The Salem Witch Hunt - Essay Example

Introduction

The Salem witch trials and hunt were events that included public cases and persecutions that involved individuals accused of engaging in witchcraft. These events unfolded in between 1692 and 1693 in Massachusetts. During this period, over two hundred people were charged with consorting with the devil. Out of which over forty people were found guilty, others were executed by hanging, and the rest died in prisons. Puritan leaders largely governed Massachusetts, and therefore the idea of witchcraft existing was easy to believe because of their deep religious background. This trait made it easy for people of Salem to believe in the existence of witchcraft and devise ways to punish those who had been accused. During this era, the puritans believed that they were close to God, and therefore they could understand the supernatural forces around them. This idea was ultimately the driving force behind the trials and persecutions.

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Influence of Puritans

Richard Godbeer, in his book the Salem Witch Hunt, he showcases the different people who were accused and their trials. He believed that due to the influence of Puritans on people of Salem, all trials were given some justification. This mass hysteria of witches only grew stronger because everyone was of the same belief. He analyzes the trials on a moral, gender and ethical aspect. During the onset of misfortunes, people of Salem interpreted it as a sign of punishment for their shortcomings and blamed the witches. Richard also keenly analyzes the victims who suffered in these trials (Godbeer 7). From his work, the question of whether the victims were targeted because they were outcasts of the community would finally be answered.

The events that set in motion the trials were a group of girls who developed strange symptoms. The girls included the daughter and niece of a minister in Salem. The doctors could not understand what the cause of these symptoms was and later attributed them to witchcraft. More girls were later found to exhibit the same symptoms, and this led to widespread panic among the residents. The girls later accused three women; Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne. Analyzing the victims who were accused and persecuted, the belief that they were targeted members of the society contains some sense of truth (Godbeer 9).

Religious Rules

For a society that was heavily reliant on the belief of the supernatural, it makes sense that anyone else who was against these beliefs would be an enemy. Puritans were never welcoming to people who did not obey their way of life and follow their religious rules in the colony. Throughout the trials, there has been significant evidence that most of the people accused were outcasts from the community or were targeted by the affluent to settle scores.

According to Richard Godbeer’s book, most of the accused persons were members of the society who were either slaves, people who had been accused of previous crimes, criticizers of the witch trials, or members of the community who were outspoken. These categories of persons warrants for speculation of favouritism, settling personal scores, fear of outspoken women in the community and elimination of competitors. Richard Godbeer’s book postulates that all these factors pointed to outcasts of the community being targeted. These factors were instrumental in creating a situation where many innocent people were persecuted and executed.

A few examples of victims who were found guilty and executed explain that the Salem witch trials targeted outcast members of the society. Citing an example from the trial of Bridget Bishop shows that she was targeted from being an outcast. On the onset of the Court of Oyer and Terminer Bridget’s case was the first that was heard (Godbeer 83). She had, at some point, been accused of witchcraft and also had some trouble with the law. She was a poor elderly widow. During her trial, more than eight witnesses testified against her.

The prosecutor’s believed that her case was easy to convict and win. She was found guilty and later executed by the hang man’s noose on June 10th, 1692. Her case clearly showed that she was an easy target for those who were in charge of the trials. She is a widow, older woman and poor created a profile of an outcast of the community. This was due to the community’s perception of who they believed a witch to be. Through the actions of the court to persecute her, they created an image of what the community should expect on future prosecutions and executions. This was only the beginning of targeted attacks on unfortunate members of the community (86).

Low Ranks of Society

The people who were accused were mainly members of the low ranks of society. This observation was clearly shown in the case of Bridget Bishop. The society mainly wanted scapegoats, and these members of the society filled that position appropriately. Tituba, who was a slave girl, was one of the originally accused women by the three afflicted girls confessed to her accusers. She is an outcast, beggar and a slave provided another profile for the prosecutor’s to eradicate.

Women were not only the victims during this witch hunt. Godbeer explains of a man who was persecuted for not believing in the witch hunt. John Proctor was very outspoken and critical of the ongoing trials in Salem. He publicly criticized the legitimacy of the whole process. Although John was a rich farmer, his public criticism of the whole process led to him being an unwanted member of the society.

This was in an era, as explained before, Puritans were critical of people who did not believe in their way of belief. John presented a new dynamic of what the community did regard as an outcast (Godbeer 95). Although he was not poor or did have the means to state his case, his whole’s family persecution was because of his nonbelief in their procedure. Godbeer explains that John was among the few people who did understand that Salem was overcome by mass hysteria.

In the wake of his subsequent arrest, Proctor wrote a letter to a Boston clergy seeking to sway their hand and intervene in the ongoing trials. Although the clergy did eventually respond, it was too late to save Proctor who had already been executed. The letter response from the clergy, however, did save his family from persecution (Godbeer 100). Following Proctor’s trial, some groups of people emerged and demanded an evidence-based court system.

These demands were to be adopted by the court. The validity of the trials was put under a microscope as evidence such as visions were no longer able to convince the public of the existence of witchcraft. These types of evidence were also very easy to manipulate and falsify. The unfolding of these events would gradually lead to people of Salem overcoming their hysteria.

Martha Corey

Lastly, the trial of Martha Corey, who was also an outspoken member of the community against the ongoing Salem trials showed what happened to people who were against the witch trials. Martha was a respected member of the society, although everybody knew that she was not married when she conceived her child. During her trial, her choice of words led to the court, sealing her fate. Martha was not convinced by the girls who accused everyone of witchcraft. This made her to publicly criticize the process.

This was a trigger for accusers who established a norm of executing anyone critical of their pursuit of witches. Martha represented an outcast of the society, and during her examination, she was quoted stating that the children were lying. The entire community was taken aback by these statements, and later her husband was also accused and tortured to death for not accepting a plea deal (Godbeer 145).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the era in which these events took place was a dark and gruesome period of society and history. Many people were killed, and families were sent into grieving in Salem. All these trial were a result of unfounded belief on the existence of witchcraft and belief in the supernatural. From the evidence provided, it is clear that some affluent people in the community took advantage of the fear and mass hysteria among the citizens.

They used this to specifically target certain members of their community to eradicate who they viewed as non-essential, isolated and removed them from society. The community was pitted against each other, controlled through fear and religion. The people believed that what they were doing was God’s work of eradicating evil in their lives and seeking penance. There can be no justification for all the killings and suffering that occurred in the era.

Works Cited

Godbeer, Richard. The Salem witch hunt: A brief history with documents. Macmillan Higher Education, 2018. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=1316586601024190748&as_sdt=2005&sciodt=0,5&hl=en.