Logged out
Access All our Essays in an Instant
Swap your work for FREE access, or pay £4.99 for instant access
The Salem Witchcraft Trials occurred because of the depth of Salem Puritans' belief in witchcraft and the devil.
Member rating: No Rating | Words: | Submitted: Wed Oct 15 2003
Page Preview
On the left is an image preview of every page of this document, and below are the first 150 words with formatting removed:
Salem Witchcraft Trials Thesis Statement The Salem Witchcraft Trials occurred because of the depth of Salem Puritans' belief in witchcraft and the devil. Introduction The Salem Witchcraft trials started in 1692 resulting in 19 executions and 150 accusations of witchcraft. This was the biggest outbreak of witchcraft hysteria in colonial New England. The trials began because three young girls, Betty Parris, Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam began having hysterical fits, convulsions and terrifying visions after being caught engaging in forbidden fortune telling1. The doctors couldn't diagnose the condition, so the puritans termed it as supernatural or witchcraft. People in Salem started believing in gossip, rumors, intangible and spectral evidence given by villagers to accuse witches. They had a blind faith in god and believed that god punishes the sinners. The main reason for the trials was superstition, an irrational belief resulting from ignorance or fear of the unknown. Evidence Church ruled the puritan society...
To see the full version of this document, and 145,348 others
