Salem Witch Trials Dbq Research Paper
Ricki Marcus 9/20/10
DBQ Essay American History
What Caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692?
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 represent a part of New England history that is unique in the entire history of the United States of America and, in some respect, also in the history of witch hunts all over the world. These trials were a series of hearings before local magistrates followed by county court of trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft. People were being accused of practicing witchcraft and were told, to confess or be killed. Some confessed, while others were persecuted. Many people were killed during the Salem Witch Trials and most of them were innocent to begin with.
During the 1600’s a large number …show more content…
Over the next several months the two girls began to show strange behavior. Betty’s father, the Reverend Samuel Parris, was puzzled by the girl’s peculiar behavior and found out about the sessions with Tituba and decided that the girls were under the Devil’s spell. Soon the strange behavior spread to other girls in town. On February 29, 1692, the girls identified two local white women and the slave Tituba as the witches who were causing them such pain. The three accused women were carted off to jail in Boston and only Tituba confessed to practicing witchcraft, in which her life was saved. Over the next few weeks, the odd behavior of the girls continued and accusations kept increasing. The Salem witch hunt was under way and people were determined to not stop until they’ve found every last witch in Salem. (The Crucible by: Arthur …show more content…
None of them alone would have led to a similar course of events, and that is why the witch trials cannot be explained in a few words. It seems that the Puritan view of the world was central to the outbreak of the crisis because it was necessary to make the afflictions seem believable and threatening enough for the people to take action. There is a theory which explains the Salem crisis with the hypothesis of the rye being contaminated at that time by a fungus which led to severe ergot poisoning that caused the villagers to have hallucinations. Overall the main cause was hysteria and the afflicted girls were no help either. People were very suspicious and paranoid about everything back then-if a few people in the village suddenly became ill, it was because of a "witch". They had no science to explain anything, so they had to make up stuff that seems ridiculous to us today. They feared what they didn't know and understand; therefore seeking any kind of solution...in this case their fear led to the Salem witch trials.
DBQ Essay American History
What Caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692?
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 represent a part of New England history that is unique in the entire history of the United States of America and, in some respect, also in the history of witch hunts all over the world. These trials were a series of hearings before local magistrates followed by county court of trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft. People were being accused of practicing witchcraft and were told, to confess or be killed. Some confessed, while others were persecuted. Many people were killed during the Salem Witch Trials and most of them were innocent to begin with.
During the 1600’s a large number …show more content…
Over the next several months the two girls began to show strange behavior. Betty’s father, the Reverend Samuel Parris, was puzzled by the girl’s peculiar behavior and found out about the sessions with Tituba and decided that the girls were under the Devil’s spell. Soon the strange behavior spread to other girls in town. On February 29, 1692, the girls identified two local white women and the slave Tituba as the witches who were causing them such pain. The three accused women were carted off to jail in Boston and only Tituba confessed to practicing witchcraft, in which her life was saved. Over the next few weeks, the odd behavior of the girls continued and accusations kept increasing. The Salem witch hunt was under way and people were determined to not stop until they’ve found every last witch in Salem. (The Crucible by: Arthur …show more content…
None of them alone would have led to a similar course of events, and that is why the witch trials cannot be explained in a few words. It seems that the Puritan view of the world was central to the outbreak of the crisis because it was necessary to make the afflictions seem believable and threatening enough for the people to take action. There is a theory which explains the Salem crisis with the hypothesis of the rye being contaminated at that time by a fungus which led to severe ergot poisoning that caused the villagers to have hallucinations. Overall the main cause was hysteria and the afflicted girls were no help either. People were very suspicious and paranoid about everything back then-if a few people in the village suddenly became ill, it was because of a "witch". They had no science to explain anything, so they had to make up stuff that seems ridiculous to us today. They feared what they didn't know and understand; therefore seeking any kind of solution...in this case their fear led to the Salem witch trials.