Salem Witchcraft: the Events and Causes of the Salem Witch Trials By Tim Sutter © 2000-2003 What caused the Salem witch trials of 1692? This question has been asked for over 300 years. Although it is a simple question, it does not have an easy answer. Salem Politics Salem Village had a very colorful history before the famous witch trials. Many of the Salem Village farming families believed that Salem Town’s thriving economy made it too individualistic. The Putnams were the leaders of the separatist group primarily because they owned the most farmland in Salem Village. Contracts for ministers during this period often provided them with a modest salary, use of a house, and free firewood. In October of 1691 a new Salem Village Committee was elected that was comprised mostly of Parris’ opponents. Cold Winter Days The Rev. After chores were done, there was little entertainment for Betty and Abigail. Reading was a popular pastime during the winter months. Betty Parris, her cousin Abigail Williams, and two other friends formed such a circle. Salem Witchcraft
Mass Delusions and Hysterias: Highlights from the Past Millennium Article Robert E. Bartholomew and Erich Goode Volume 24.3, May / June 2000 Over the past millennium, mass delusions and hysterical outbreaks have taken many forms. The turn of the second millennium has brought about, in the Western world at least, an outpouring of concern about cosmic matters. The study of collective delusions most commonly falls within the domain of sociologists working in the sub-field of collective behavior, and psychologists specializing in social psychology. Mass hysteria is characterized by the rapid spread of conversion disorder, a condition involving the appearance of bodily complaints for which there is no organic basis. Middle Ages, France During the Middle Ages, dozens of outbreaks of hysterical fits and imitative behaviors were reported among repressed nuns in cloistered European Christian convents. I have read in a good medical work that a nun, in a very large convent in France, began to meow like a cat; shortly afterwards other nuns also meowed.
Erin Brockovich to probe New York 'mass hysteria' case Erin Brockovich has announced she'll be looking into an outbreak of Tourette's-like symptoms among a group of high school students in western New York, to see if they have any environmental causes. Around 15 girls at Le Roy High School have developed strange symptoms since last fall: uncontrollable verbal outbursts and physical twitches so debilitating that one student interviewed by ABC has to use a wheelchair. New York Department of Health authorities looking into the matter reportedly found no sign of environmental causes or infectious agents. Some have diagnosed the illnesses as a type of conversion disorder, in which psychological stress can induce a host of physical symptoms. Though the causes may be in the mind, the effects can be highly debilitating. Nonetheless, warns the NYU Langone Medical Center, the symptoms of the illness are very real and should not be taken lightly.
Survey Database, Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, Scottish History, School of History and Classics, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland To begin exploring the nearly 4,000 records of accused witches and documentation of witchcraft belief, click on one of the options listed below. Should you encounter any difficulties we have help pages along the way to guide you through your searches and to help you interpret your results. We have also provided a comprehensive Glossary of terms used in these web pages that also includes other helpful lists and supplemental reference materials. When you click on the glossary link, a new browser window will open so that you can refer to it throughout your time in our web pages. Accessing the Database Search the database Allows you to create your own search of the database.
The Salem Witch Trials, 1692 The Salem Witch Trials, 1692 The seeds of the hysteria that afflicted Salem Village, Massachusetts were sown in January 1692 when a group of young girls began to display bizarre behavior. The tight-knit community was at a loss to explain the convulsive seizures, blasphemous screaming, and trance-like states that afflicted the youngsters. In February the village began praying and fasting in order to rid itself of the devil's influence. In March the afflicted girls accused Martha Corey. Friday March 11, 1692 was a day of fasting and prayer in Salem. "On, Monday, the 21st. of March, the magistrates of Salem appointed to come to examination of Goodwife Corey. The number of the afflicted persons were about that time ten, viz. four married women: Mrs. It was observed several times that if she did but bite her underlip in time of examination, the persons afflicted were bitten on their arms and wrists and produced the marks before the magistrates, ministers, and others.
Decoding the Salem Witch trials, Part 1 | US History Scene The witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1692 represent the most famous Puritan moment in American history; it is the one thing most people think of when they think of the New England Puritans. Usually, it is seen as a shocking and indisputable indictment of the Puritans’ intolerance and ignorance, and even sexism. To get at the truth of what happened in Salem and to understand why it happened, we have to get a little background on Puritan ideas about witchcraft. Then we’ll set the scene for events in Salem, taking into account the political and religious strife occurring in that venerable town in the late 1600s. Remember, Salem is actually an anomaly in the history of the New England Puritans. It generated remarkably little comment in New England at the time. Puritans and Witches In most scholarly and popular accounts, Puritans believed in witches, witchcraft, the devil, and the active presence of a spirit world in their daily life. Why Salem?
CUL Witchcraft Collection - Digital Witchcraft Collection Die Emeis, by Johann Geiler von Kayserberg. Cornell University Library’s Witchcraft Collection is part of the Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections. It contains more than 3,000 books, manuscripts, and related materials. More information about the content of the collection is available on the Collection Overview page. An online selection of 104 English language books from the Witchcraft Collection is available to search, browse by title, or browse by author.
Salem Witch Craft Trials The following is taken in part from: The "Cory Family Newsletter", Volume 7, number 3, Sep 1992, "The History of Salem", Volume III, pages 286-293, "The Witchcraft Episode", pages 36-57, "Salem In The Seventeenth Century", Chapter XXV, "The Witches at Salem, 1692", by Dick Eastman on the Compuserve Genealogy Forum "Witches and Wizards", by Robert Ellis Cahill former Essex County (Mass.) Sheriff and Keeper of the Salem Jail. "The Salem Witchcraft Papers: Verbatim Transcripts of the Legal Documents of the Salem Witchcraft Outbreak of 169", Vols. I-III, transcribed in 1938 by Works Progress Administration under supervision of Archie N. Frost, Ed. by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Da Capo Press, NY, 1977. The opprobrious epithet of witch-city which has tenaciously clung to Salem since 1692 is due to the fact that the witch trials and executions took place in that town. Parris' difficulties began at once. This group, know as the afflicted children, included: In late February Mr. . . .
Salem Witch Trials of 1692: Facts, History & Causes While the term 'witch-hunt' has become part of our common vocabulary, it has roots in the hysteria that befell Salem Village, Massachusetts, at the close of the seventeenth century. Develop an understanding of the Salem witch trials and test your knowledge with a short quiz. A Puritan Background Puritans, or religious exiles from the Church of England who moved to the colonies with a hope of returning to England to 'purify' the Church, settled most of the Massachusetts colony. By the end of the seventeenth century, New England towns maintained much of the Puritan vision, while at the same time growing rapidly and developing a shopkeeper middle class. The Devil in New England The strains of moving from a Puritan utopia to a royal colony further played out in the witchcraft hysteria that hit the coastal town of Salem Village (now the town of Danvers, MA) in 1692. Still, the outbreak and fervor in Salem was distinctive in its scope and intensity. Witch Hunts Explanations
Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases, 1648-1706 Burr, George Lincoln, 1857-1938. Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases, 1648-1706 Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library | Table of Contents for this work | | All on-line databases | Etext Center Homepage | that April day when Mr. Lawson closed his account it was long before another eye-witness undertook a narrative. Religion, but more especially his great Veneration for the Church of England, although his general and more constant communion was with the Nonconformists." The letter here printed did not see print in his own day; but that the present copy exists suggests that it may have been meant to circulate inmanuscript,43 and it is not impossible that it was even written for that purpose. Notes [43]. [44]. October 8, 1692. I received the other day, and am very ready to serve you to my uttmost. I suppose his Honour never made the experiment, whether there was not as much virtue in his own hand, as there was in Mr. But let this pass with the S. I most admire48 that Mr. 1. 2.
Salem Massachusetts - What about Witches The Witch Trials Examination of a Witch, by T.H. Matteson 1853. Courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum The events which led to the Witch Trials actually occurred in what is now the town of Danvers, then a parish of Salem Town, known as Salem Village. The Witch House The Witch House In February, 1692, three accused women were examined by Magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne. By the time the hysteria had spent itself, 24 people had died. It is remarkable 552 original documents pertaining to the witchcraft trials have been preserved and are still stored by the Peabody Essex Museum. Eerie memorabilia associated with the trials, such as the "Witch Pins" used in the examination of witches and a small bottle supposed to contain the finger bones of the victim George Jacobs can be found in the Clerk's Office in the Essec Superior Court House, Salem. * These short paragraphs are intended only as an introduction to a complex subject about which much has been written
A History of Witchcraft Persecutions Outbreaks of witchcraft hysteria, with subsequent mass executions, began to appear in the early 1500s. Authorities in Geneva, Switzerland burned 500 acccused witches at the stake in 1515. Nine years later in Como, Italy, a spreading spiral of witchcraft charges led to as many as 1000 executions. The Reformation divided Europe between Protestant regions and those loyal to the Pope, but Protestants took the crime of witchcraft no less seriously--and arguably even more so--than Catholics. Germany, rife with sectarian strife, saw Europe's greatest execution rates of witches--higher than those in the rest of the Continent combined. Over the 160 years from 1500 to 1660, Europe saw between 50,000 and 80,000 suspected witches executed.
How McCarthyism Worked" Mass hysteria has reared its ugly head for as long as humans have existed. Adolf Hitler worked enough people into a frenzy to justify the murder of millions of Jews. Jesus Christ, known by all as peaceful, if controversial, was brutally nailed to a cross because a few high-ranking officials felt threatened by him. Enter Senator Joseph McCarthy. Communism, in simple terms, is an economic system designed to equally benefit everyone in the society. By the '50s, communism wasn't exactly a new worry for the United States. By the time McCarthy won a Senate seat in 1946, World War II was over and the Cold War was beginning. In this article, you'll learn about the basics of communism, McCarthy's interview tactics, and recent evidence about the communist presence in the United States at the time of McCarthyism.