Escaping Salem:
The Other Witch Hunt of 1692
American Economic and Social History
September 26, 2012
The seventeenth century was full of challenges; political, social, and economical. Across the board individuals struggled to live, although the conditions had much improved from the beginning of the colonies. Women in particular had a difficult time fitting into this patriarchal this society. Women were defined by men and were seen as an accessory to men. In the colony of New England women were learning how to have a silent voice, while still maintaining the proper role of time. The way women were seen by men, who ran the colony, and the way men thought, not only about women, but also about the world would sculpt the society and the
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Although in this case (Kate Branch) the Enlightenment thought directly influenced the process of the trail, still the testimony of the women involved held less value than that of a man. Any women seen challenging the thought of a man was at a greater risk of being accused of witchcraft. Daniel Wescot and other men describe incidents involving Goody Disborough and Elizabeth Clawson. These events started with an argument between a man and a women; the man later accused the women of cursing livestock, children, or themselves by witchcraft. (Godbeer, 2005) The reason that women were accused was that they disagreed with a man’s point of view.
Sadly enlightenment thought did not enlighten the thought that women were intellectually equal to men. The Enlightenment was a primarily a period of intellectual growth, steaming from science to free thought. Science and the judicial system seem to be on opposite ends of the intellectual spectrum, in Escaping Salem however that is disproven. Science is all based on evidence similar to the judicial system. New England’s court system may not have been as advanced as our Supreme Court is now but they still used evidence to prosecute or unfortunately persecute. Stamford’s court systems require two eye witnesses to ever event used to convict. (Godbeer, 2005) Similarly science must have an outcome happen multiple times for
Salem Village was one of many non-urban inhabitants. They were looked upon as country folk because of their interests and beliefs in the church and growing tobacco to survive in this new land. There was not much for children to do except go to church, work on the fields, or go to school. You can imagine how bored these children can get. In such a secluded lifestyle as this, you would be a crazy person if you were at all different, and this episode would be so different that it would be traumatic to the people of this small village. Traumatic as it was, I believe the people just did not know how to react in such a situation.
Salem Witchcraft Trials Thesis Statement = == == == ==
During the Age of Enlightenment in the late eighteenth century, Mary Wollstonecraft presented a radical essay, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, that shed light on the largest, underrepresented groups of the time, women. The essay voiced the inequalities women at the time faced and called upon Wollstonecraft’s audience to invoke a revolution for the rights of women. Through her writing, she presented a compelling argument that slowly allowed women to question their “place” in society and demand change to the British social order. While these changes did not happen quickly, her work sparked the feminist movements through its unique message and called upon women to demand equality through the Match Girls Strike and Women’s Suffrage
The creaks of the swaying rope were loud in the deafening silence. The victim’s life was hanging on a thread—just like the noose around her neck . . . . In Salem Village, the year 1692, twenty men and women were accused of witchcraft and was executed accordingly. Many historians are still bewildered at what exactly caused the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. There were a few possible origins of the hysteria; however, jealous, young, single women; sexism against women; and lying little girls stand out as the main sources.
“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live”. In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, puritans believed that witches existed and because of this belief twenty innocent people were sent to their death. The puritans believed every single word of the bible. There were at least three causes of the Salem Witch Trial Histeria of 1692, One reason was gender, age and marital status. Another reason is girls lying, jealousy.
During the 17th century, people were hung even if the did not deserve it. The trials started when little girls acted like they had been bewitched. The trials took place on a famous site called Salem Village, Massachusetts in the summer of 1692, killing more than 20 people. Salem’s infamy has bewildered many, for nobody truly knows, entirely, what caused the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Clearly, there were a few possible causes of the hysteria; however, these three stand out as the main causes envious, young, single woman; sexism; and lying little girls.
Reasons for being accused of witchcraft are multidimensional, and although there is no definitive reason, gender was likely a major reason as to why someone was seem as likely to be a witch. In colonial New England, gender was set by strict standards and was in no way fluid. It is indisputable that women were especially vulnerable to be charged with witchcraft. Puritans were guilty of sexism even before the witch trials; the biblical story of Adam and Eve was an example of how Eve had disobeyed God and caused the downfall of man. Consequently, rebellious women were accused of witchcraft because they emulated Eve’s disobedience (Godbeer 13). Most notably, acting outside of one’s gender roles was grounds for accusations. As previously mentioned,
The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692 Have you ever wondered what caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692? The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria was a time when people accused others of being a witch or performing witchcraft. People who were accused either went to jail or were hung. The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria was caused by curiosity, religion, and greed.
The year was 1692 when people called Puritans who believed in spreading their beliefs, in which witchcraft is forbidden. Anyone accused of being a witch was hanged, 20 people died. It all ended after the goner of Salem’s wife was accused. The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 was caused by being accused of being a witch which also was a crime worthy of death and being possessed by the devil.
In 1692 nineteen women and men were accused of witchcraft. There has to be reasons for the accusations; however, scholars disagree on what led the accusers to accuse the "witches". Some believe it was character traits that led the village to do this act; others still think it was sexist’ intolerance. Because religion is the biggest factor of being Puritan, religious persecution is the main motive for making people of Salem accuses others of witchery; because of its fundamental part in the Puritan society.
A good example was with Adam and Eve being punished for the sin of pride,
Witchcraft accusations and trials in 1692 rocked the colony of Salem Massachusetts. There are some different views that are offered concerning why neighbors decided to condemn the people around them as witches and why they did what they did to one another. Carol Karlsen in her book The Devil in the Shape of a Woman and Bernard Rosenthal in Salem Story give several factors, ranging from woman hunting to shear malice, that help explain why the Salem trials took place and why they reached the magnitude that they did. The theories put fourth by Karlsen of a society that accusations against women as witches explain the trail, and Rosenthals ideas of discourse in the community are supported or partially disproved by
In the time of Wollstonecraft, women were being blindly submitted to authority. The ladies of the community would do as the others say and “become a prey to prejudices, taking all their opinions on credit.” (Wollstonecraft 160) It goes on to say that females are being brainwashed to follow these set principles like a military man, their minds are stored with the knowledge of house chores instead of the basic life lessons that a woman in this era would understand. They were taught that “they have less mind than man,” (161) During this time, women did not understand that they deserved any form of education. This was due to the fact that the society which they lived in never had the slightest idea that women could be educated.
Salem Witch Trials: Casting a spell on the people Today, the idea of seeing a witch is almost inconsequential. Our Halloween holiday marks a celebration in which many will adorn themselves with pointy black hats and long stringy hair, and most will embrace them as comical and festive. Even the contemporary witchcraft religious groups forming are being accepted with less criticism. More recently, the Blair Witch movie craze has brought more fascination than fear to these dark and magical figures. So, it becomes no wonder that when our generations watch movies like the Crucible, a somewhat accurate depiction of the Salem Witch Trials, we are enraged and confused by the injustice and the mayhem that occurred in 1692. For most, our egocentric
The late 18th century can be known as the historical period of the Enlightenment. During this time, society was undergoing drastic changes that would impact people even today. These changes were known as “reforms,” and played a big role in politics and ruling during this time period. One of the bigger reforms of this time was that which would grant women a higher education and place them in a position closer to their male counterparts. The enlightenment authors, Jean Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft, took part in a debate in which they argued about the purpose and education of women. In an article recently written in The New York Times by Nicholas