Treatment of accused and prosecuted witches during the Salem Witch Trials was inhumane and can be associated with the American societal views at that time that witchcraft was wrong.Due to the conservative christian views in the late 1600’s, witchcraft was considered out of line for the undeniable reason that witchery was associated with the devil. Many historians affiliate Europe’s witch persecutions, their ethics and principles in the 16th and early 17th century with the events that occurred and caused the Salem Witch Trials. There were many events and a number of opposing religions that could be said to have been the catalyst for the trials. The conflict and fear between the people in the Salem community at that time gave many motivation
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Towards the end of the trials, many in the community of Salem realised how barbaric the events that had been occuring were and this change was the beginning of the end for the Salem witch trials. The types of women, children and men that were accused, majority had similar circumstances and many believe that a person’s background had alot to do with whether someone accused you of witchcraft. There was not numerous methods of execution or torture during the trials like previous medieval events. The Salem Witch trials has many influential figures that all played a role in the events and outcomes of the trials. The Salem Witch Trials are a major event in American history and controversy is still surrounding this event …show more content…
The Putnams were a large, very powerful family who lived in Salem around the time of the trials. The Putnam’s believed individualism was clashing with the communal nature of Puritanism. The Putnams felt that the large farming families were completely isolated from the rest of the town and amassed a large quantity of wealth. The Putnams were acknowledged leaders of a separatist group. This separatist group owned most of the farming land in Salem village. The Putnams felt the need to form a congregation that would indeed unite them within Salem. This desire for the unity of the village was the reason that such a divide was created. The unstable nature of the town during this time was reasoning for people to fear their neighbours and others in their village and created an insecurity leading to the steep incline of accusations in Salem. There was also lots of factors that created an incentive to prove someone guilty of witchcraft. Many fights over property or land boundaries ended up in one party being accused, 61% of women that were accused also owned land and had no husband or children to inherit this asset. Most accusers were also apart of a strict religious group, majority were Puritans. Puritans were becoming increasingly aggressive in the lead up to the trials. Their beliefs included that
Towards the end of the trials, many in the community of Salem realised how barbaric the events that had been occuring were and this change was the beginning of the end for the Salem witch trials. The types of women, children and men that were accused, majority had similar circumstances and many believe that a person’s background had alot to do with whether someone accused you of witchcraft. There was not numerous methods of execution or torture during the trials like previous medieval events. The Salem Witch trials has many influential figures that all played a role in the events and outcomes of the trials. The Salem Witch Trials are a major event in American history and controversy is still surrounding this event …show more content…
The Putnams were a large, very powerful family who lived in Salem around the time of the trials. The Putnam’s believed individualism was clashing with the communal nature of Puritanism. The Putnams felt that the large farming families were completely isolated from the rest of the town and amassed a large quantity of wealth. The Putnams were acknowledged leaders of a separatist group. This separatist group owned most of the farming land in Salem village. The Putnams felt the need to form a congregation that would indeed unite them within Salem. This desire for the unity of the village was the reason that such a divide was created. The unstable nature of the town during this time was reasoning for people to fear their neighbours and others in their village and created an insecurity leading to the steep incline of accusations in Salem. There was also lots of factors that created an incentive to prove someone guilty of witchcraft. Many fights over property or land boundaries ended up in one party being accused, 61% of women that were accused also owned land and had no husband or children to inherit this asset. Most accusers were also apart of a strict religious group, majority were Puritans. Puritans were becoming increasingly aggressive in the lead up to the trials. Their beliefs included that