Witch Hysteria From June 10 through September 22, 1692, Salem, Massachusetts experienced a witch hysteria. Over the 15 week period, 19 men and women were hanged for witchcraft, and more than 100 accused people were jailed. Although some believed the cause for hysteria was a factor such as ergot poisoning, the cause was actually class division. Foremost, class division played major a role in the Salem area. The sharpest distinction was between the port’s residents living in the Salem Town area and the farmers living in the outlying Salem Village area. Furthermore, factors that divided the people were wealth, political influence, and family disputes. Salem Village was divided between supporters of the Putnam and Porter families. The Porters
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Moreover, colonial Massachusetts was very religious with a large Puritan concentration. As the people expanded outward, the Puritan customs gave less control. In attempt to regain power, a Half-Way Covenant was created. With the creation of the Half-Way Covenant, more children of the existing church members were granted baptism, but not full communion. The Half-Way Covenant weakened the spiritual purity of the community. Therefore, spiritual impurity led to the ministers having less power over the community. The ministers and original Puritan members used the hysteria in attempt to regain power. While the diminishing power was not the cause of hysteria, it is another form of the division that fueled the witch hysteria. The Puritan citizens were divided from the Half-Way Covenant citizens and non-Puritans. Puritans were loyal followers of the Bible. The fact that the Bible specifically mentioned the execution of witches in Exodus 22:18 gave the Puritans the justification they needed to execute the accused. Leading minister, Cotton Mather, had much influence over the Puritan people. By voicing his opinion to the Puritan people about the inhabitants of evil spirits in their area, Mather planted paranoia in the Puritans. The Puritans then had reason to suspect the citizens whom were not complete members of the Puritan denomination of evil works. Trials, such as the one of Bridget Bishop, were …show more content…
While possible, it would have only been a factor in encouraging the hysteria. Late nineteenth century historians reflect on the possibility of acting. Charles W. Upham claimed that the girls were caught in their charade once or twice, but the overall blindness of the community saved them from being punished. Also, Upham brought forth a considerable point. The girls would have had great difficulty keeping up a lie for so long. The bewildered community was blinded by their own class disputes and paranoia to put a stop to the girl 's lies. While Upham’s purpose was to place the blame on the girl 's acting skills, he failed to mention why the community went along with it. A painting created by T.H. Matteson displayed the emotion and public attention from witch examinations. The painting was not reliable due to the historical inaccuracy. For example, it pictured a woman being undressed before men. In colonial Massachusetts, that would have not happened. The possibility of the girls acting for attention is implausible. The girls would have had difficulty keeping up with such elaborate lies. They could not have gotten the community to play along without the community seeing potential in the situation from other
Moreover, colonial Massachusetts was very religious with a large Puritan concentration. As the people expanded outward, the Puritan customs gave less control. In attempt to regain power, a Half-Way Covenant was created. With the creation of the Half-Way Covenant, more children of the existing church members were granted baptism, but not full communion. The Half-Way Covenant weakened the spiritual purity of the community. Therefore, spiritual impurity led to the ministers having less power over the community. The ministers and original Puritan members used the hysteria in attempt to regain power. While the diminishing power was not the cause of hysteria, it is another form of the division that fueled the witch hysteria. The Puritan citizens were divided from the Half-Way Covenant citizens and non-Puritans. Puritans were loyal followers of the Bible. The fact that the Bible specifically mentioned the execution of witches in Exodus 22:18 gave the Puritans the justification they needed to execute the accused. Leading minister, Cotton Mather, had much influence over the Puritan people. By voicing his opinion to the Puritan people about the inhabitants of evil spirits in their area, Mather planted paranoia in the Puritans. The Puritans then had reason to suspect the citizens whom were not complete members of the Puritan denomination of evil works. Trials, such as the one of Bridget Bishop, were …show more content…
While possible, it would have only been a factor in encouraging the hysteria. Late nineteenth century historians reflect on the possibility of acting. Charles W. Upham claimed that the girls were caught in their charade once or twice, but the overall blindness of the community saved them from being punished. Also, Upham brought forth a considerable point. The girls would have had great difficulty keeping up a lie for so long. The bewildered community was blinded by their own class disputes and paranoia to put a stop to the girl 's lies. While Upham’s purpose was to place the blame on the girl 's acting skills, he failed to mention why the community went along with it. A painting created by T.H. Matteson displayed the emotion and public attention from witch examinations. The painting was not reliable due to the historical inaccuracy. For example, it pictured a woman being undressed before men. In colonial Massachusetts, that would have not happened. The possibility of the girls acting for attention is implausible. The girls would have had difficulty keeping up with such elaborate lies. They could not have gotten the community to play along without the community seeing potential in the situation from other