# data[].attributes.body
Puritanism was an extremist branch of Christianity. They believed in a simple life devoid of government intervention, and as such put the church in charge of their new colonies. The Puritans settled America after leaving Britain due to religious persecution. Puritanism was later thrown into question as a result of the witch trails, which claimed many innocent lives. The religious persecution of other cultures by the Puritans later led to an increase of power of the Christian church in America

# data[].attributes.body
Three young girls were accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts in the 1800's due to strange symptoms they began to exhibit. The girls chose to redirect the accusations at their house maid, Tituba, who had been accused of practicing witch craft. After this the girls began to accuse more and more people who were unable to defend themselves. After exhausting their list of lower class citizens they began to accuse famous people and governors. After this the court began to doubt the accusations of these girls

# data[].attributes.body
The Crucible was a play written in the late 1800's about the witch hunt. After the play came out, it bombed due to the public opinion regarding the witch hunts. Many years later the play began to win awards due to it's interesting glimpse into American history. The play depicts the story of the three young girls that first began to accuse people of witch craft. Today the play is regarded as one of the most famous historical plays ever written

# data[].attributes.body
in the early 1920's, the scape goat of the American Government became under cover Communists. Neighbors would accuse each other of secretly being communist resulting in a wave of mass hysteria. The phrase "witch hunt" was later used to describe this situation due to the baseless accusations. Eventually the fear died down when it was discovered that most of the accusations were false and resulted in the persecution of innocents. The red scare proved that America was not above conspiracy and hysteria

# data[].attributes.body
This image depicts the execution of a presumed witch. The practice of burning witches on a stake was later shunned by the Puritan church due to it's extreme cruelty. To replace this practice was a similar one in which the accused would be thrown into the water. If they floated they were executed and if they did not, they would drown. Most witches were found guilty as a result of the submission of spectral, or super natural evidence