Positive And Negative Effects Of The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692

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The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 came out of the Puritan belief that “witchcraft” and the practice of it was evil. Many people, both men and women, were accused of witchcraft, tried in court, found guilty, and executed. Many innocent people in Salem, and in the country of America, were put to death from the idea that these people were evil creatures, sent to tempt the Americans and destroy them. Later on in history, there have been attempts to make up for the terrible events. And eventually the attempts of alleviation would turn into shows of shaming and disgracing of the people behind the trials. While scholars today cannot determine the reason as to why people were accused of witchcraft, they can still study the negative effects of the trials …show more content…
The girls gave the reverend three names of the ones they said tortured them, one of the names belonging to someone who tried to help them in their suffering with another spell. These were the first of the accusations of the Salem Witch Trials.
During the examinations of the suspects, the truth is being stretched with suspects answers to the questions. When the first suspect examined, Sarah Good, was questioned, she denied any of the accusations against her. The one recording the testimony filled it with lies, saying that she responded in a very wicked manner, using foul language. Many people claimed that bad things have been happening and blamed it on the suspects, saying that these suspects were casting spells on everything and everyone in the colony. Even the husband of Sarah Good said that his wife was either a witch or that she was becoming one.
Using these unorthodox methods, Sarah Good, along with several other people, was sent to jail. Only a few people would live from these conditions. Most of the accused would die in prison or sent to
…show more content…
The rest of New England, however, would not be able to forget these events so easily.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writings, he depicts details of the religious faith of the accusers and judges of those in the witch trials. He depicts their faith as mostly insincere and for evil or greedy reasons in the witch trials. He wrote about people meeting religious needs with selfish reasons. This writer tarnished the view of the Salem witch trials once again, and other authors of the nineteenth century followed the same route. John Greenleaf Whittier wrote poems, using the deceptive depictions of John Hathorne of the witch trials.
In the twentieth century, the memories of the witch trials still have not faded from the nation, but they have changed, not only in views, but in ways to exploit them. The city of Salem, Massachusetts, went from trying to forget the witch trials out of guilt to exploiting tourism of the trials and making money from the history. Many stores in the city started selling witch-themed merchandise, such as sterling silver spoons with a witch motif and postcards. The city of Salem became known as “The Witch City,” even though the original site of the witch trials became known as Danvers, Massachusetts. (A Reference Guide, p.

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