Salem Witch Trials
In 1692 a small town in Massachusetts, Salem, set of one of the biggest most well known hysterias, the Witch Trials. First person to accuse someone of witchcraft was the young daughter of Reverend Parris and she accused two other Salem women and a Caribbean slave, Tituba (Keene). G.K. Chesterton once stated, “It is one thing to believe in witches, and quite another to believe in witch-smellers.” During the trials, most people were trying to express their guilt and sins, under the cover of accusations against the victims (Miller, 7). The causes of the Salem Witch Trials were that people could confess their sins but the blame would be on someone else, the way the Indians “used” witchcraft against them, and the hatred between …show more content…
Men who committed the crime would use the Witch Trials as a way out of what they have done and only the women would be charged with the crime. It became possible for some women to have their “spirits” show up in the middle of the night at some mans bedroom at night. This became a way that men could confess their sins for cheating on their wives and the blame wouldn’t fall on them, it would fall on the woman’s spirit who showed up in the middle of the night (Miller, 7). As the men would say that the women’s “spirit” came into the room at night they would be charged with the crime because they had no other person to say that they didn’t leave their home because most of the accused were older women who lived by …show more content…
There was a pattern in the accusations, older women who were not married and women who didn’t follow the patriarchal society. Women who were not married threatened the balance because there was no man that was the head of the house, which made the women very independent. Being an independent women gave them individual freedoms which was not how a patriarchal society worked, the men were suppose to be the head of the household and women follow the men. One way to stop women from being so independent was making fewer of them and that’s by hanging them because of being a “witch”. Another way to keep the balance is to show how powerful the town majest’s is, to show how powerful the majest’s is they signed all the arrest warrants. “You are therefore in theire Majest’s names hereby required to apprehend and bring before us…” (The Salem Witchcraft Trials: Arrest Warrant for Elizabeth Proctor). Showing the power of the majest’s brings back the balance because people won’t act out against the
In 1692 a small town in Massachusetts, Salem, set of one of the biggest most well known hysterias, the Witch Trials. First person to accuse someone of witchcraft was the young daughter of Reverend Parris and she accused two other Salem women and a Caribbean slave, Tituba (Keene). G.K. Chesterton once stated, “It is one thing to believe in witches, and quite another to believe in witch-smellers.” During the trials, most people were trying to express their guilt and sins, under the cover of accusations against the victims (Miller, 7). The causes of the Salem Witch Trials were that people could confess their sins but the blame would be on someone else, the way the Indians “used” witchcraft against them, and the hatred between …show more content…
Men who committed the crime would use the Witch Trials as a way out of what they have done and only the women would be charged with the crime. It became possible for some women to have their “spirits” show up in the middle of the night at some mans bedroom at night. This became a way that men could confess their sins for cheating on their wives and the blame wouldn’t fall on them, it would fall on the woman’s spirit who showed up in the middle of the night (Miller, 7). As the men would say that the women’s “spirit” came into the room at night they would be charged with the crime because they had no other person to say that they didn’t leave their home because most of the accused were older women who lived by …show more content…
There was a pattern in the accusations, older women who were not married and women who didn’t follow the patriarchal society. Women who were not married threatened the balance because there was no man that was the head of the house, which made the women very independent. Being an independent women gave them individual freedoms which was not how a patriarchal society worked, the men were suppose to be the head of the household and women follow the men. One way to stop women from being so independent was making fewer of them and that’s by hanging them because of being a “witch”. Another way to keep the balance is to show how powerful the town majest’s is, to show how powerful the majest’s is they signed all the arrest warrants. “You are therefore in theire Majest’s names hereby required to apprehend and bring before us…” (The Salem Witchcraft Trials: Arrest Warrant for Elizabeth Proctor). Showing the power of the majest’s brings back the balance because people won’t act out against the