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The Salem Witch Trials How did the witch trials start? Why did no one stop the witch trials? How did the witch trials come to an end?
Find out! pg. 2+3
Salem, Massachusetts
Monday, June 5, 2017
THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS By: Isabelle Hanaburgh
Block: B
The picture to the right: The picture to the right is of a town meeting that took place to decide whether a girl was be witched or not. They would make the suspected women recite parts of the bible, and if she did not do it perfectly or she could not remember then she would be announced “bewitched”.
Lexicon: Witch: a woman thought to have magic powers, especially evil ones. Bewitched: cast a spell on and gain control over (someone) by magic. Witchcraft: cast a spell on and gain control over (someone) by magic. Possessed: (of a person) completely controlled by an evil spirit. Execution: the carrying out of a sentence of death on a condemned person.
During the year 1962 many women were brutally tortured and executed. This is what happened in Salem Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials. The trials could of been stopped or even prevented but no one did anything to stop the commotion. The trials were caused all because of middle school rumors, most people in Salem knew this but no one was able to or wanted to stop it, until someone they cared about was accused. Soon after the trials ended Salem apologized for what they had done, and claimed it was a mistake, but still no one knows how such a big event evolved from a rumor.
The trials all started when a group of middle school girls claimed they were being possessed: The people in Salem at the time were mostly puritans, and Puritans believed that a witch always has to bewitch someone for them to become possessed, so the group of girls started blaming women around the town. The women they accused were women who did not have any kids or a husband, generally they were thought of as odd. The women they accused would then have to be tested for being a witch, and 20 of them were executed. No one is positive of the motive the girls had for killing, and hurting so many people but UShistory.org has a theory, they think “ In a society where women had no power, particularly young 3
Salem, Massachusetts Torture: To purposely inflict pain Accuse: charge (someone) with an offense or crime Convict: a person found guilty of a criminal offense and serving a sentence of imprisonment Apology: a regretful acknowledgment of an offense or failure. Rumor: a currently circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth
Monday, June 5, 2017 women, it is understandable how a few adolescent girls, drunk with unforeseen attention, allowed their imaginations to run wild.” This theory is basically saying that they think the girls pretended they were being possessed by the devil so they could get attention. As you can see the start of the Salem witch trials were very preventable, and the town should have seen that the accusations were not reliable. Many people in Salem during the witch trials had the political power to stop the trials but chose not to: Sir William Phips, who was the governor of Salem during the witch trials, did nothing to address the trials until his own wife was accused of being a witch. When she was accused he put a quick end to the trials and said they were ridiculous. According to UShistory.org “The governor of the colony, upon hearing that his own wife was accused of witchcraft ordered an end to the trials.” Sir William Phips would not put an end to the trials until someone he cared about was accused, once he tried to put a stop to the trials he was able to very easily.
Salem apologized:
This is a drawing of 4 women being executed for witchcraft.
The map above is of Salem, and it shows where the women accused of witchcraft lived, and where the people who accused certain women of witchcraft lived.
In 1996 Salem finally apologized for the Salem Witch Trials, and claimed they were a mistake. The Salem Jury sent out a formal letter stating those who had been mistakenly executed, and their families were to be compensated. This is part of the apology letter the jury sent out I found the full letter on gizmodo.com. “And do hereby declare that we justly fear that we were sadly deluded and mistaken, for which we are much disquieted and distressed in our minds, and do therefore humbly beg forgiveness, first of God for Christ's sake for this our error. “ None of the middle school girls ever apologized except for Ann Putnam who had accused 62 people of witchcraft. Ann could not bring herself to apologize until 1706, 14 years after the trials. All of the other middle school girls never apologized. In conclusion, the Salem witch trials could of been prevented and 20 innocent women's lives could have been saved. The trials all started from a middle school rumor, many people could of stopped it but chose not to, and Salem apologized and claimed the witch trials were a mistake that should not of happened. No one will ever know the motive the middle school girls had to kill 20 innocent women.
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Salem, Massachusetts
Monday, June 5, 2017
Resources: Map on second page: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/images/salemwitchtrials/ life/divisionsimage.jpg
Hanging illustration on second page: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/ Witchcraft_at_Salem_Village.jpg/1200px-Witchcraft_at_Salem_Village.jpg
Illustration on first page: https://media1.britannica.com/eb-media/51/19151-004-B006C9F2.jpg
Bibliographies of sites used for research: 2012 1-2 Period Class of Mr. Sam Nekrosius. The Salem Journal: The Aftermath. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2017. Anders, Charlie Jane. "The Real-Life Letter Of Apology Written By The Salem Witch Trial Jury." Io9. Io9.gizmodo.com, 30 Sept. 2014. Web. 05 June 2017. "Witchcraft in Salem." Ushistory.org. Independence Hal
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