Salem Witch Trials And Individualism Essay

The Puritans modernized their overall vision as a result of the decline in sense of community, the Salem Witch Trials, and the 2nd and 3rd generation Puritans’ newfound inclination to explore the wilderness. One important theme the Puritan religion both contradicted and eventually practiced is individualism. John Winthrop, the leader of the Puritans, delivered a sermon to his followers describing the importance of standing together: “We must be knit together in this work as one man” (256). He challenged the idea of individualism by describing the importance of sticking together in order to achieve the Puritan Errand. Individualism is defined as how much power one individual has relative to the group, which was unthought of during the Puritan era. This sermon influenced the Puritan’s …show more content…
This resolution invited a more individualistic way of religion as a result of Reverend Solomon Stoddard's halfway covenant which allowed the Puritans to have a looser relationship with the church and not have to conform to all of the Puritans’ strict beliefs. On another note, the Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings which resulted in the killings of many innocent people. The Puritans’ religion dictated all aspects of their society, and when there was talk of the devil, tension began to arise. As a result, the scared citizens needed a scapegoat to blame their fears, so they began to try innocent women for witchcraft in court. These trials resulted in the unjust murder of many women. Joseph E. Baker illustrates this unreasonable guilt in a lithographic depiction of the trials, where a woman is on the stand conjuring a lightening bolt, releasing her from her chains (Salem Witch Trials). Most women were widows or identified as a femme sol, and they were seen as easy targets due to their lack of power. As the women were seen as minorities, they exemplified the theme of the