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What we learned from the Salem Witch Trials

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What we learned from the Salem Witch Trials

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The Salem Witch Trials is a chain of horrific events that shows us human nature. We see it is the true cause throughout history, the fall of the greatest empire, Rome, the cause of the bloodiest war in history, World War Two, even something worse, the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692. People turning against people, friends and family turning against each other. Even more confusion and chaos may await humankind in the future. But history is a great teacher. We can learn from the mistakes of the past and change. What we learned from the Salem Witch Trials is to think before we act and not jump to conclusions. I believe this will not only help create a better future, but also a better present for everyone.

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How did location effect the accusations?

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How did location effect the accusations?

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After taking a look at Doc. E, we can shed some light on another reason. The people on one half of town were poorer and lacked power. The people on the other side had gained more power and were wealthier. The wealthy people were more likely to be considered a witch, likely due to jealousy.

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How did marital status affect the accused and accusers?

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How did marital status affect the accused and accusers?

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According to Doc. B, a majority of the accused were married (76/134). Also, a large amount of the accusers were single (28/34). This may be because those who were single were jealous of those who were married. They could accuse said married person of being a witch, and they could try to take things that previously belonged to the other person.

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Why did the Salem Witch Trial happen? Reason 2: Greed and Acting

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Why did the Salem Witch Trial happen? Reason 2: Greed and Acting

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Another cause of the Salem Witch Trials was Greed and acting. As explained in Doc. D, the accusers became almost inebriate over their success from accusing. From this, the accusers gained political power and wealth. The town of Salem took witchcraft very seriously, as it stated in the background essay, " In Exodus 22:18, the Bible proclaimed, 'Through shalt not suffer a witch to live!'" This meant by killing the witch you will not only being helping yourself and everyone else , but also the witch, freeing the person from the devil's control. This made a big impact on the town and how it affected the people because it not only discouraged the people to stand up for the defender, but also made killing accused seem like a noble act of mercy. It have have only been to gain power, but soon, people became paranoid, confused and started accusing people out of fear, just became one person was greedy. Soon, the Salem Witch Trials started.

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How did the location affect the paranoia?

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How did the location affect the paranoia?

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Many accusers lived in the western half of Salem Village, in which they farmed poorer land and lost political power. Due to this, many of the accused witches and defenders lived in the eastern half, which had wealth and political influence.

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Witches were believed to be people who were possessed by the devil, and thus because the Bible said witches must be killed. They most often hung them, but it did happen where they sometimes crushed people, as shown in Doc. A. They would tie the person down and place a wooden board on top of the person. Then they would slowly pile more and more rocks on the person. It was excruciating painful and was a slow death, where you would have ribs broken and eventually suffocate due to not being able to fill your lungs.

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As shown in Doc. B, the majority of accused witches were female, so much so that nearly 5 accused witches were women for every man accused of witch craft.

Also, the majority of accusers were young, even one accuser was under 11. And for every 1 male accuser, there was 6 females roughly.

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How did acting play a major role in the deaths and imprisonment of many?

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How did acting play a major role in the deaths and imprisonment of many?

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During the Salem Witch Trials, jury trials were held when someone was accused of being a witch. Usually, the 'afflicted' would suddenly go into fits, claiming it was the witch's fault. According to Doc. D, the success of killing could have driven the 'afflicted' to act that they were affected by witchcraft. "Once or twice they were caught in their own snare; and nothing but the blindness of the bewildered community saved them from... well-deserved punishment" (Doc. D).

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Why did the Salem Witch Trials happen? Reason 1: Jealousy 

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Why did the Salem Witch Trials happen? Reason 1: Jealousy 

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The events of the Salem Witch Trials still troubles many historians. There are many theories on why it happened. I believe the main reason Why the Salem Witch Trial happen was from jealousy. From the background essay, I know that the people of Massachusetts Salem were puritans who let the bible guide their lives. The people jealous of others used this to their advantage by accusing there enemies and innocent. According to Doc. B It showed that most of the accused were married and the accusers were mostly single women. From this information,  I can infer that the single women were jealous of the married and wanted power over them. This was one of the reasons I believe why the Salem Witch Trials began.

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How did the Salem Witch Trial hysteria affect the town?

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How did the Salem Witch Trial hysteria affect the town?

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Due to the paranoia that came along with the Witch Trials, everyone turned against each other, accusations became common, and many people were killed by hangings. Even if someone acted a little strangely, they were accused of witchcraft and hanged if they did not confess. Over 100 people were released from prisons after the hangings ended.

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What was the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria?

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What was the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria?

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The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria was an event in which people were accused of witch craft. It took place in the town of Salem in Massachusetts. The people of Salem were Puritan Extremists who took the Bible very seriously. The entire hysteria lasted less then a year in 1692. It began with a few girls accusing a women of witchcraft, and eventually grew to the entire town turning against each other. Neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, the people of Salem had started a horrible thing which would only snowball until in September of 1692 where it finally came to an end.