In 1693 colonial America was faced with a great divide. A new Renaissance was coming to our slowly growing civilization. A Renaissance that spawned from the radical beliefs of Puritan practitioners. One that lit the flame of women’s rights and infatuated historians all around the world. The Salem Witch Trials have proven to be one of American history’s most tragic events. The deaths of countless women accused of witchcraft truly shaped the effects of radical religious beliefs and the sexist ignorance villagers were accustom to. American society nowadays sees these trials as one of the most controversial and interesting periods in history. The tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials has baffled historians around the world.
The Salem Witch Trials happened during a major turning point in American History. Puritan Pilgrims came to the new land and were suspicious towards the actions of women. “The effects of the Salem Village witch trials were devastating: 141 people imprisoned, 19 people executed, and two more died from other causes directly related to the investigations .” It can be observed that this tragedy was sparked from the ignorant beliefs that Puritan society had in relations to women. The exact cause of the Salem Witch Trials is unknown but they were probably a number of causes. “Some of the suggested theories are: conversion disorder, epilepsy, ergot poisoning, Encephalitis, Lyme disease, unusually cold weather, factionalism, socio-economic hardships, family rivalries and fraud .” This shows the corruption and hypocrisy found amongst settlers at the time, and the ignorance and sexist behavior that led to the prosecution of many Puritan women,
At the time, Puritan beliefs featured very conservative, almost demeaning views of women at the time. Women were not permitted to, show much skin or engage in any sexual intercourse outside of marriage. Because of this, it can be noted that townspeople used these things to their advantage when seeking revenge upon rival families. The witch-hunt was so outrageously blown out of proportion that, “physical evidence was considered. Any birthmarks, warts, moles, or other blemishes were seen as possible portals through which Satan could enter a body .” It can be observed that these accusations were preposterous and based off their ignorance towards subjects we find ordinary. The Salem Witchcraft trials in Massachusetts during 1692 resulted in nineteen innocent men and women being hanged, one man pressed to death, and in the deaths of more than seventeen who died in jail. It all began at the end of 1691 when a few girls in the town began to experiment with magic by gathering around a crystal ball to try to find the answer to questions such as “what trade their sweet harts should be of .” This conjuring took place in the Parris household where a woman named Tituba, an Indian slave, headed the rituals. Soon after they had begun to practice these rituals, girls who had been involved, including the Master Parris’ daughter and niece, became sick. They had constant fits, twitched, cried, made odd noises, and huddled in corners. The family called in doctors, and they were treated for many illnesses. Nothing helped. Many weeks later after running out of reasons for their strange behavior, all of their symptoms seemed to lead to one belief, “The evil hand is upon them.” They were possessed by the Devil.
At first the families of the children could not find anyone to accuse for being the witch responsible for possessing the children. Then, late in February of 1692, Parris’ neighbor, Mary Sibley recommended that Parris’ slaves, Tituba and John Indian, should work a spell to try to find the culprits. Even after trying this solution the girls’ condition worsened, and the people responsible still had not been found. The girls began to see hazy shadows and believed that these shadows were of the people who had done this to them. After more and more children became victims of this, the hunting for the witches who were to blame for the girls’ sickness began to get more serious. By the end of February 1692, not one, but three witches had been named. These women were Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, all residents of Salem Village.
Each of these three women was examined by local Salem officials before they were sent off to await trial in a Boston jail. The girls, who these witches had supposedly inflicted sickness upon, were also present during these trials to show the court how much pain the three women had caused. During the trial Sarah Good kept insisting that she was not guilty but rather that she had been wrongly accused. When asked why she hurts the innocent children she responded, “I do not hurt them. I scorn it.” Then, she attempted to shift all blame onto Sarah Osborne who in turn responded with disbelief. She said that she “was more like to be bewitched than she was a witch.”
The credibility of these trials was challenged multiple times by many people. These people protesting against the trials varied. Some were villagers and some were authoritative figures in the community. One of these people was Increase Mather, who wrote Cases of Conscience. He stopped short of calling the possessed girls liars but instead called them “Deamoniacks” as “mouthpieces for the Father of Lyes.” He also argued that “no juror can with a safe Conscience look on the Testimony of such, as sufficient to take away the Life of any Man even if the possessed normally knew their real tormentors.” He said the supposed psychic abilities these girls came to have after being possessed should be ignored because God “has taught us not to receive the Devil’s Testimony in any thing.” Mather also claimed that confessing witches were also “not such credibly witnesses.” He told the people that witches sometimes lied outright with no shame about their rituals and about the names of their various “Associates in that Trade.” Other times Satan filled their heads to make them “dream strange.a”
carefully to the different eyewitnesses and defendants along with the spectral evidence.
Finally, in October of 1693, so many people were doubting the guiltiness of the witches that Governor Phips, governor of Massachusetts, decided to stop the trials and the executions. They realized that the trials should not continue due to lack of evidence and credibility of the witnesses. Many people accused others of being witches if they disliked them or if they were outsiders in society. Witches on trial were encouraged to give names of their fellow witches and/or to confess to their evil deeds, and in exchange they would be granted a less severe punishment. Because of this, the witches on trial would confess even if they were innocent, and they would also accuse other innocent people of being witches. The government saw that there was no real way to make sure the person was a witch before executing them and that there was a great chance that they may be killing innocent people. People were still being accused of being witches even after the trials were suspended, but the charges were not taken seriously.
In 1711, the legislature passed the Reversal of Attainder, which was an act to clear the names of everyone jailed during the trials. Massachusetts also repaid the survivors and the heirs for jail and court fees and for some property that the government had taken away from them. The government also wrote up a sincere apology for their mistake in proceeding with the trials when there was no solid evidence and for possibly executing innocent people. As time passed many people wondered what was the purpose of the Salem Witchcraft Trials? Why were so many innocent people jailed or even killed? How could anyone have hanged their neighbor for being a witch? People pondered on what kind of an illness could have been mistaken for the symptoms of possession, but some thought that the possessed were simply liars and fools.
Many times, the Puritans were blamed for the trials, encouraging witchcraft fears, and the number of people affected by them. Some people believe that the Puritans blamed anyone who was different as being a witch. This was because the Puritans had always suspected, as one of their main beliefs, that the Devil envied their way of life and was constantly trying his best to make their lives miserable. Their goal in life was to “purify the organization of their church” and to rid it of any sign of the Devil. By accusing so many people of being witches, they thought they were just purifying the church and their community.
Most of the time, credibility of an accusation was not checked thoroughly, instead the person accused was simply locked up in jail until their trial time came. Even then, if they did not confess to being guilty, they were punished sometimes even killed. Although the law is innocent until proven guilty, and had been practiced before the trials, in the case of the witchcraft trials, the accused witches were guilty until proven innocent. Not many were given the chance to prove themselves to be innocent.
While utilizing fear as the focal point in persuading his audience, Edwards effectively alludes to the Bible when connecting the idea of a complex God with ideas that those listening to the sermon would have the ability to comprehend. Subsequent to a bold and brash declaration concerning the fate of those who do not fear God, the speaker begins an allusion to the Great Flood by using phrases such as, “great waters that are damned for the present,” which reference the same waters that cleansed the Earth of sinners millenniums prior to Edward’s sermon. The application of this allusion paints a vivid picture of the potential that “the black clouds of God’s wrath” will have upon sinners. In addition to this, the connection will help the audience relate a concept they do not fully understand with one that they do. The implementation of words such as “rising” and “floodgate” bring more attention to this allusion to the Great Flood, and the fear it strikes into the souls of those listening to Edward’s sermon. The speaker ends this allusion with an ominous reminder of the “omnipotent power” the flood of God’s wrath will have upon those who do follow His path.
Allusion has played a very influential role in Jonathan Edwards’ attempt to convince his audience that they are sinners; however, the speaker’s utilization of a direct address proves to be another effective way of persuading the congregation to convert. Edwards has made a constant effort to address his audience as if he were speaking to each individual. The repetition of “you” in the sermon singles out every member of the congregation and emphasizes the point the speaker is making. Phrases such as, “the light does not willingly shine upon you…the black clouds of God’s wrath is hanging over your head,“ employ a direct address so the audience feels as if Edwards were personally speaking to them on account of their sins. This proves to be an effective form of persuasion due to the fact that utilizing a direct address makes the speaker’s point much more present and emphasizes the urgency of his statement in terms of the audience and fearing God. The implementation of a direct address serves as one of the many pillars of persuasion that make Jonathan Edwards’ sermon convincing to the audience.
Most Puritans believed in witchcraft as the source of power to harm others. They further believed that the witchcraft was entering partnership with the devil in exchange for certain evil powers in order to propagate their evil activities. Therefore, the religious sect who lived in the same town of Salem was against witchcraft as they considered it as a sin. It is also believed that most Puritans were against the Church of England and opposed most of their doctrines. As a result, enmity was created between the Puritans and the Church of England at the time. This culminated into frequent conflicts between the Puritans and the church members who often level accuses against each other. The puritans did not buy any of the traditions that the church was conducted.
The Salem trials led to the arrest and imprisonment of over 150 people, 19 of whom were hanged and one crushed to death. These trials were the most controversial in the history of Salem. The trials were done in such haste in order to clear the large backlog of cases concerning witches in the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The accused were often individuals who maintained a high social status within the Salem setting. They were individuals who were revered and feared for their evil powers. Most of them lived in eastern Salem. The witches of Salem had amassed massive wealth due to witch-hunting. They had been accused at one time of killing innocent people for the benefit of their wealth