Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

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For centuries people have been pondering the hysteria caused by the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The irrational accusations. The superstition. The visions of young girls, directing them to those who were supposed followers of the Devil. The unfair and biased courtroom trials that took place, branding many as witches, and sentencing them to death. What caused this hysteria that tore apart Salem in its hunt for witches? There are no perfect, or completely accurate answers, because we have no one to speak beyond the grave and tell us what truly happened. We can only guess based on what history has left us. In human nature, most of the trouble we cause is based on status, bias and Scapegoating, just like the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. One…show more content…
More women were accused than men. Women were less valued, and their main priorities were to take care of the family. Therefore in society, the loss of women was less of a blow than that of a man, because the man had authority and power. The Reverend of Salem's young nine year old daughter, Betty Parris and eleven year old cousin Abigail Williams were the first accusers, suffering from strange fits. The reverend claimed that they were "getting into holes, creeping under chairs and stools". This prompted his further inquiry. The fitful girls pointed fingers at three women for witchcraft, two white, the other Native American. The Native was named Tituba, who they had previously visited to have their fortunes read. Tituba was a slave and didn't have authority, so it makes sense why they would point a finger at her. So, the imbalance of authority could have made it easier to put blame on someone. In turn, this could have caused a lot of the insanity of the Salem Witch trial. One possible reason that could have caused the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, was bias. In document C, they record the trial of Bridget Bishop at Salem Village. There were biased words used to describe the trial. The recorder, Samuel Parris used biased and

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