The 1600s in the New England were full of prosperity and opportunity but it was also full of darkness. In New England, during the late 1600s, witch trials occurred. Many people were killed in towns all across New England for a crime which today is thought of as absurd. All across the area, people were tried and hanged for committing the crime of witchcraft. The most famous of these trials are those of Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials claimed the lives of over 20 people before they finally ended. One of the two factions of the village led by the Putnam family, in their attempt towards keeping the strictly religious Puritan views which the village was founded upon, was the driving force behind the infamous Salem Witch Trials.
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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