Talk:Salem witch trials

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Ergotism

This theory was proposed by some undergrad in the 1970s and was quickly debunked by more experienced scholars of the trials. If it had been caused by mold/fungus in a family's grain supply, the whole family would have been afflicted by these hallucinations, instead of only 1-3 members MAX from a family.

I'm just surprised this has been given any kind of respect here 😅 Morallygrace (talk) 12:30, 22 October 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 15 November 2024

Please change in the "Accusations" section, "...and the witches accused of having caused physical and mental harm..." to "...and the women accused of having caused physical and mental harm...". Paytonelsey (talk) 22:42, 15 November 2024 (UTC)

The Salem witch trials only occurred for one year and within this year the hunt was a global phenomenon, a phenomenon that swayed men to listen to women and put other women to death in a time when women were seen and not heard.

A compilation of resources and discoveries that wonder why this year? Why suddenly, moreover, why the hunt and trials suddenly stopped.

Not only did these trials stop and the remainder of the "witches" released, but apologies were given publicly from the most influential. ItsMe Andree (talk) 07:49, 2 December 2024 (UTC)

During the century that the year of the Salem Witch-hunt and Witch trials occurred, women were to be seen and not heard. So, why did men choose to listen too, judge, sentence, carry out sentencing, (most which included death) based upon the words of women, when they felt women were the lesser and scoffed at the idea that women could be educated or knowledgeable?

SOURCE 1: “A Storm Of WitchCraft”-

This source begins with contradictions. Though history tells us that it was very young female Puritans from Salem that started the hunt, it was actually a 40-year-old quaker woman that had just moved to Salem from Nantucket named, Bathsheba Pope. Also, unlike the other accusations, her husband had equal testimony that he added in “addition” to his wife’s testimony.

Continued: Bathsheba is the aunt of Benjamin Franklin. In one generation, this family goes from “victims of witchcraft”, to producing one of the leaders of American “Enlightenment”. I feel that these “Quakers”, moved to a town and deemed to take power over it with accomplishment.

SOURCE 2: National Geographic, “The History of Witchcraft”.

NONE of the accused that confessed of witchcraft were executed during the Salem witch trials.

This is the one source I found reasonable and here is why:

Historians believe that a small pox epidemic, the arrival of people displaced by war between England and France in American Colonies, ongoing conflicts with the area’s indigenous people, and border disputes between colonial neighbors”, were reasons people became hysterical about witches and witchcraft. These were the reason’s people were tortured to death. After looking onto those that gave these reasons I found that they were all men.

SOURCE 3: “Witchcraft, Magic, Religion, in 17th-century Massachusetts”

As abruptly as the accusations began, they ended. Before the Salem Witchcraft Trials there were no accusations. To be clearer, the accusations were considered “inactive” on American soil. This is because witchcraft accusations had ended when the colonist came to America from England, and until 1662 there were no accusations on record. Historically the trials were “out of place”, because of the conflict of beliefs and interest, with the lack of covenant theology. Basically, the Puritans didn’t have enough knowledge to claim witchcraft except for the “Old Laws” that came over from England. They didn’t even know if they should try the cases in a church or courthouse.

According to this source, the Witch Trials started with 9 year old Betty Parris and 11 year old Abigail Williams accusing one of Betty’s family slaves. I contend that these homes usually were one large room, a kitchen and maybe an extra bedroom. These girls started “throwing things, making strange sounds, screaming, and contorting their bodies”. 12 year old Ann Putnam started do the same odd things.

In the North, men were known to rape their slaves. Psychologically this could create a questionable sexual identity. If this was an unknown “known”, then the power their father had would correlate with my thesis.

PRIMARY SOURCE: “Deposition of Anne Putman and her 12 year old daughter”. The letter of accusation to the apology letter says so much for the mental state of these women.

THESIS: When given the chance, the quintessential identity of male and female is tossed aside when the idiom of extreme power is given in an abhorrent measure to men. With fabricated, fictious and gossip knowledge given by women, the men ignored law, and their own biblical warning, (“Thow shall not judge lest ye be judged”). With emphasis on what women were saying and holy vernacular taken out of context, the year of the “Salem Witch trials” depicts a serious lapse of judgement, (ironically), brought by the desire for power and grandeur. Additionally, afterwards, no one had to answer for the atrocities placed upon innocent people. Thus, the reasoning of the hunt dissipated and lasted only a year, 1692-1693. However, the sorry, sorrow, and coverup continuing even now. ItsMe Andree (talk) 07:51, 2 December 2024 (UTC)