Salem Witch Trials
Many of the American colonists brought with them from Europe a belief in witches and the devil. During the seventeenth century, people were executed for being witches and follower of Satan. Most of these executions were performed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Mostly all of the accused were women, which makes some modern historians believe that the charges of witchcraft were a way of controlling the women who threatened the power of the men. During the witchcraft trials, hundreds of arrests were made, and some were even put to death on Gallow�s Hill (Karlsen 145). In 1698, the villagers of Salem won the right to establish their own Church. They chose the Reverend Samuel Parris as their ...
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evidence, confessions, and such things as "witchmarks" (Hill). As Dorcas Hoar said, "I will speak the truth as long as I live" (Salem Home Page). Nine year old Betty Parris and eleven year old Abigail Williams, the daughter and niece of Reverend Parris, were the first to start to display signs of strange behavior. Some of this behavior included profane screaming, convulsive seizures, trance-like stages, and unexplainable animal-like noises. Shortly after this, other Salem girls began to demonstrate this same behavior. (Salem Home Page). The girls� torment "could not possibly be Dissembled", stated Cotton Mather (National Geographic). Unable to determine any physical cause for the symptoms and behavior, doctors concluded that the girls were under the influence of Satan. Prayer Services and community fasting were organized by the Reverend Samuel Parris in hopes of relieving the evil forces that supposedly plagued the community. Efforts to expose ...
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faithful churchgoers and people of high standing respect. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Many of the women who were examined only to see if they would be brought to trial. Yet mostly everyone examined, went to trial (Hill 42). The Magistrates would often question the accused in such a way that whatever they said, it would make them seem guilty. "Have you made no contract with the devil?", "No", answered Sarah Good (Hill 43). From the answer given by Sarah Good, it seems as if she has just said that she made a contract with the devil. So the record says, ...
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Salem Witch Trials. (2004, October 15). Retrieved November 29, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Salem-Witch-Trials/15915
"Salem Witch Trials." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 15 Oct. 2004. Web. 29 Nov. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Salem-Witch-Trials/15915>
"Salem Witch Trials." Essayworld.com. October 15, 2004. Accessed November 29, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Salem-Witch-Trials/15915.
"Salem Witch Trials." Essayworld.com. October 15, 2004. Accessed November 29, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Salem-Witch-Trials/15915.
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