Question
After reading the lecture and required readings for this unit, use the knowledge you have learned to write a three pageessay on one of the topics below:
? Bacon’s revolt on Jamestown, Va.;
? The Pueblo Revolt; and
? Salem witch trials
HY 1110, American History I 3
In order to support your discussion, you will need to select at least one outside source from the CSU Library. Your essay
must address, but are not limited to, the following items listed below:
? Introduce the event. This may include what happened, the reason, setting, location, timeline, outcome, and
casualties.
? Describe how characteristics of the region of Colonial America impacted your chosen conflict.
? Discuss the American ideals or philosophies that may have caused this event to occur. How have these ideals
and philosophies changed to the way we live today.
? Discuss your perspective on the event, including, but not limited to, what was inevitable or avoidable, and what
was beneficial or costly.
Again, be sure to review the required reading about what to look for in a scholarly resource, and if you have trouble
locating an article, contact a librarian to assist you. Your assignment, which should be three pages total, will not be
accepted if your source(s) are not available in CSU’s Online Library, and the article you choose must be completely cited
and referenced.
Sample paper
SALEM WITCH TRAILS
This paper will explore the event in the Salem witch trials. This will comprise of what happened, the cause, scenery, location, timeline, consequence, and fatalities. It will analyze the features of the region of colonial America and how it impacted the case. It will examine the philosophies and ideals of the American and how it contributed to the occurrence of the event. Lastly, it will discuss on the perception of the paper on Salem witch trials including what was avoidable or inevitable and what was costly or beneficial.
The Salem village had an intriguing history prior to the prominent witch trials. The trial of 1692 and 1693 took place in colonial Massachusetts. During this period, more than 200 persons were imprisoned of witchcraft (Mundra, L. S. et al. 2016). The reason for this is that two girls named Betty Parris and Abigail Williams had strange physical expressions. The village physician after examining the girls could not trace any illness that could have contributed to the unusual behavior. Thus, the physician concluded that the girls were bewitched. A total of twenty people were slayed during the period due to indictment that they betrothed themselves with the devil’s magic.
However, the colony admitted that the Salem trials were a mistake and ordered for compensation of the families of the convicted people. The trials are pronounced as injustice to the people of the U.S. and 300 years later it remains to hypnotize the popular imagination. The drivers of the trials were family feuds, religion, politics, economics and fear of the people. The characteristics of the Salem region had an impact on the trials. They Puritans had a sturdy conviction in the occult. Also, they were always in disputes and had personal variances that made them rivals.
There are several American philosophies that may have resulted to the occurrence of the trials. First, witchcraft was a great crime in the Colonial America. The witches were referred to as heretics to Christians. In the court and the laws, witchcraft was referred to as crimen excepta. The statement meant that witchcraft was a filthy crime that all the regular legal processes were outmoded. Secondly, the Puritans were proficient in their lifestyle, conduct, and religion and practiced strictness, asceticism, and simplicity. Thus, they were opposed to sensory pleasures, salacious, exciting, and spicy. The Puritans could not support the activities or associate themselves with satanic abominations. The philosophies contributed to the Salem witch trials.
A lot have changed since the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts. The Puritans who practiced patriarchal where men dominated or controlled all facets of women lives have reduced. Women have a superior role in the society rather than doing the house chores. Seay, S. D. (2015) says, that the feminists have a right to air their views when they feel oppressed. In the Salem case, the independent women who demonstrated economic parity and intellectual ability were convicted as occultists. The independent U.S. recognizes the rights of women and they are accorded the respect that they deserve.
The Salem trials invoke a clear image of discrimination, religious bigotry, and abuse of power, persecutions, and a society that is obsessed by unreasonable fears. The witchcraft accusation is a political metaphor of an unseen enemy that strikes and vanishes. In the Salem village, the trials were avoidable if there were no rivalry between families, and also between the city and the village. According to Gibson, M. (2014), the Salem case also raises questions on the place of women in the society. Majority of those accused of witchery were women while the judges who made such rulings were men. The level of poverty in that village may have made it inevitable to experience such conflicts. Couples could not afford to purchase land to raise a family. Thus, the ladies might have found relocation to the precarious frontier with their husbands as probable future. Consequently, the fear of securing a future might have played a role in the incidence. The trials are costly as the event of the trials is hard to delete in the minds of the people of America.
In conclusion, this paper has explored the event in the Salem witch trials where twenty people were murdered while two hundred were imprisoned. The setting and location of the place was at Salem in Massachusetts and it was between 1692 and 1693. It has explained all material facts of the case, the consequence, and fatalities. The paper has also analyzed the features of the region of colonial America and how it impacted the case. It has examined the philosophies and ideals of the American and how it contributed to the occurrence of the event. Lastly, it has discussed on the perception of the paper on Salem witch trials including what was avoidable or inevitable and what was costly or beneficial.
References
Gibson, M. (2014). America Bewitched: The Story of Witchcraft After Salem. Social History, 39(2), 271-272.
Mundra, L. S., Maranda, E. L., Cortizo, J., Augustynowicz, A., Shareef, S., & Jimenez, J. J. (2016). The Salem Witch Trials—Bewitchment or Ergotism. JAMA dermatology, 152(5), 540-540.
Seay, S. D. (2015). Emerson W. Baker. A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience. The American Historical Review, 120(5), 1880-1881.
