The Salem Witch Trials

A detailed Summary of The Salem Witch Trials

The year, 1692, the place, Salem, Massachusetts, with children in the area acting weird, townspeople banded together and went on a witch-hunt. Many societies over the years have accused people of studying witchcraft and lurking in dark places however, several innocent people lost their lives that year in what would be known as the Salem Witch Trials. Before we get too into detail lets examine the details involved in tracking down the wrongly accused. The focus will mainly be on a woman named Sarah Good, her life before, during the trial, and her emotions up until the day she was executed, as well as the charges against her, how she defended herself, and the evidence found to convict her.

Sarah Good, wife of William Good of Salem, and daughter of a prosperous Wenham innkeeper, John Solart, never had it good to begin with. After her father took his own life, when she was just 17, her widowed mother quickly remarried, leaving her without a share of her father's estate. Later on she married a man named Daniel Poole, who died a short while later, leaving her only in debt. Her second and final husband, William Good, had to help her pay her debt leaving them homeless in the end when she was brought to trial.

the first three women to be brought in at Salem on the charge of witchcraft, after having been identified as a witch by Tituba. Tituba was another lady accused of witchcraft, though she was the most different. She was a black slave from South America and the housekeeper for the Parris family, in which one of the children Eliza, who said the witches had possessed her. Sarah Good fit the stereotype of a witch quite well. Good's habit of scolding and cursing neighbors who were unresponsive to her requests for charity generated a many testimonies at her trials. At least seven people testified as to her angry muttering and general bad attitude after they refused to help her. Particularly damaging to Sarah's case was her accusation by her daughter. Four- year-old Dorcas Good (Sarah's only child) was arrested on March 23. There she gave a confession, and in so doing implicated her mother as a witch. At the time of her trial, Good was described as "a forlorn, friendless, and forsaken creature, broken down by wretchedness of condition and ill-repute." She has been called "an object for compassion rather than punishment."

Throughout the entirety or her trial, she continued to say she had no part in hurting the children. She also kept with the fact that she was not dealing with the devil, and that the god she served was the God that made the heavens and earth. When she stated this, she was quoting a psalm from the bible. It was a battle of back and forth, "Are you a witch," "no I'm not!" and so on. It was useless to argue and Sarah Good knew it, but she maintained her state of innocence to the last minute of her life.

In conclusion, the people of Salem never really understood what happened to the children. They never really wanted to. The jumped to conclusions way to fast and dealt

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Approximate Word count = 1211
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History