The Puritans: The Salem Witch Trials

Many centuries have passed since the infamous Salem Witch Trials happened. Since then, many religions have been created going against the Puritan ways. After the trials, many theories have been made, contemplating how the trials themselves began. Many theories have sided with the fact, that the girls were tricked by Abigail Williams or that the Devil himself was part of the ordeal. Since no one can really say what happened, more hypotheses are made over time, but many agree that these trials created a genocide that caused fear in the people, even to this day. The Salem Witch Trials would have never taken place had one thing not happen, but the trails had to happen so the people would feel safe in their own town. Readers know the witch trials …show more content…
Puritans were members of a group of English Protestants who sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship, and with the Puritan code everything was very strict. This religion had a big effect on the people of Massachusetts. Church was such a sacred place for the people and it was against the law to not attend. The townspeople would grow suspicious if a member would not attend, because of this the fear they thought the missing member would be a witch. In the questioning trials they would bring up why the member have not gone to church and use that against them. The church had so much power and with the Puritan code it was even stronger. The Puritan lifestyle was watched by the church, so they had to work hard each day to conceal their emotions and opinions. Even their style of clothing, dark and somber, was influenced by the church. In their long hours of church service, they would have men and women sit on opposite sides of each other. The moral code that the church created made them believe that all sins should be punished. Since they worshipped the Lord, they knew he was the only one who could punish the sinners, so when a neighbor or friend had rotting crops or sickly in their house, they believed it was because God was punishing them and the people would not bother to help. Of course the townspeople believe that the …show more content…
Since finding proof of supernatural activities was hard, the church decided to perform experiments to find a witch. The bizarre witch trials was the main reason why the people grew scared. The trials consisted of a swimming test, a prayer test, a touch test, witch cakes and marks, pricking and scratching test, and Incantations. Trial by water had the accused witches dragged to a large amount of water, stripped, bound, and tossed into the water to see if they would sink or float. Since the people thought the witches would resisted the baptist, it would work the same for a body of water. An innocent person would sink to the bottom and a witch would simply bob to the top. Typically a rope would be tied around the victim 's waist to pull them back in if they did sink, but it was not uncommon to have a person drowned. To their knowledge, the people thought that a witch was incapable of reciting Bible scriptures, without any sort of mistakes or pauses. To make it worse, it was in public and for some people, public speaking was difficult and the trials would end with a hanging. Though some like George Burroughs cited the scriptures flawlessly while on in the gallows, yet still he was executed. With the touch test, the people believed that the victims have a special reaction to their evildoer. The suspect possessor would lay their hands on the victim. If the victim did not unclench their