Since they wanted to be an example of an exemplary society they had to act like it. Thus, everyone was expected to act perfect. This perfection resulted in many of the deaths of the Salem Witch Trials. They had lived in a society in which only the very best was expected of them. Many Puritans died but, “[many] could have saved themselves by lying” (Hansen). This was because a confession of guilt had no validity in court. However, one “way to be acquitted or released had been to confess guilt” (Green, etal). A person who lied and confessed to witchcraft would, much more likely, be acquitted while one who told the truth and spoke only of innocence would be executed. A person could also falsely accuse someone else of bewitching, as Ann Putnam did. In her deposition she claimed that she was tortured by an apparition who wanted her “to write in his book” and then stated that this malevolent apparition told her his name: George Burroughs (Putnam). By doing this she eliminated herself as a suspect and made herself become the victim. The Puritan ethic of being an exemplary society caused more deaths but it also aided in the limitation of the Witch Trials. Since they had such strong moral beliefs, fewer people falsely passed the blame, such as Ann Putnam did, to another person than the amount that would have if the society had not had such high and strict
Since they wanted to be an example of an exemplary society they had to act like it. Thus, everyone was expected to act perfect. This perfection resulted in many of the deaths of the Salem Witch Trials. They had lived in a society in which only the very best was expected of them. Many Puritans died but, “[many] could have saved themselves by lying” (Hansen). This was because a confession of guilt had no validity in court. However, one “way to be acquitted or released had been to confess guilt” (Green, etal). A person who lied and confessed to witchcraft would, much more likely, be acquitted while one who told the truth and spoke only of innocence would be executed. A person could also falsely accuse someone else of bewitching, as Ann Putnam did. In her deposition she claimed that she was tortured by an apparition who wanted her “to write in his book” and then stated that this malevolent apparition told her his name: George Burroughs (Putnam). By doing this she eliminated herself as a suspect and made herself become the victim. The Puritan ethic of being an exemplary society caused more deaths but it also aided in the limitation of the Witch Trials. Since they had such strong moral beliefs, fewer people falsely passed the blame, such as Ann Putnam did, to another person than the amount that would have if the society had not had such high and strict