic system with no separation between church and state. In other words, there was no separation between the laws of God and the laws of the colony. Life was tough and boring for the community of Salem and they wanted a change. This is why I believe the Puritans were so anxious to find witches in their community. The hysteria began in winter of 1692 when a young Puritan girl, Betty Parris, became strangely ill. Betty was the daughter of the highly respected
Society feels that there are more important problems to worry about. Also, it complained of fever. This could have been a result of a combination of things By the end of the trials, nineteen convicted witches were executed. About
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Approximate Word count = 1098
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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