Salem Witch Trials: A Sacrifice In Early American History

The Salem Witch Trials are known as some of the most notorious and infamous phenomena to ever occur in early American history. Historians who have studied these series of events have yet to determine an exact cause(s) as to why these events occurred. One explanation is that in Salem, people would accuse victims based on superstitions or unexplained events rather than use scientifically proven facts. Consequently, this flaw, along with a religiously-based court system and biased trials led to several unjust executions. The punishments were violent and unusual in nature as well, from being hanged to being crushed; depositions were unjust and based on strong beliefs. The evidence that was provided at these trials was referred to as spectral evidence,which …show more content…
According to James Davidson, Tituba exclaimed that there were four women and a man who threatened her if she did not comply with their malicious actions. Considering that Tituba was a slave and an outsider, she made for a great target among the villagers. When Tituba couldn 't identify a person involved with witchcraft it was enough to put the whole village of Salem on edge. Consequently, the court force Tituba to name names, thus adding more fuel to the fire. She confessed which made it seem that witches were in Salem. During Tituba trial, she stated that she would see “apparitions of black and red rats, [and] a yellow dog with a head like a woman.” Additionally, the bewtiched girls called out peoples names, resulting in more trials. As a result, this “evidence” put Salem on edge for mouths to …show more content…
A woman who had property and economic power were considered a “feme sole” or “women alone” These women had more power than most married women. They could buy property and sue, which engendered them to stand out in a Puritan society. When each trials is studied closely for similarities a fair amount of accused witches were women who don 't fit in the Puritans perfect society. These women were seen as rebels who could threaten the traditional order of women. In Davidson’s and Lytle’s book, Karlsen argues, “[the unorthodox women] were more likely to be perceived as the ultimate ‘subversive’ of seventeenth century society.” Additionally, the first three witches accused, according to Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, were women that were seen as “deviants” or “outcasts” and “the kinds of people who … were susceptible to such accusations.” This was the case with Tituba and Sarah Good, both were considered as outcasts. Thus, accusing them of witchcraft can be seen as a way to get rid of unfits from the Puritans “perfect” society. Women who were argumentative and went against the order of the society were seen as a threat as well; because they didn 't accept or submit to men and the rest of