Witch Trials Thesis

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Salem Witch Trials
What is the cause of and the effects behind their actions during the Salem Witch Trials?
Thesis
The infamous “Salem Witch Trials” occurred during the turn of 17th century in Salem, Massachusetts in which many of the citizens were “17th Century Colonial American Puritans who were devoted to God and community” (King, Mixon 680). In this current state, the remaining citizens, non- Puritans were the ones condemned as a witch due to their rebellious attitude towards this Puritan movement. These witches were place in a trial in which lead to 19 deaths during this time period. Many scholars today are still in disbelief regarding the events that has occurred during the “Salem Witch Trials”, and as a result produced the following …show more content…
(Niek) http://libaccess.senecacollege.ca:2097/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=king56371&id=GALE|A363382940&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon&userGroup=king56371 According to Roach (2002: xxv–xxvi), “[t]he Salem witchcraft trials erupted during an eight-year war [King William 's War] while Massachusetts steered an unauthorized government with a nearly empty treasury through the hazards of French imperialism, Algonquin resentment, and English suspicion.” The new charter government in Massachusetts in 1692 heightened the colonists’ negative attitude toward civil authority (Breen & Foster, 1973) (King and Mixon) …show more content…
Mair (1969) explained the cross-cultural similarities in witchcraft beliefs by the universality of requirements of social order, of which witches would be the antithesis (Niek). http://libaccess.senecacollege.ca:2097/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=king56371&id=GALE|A363382940&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon&userGroup=king56371 Egalitarianism is a trend of thought in political philosophy. An egalitarian favors equality of some sort: People should get the same, or be treated the same, or be treated as equals, in some respect (Richardson) http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egalitarianism/ Parris, a former businessman who had often preached of the importance of economics and commerce, had been experiencing difficulty in filling the village meetinghouse for weekly worship and even in persuading the congregation to pay his salary. However, most villagers turned to him for explanation and guidance during the witchcraft episode, and church attendance and Parris 's stature in the village soon soared. According to Boyer and Nissenbaum, Parris drew on the energies of the population to shore up his own leadership . (Mixon and King) http://libaccess.senecacollege.ca:2073/docview/203022697?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=28610 Works

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