In , John Putnam, an influential leader in Salem Village, invited him to preach at the Village Church of Christ, which had gone through three ministers in 16 years. From the beginning, Samuel Parris disputed with the town inhabitants over his salary. He deliberated for almost a year before finally accepting the position. In Parris and his family, along with an Indian slave named Tituba, moved to Salem Village where Parris served as the community's minister for the entirety of the Salem witch hysteria.
At this time in history, Puritans regarded all activities besides work and prayer as potentially sinful distractions. Parents expected as much of their children as of adults. After early childhood, children had little time for play or amusement. The only books were religious in nature. The only break in the weekly routine was on Sundays. Then, instead of work, there were long church services in the morning and afternoon, and religious reading, prayer, and contemplation at home for the rest of the day.
In those days, observance of the Sabbath was enforced by law. No victims in Salem were burned at the stake. While that practice was common in Europe, witchcraft was punishable by hanging in New England. Richard Trask, historian and Town Archivist for Danvers, Massachusetts, answers more frequently asked questions about the Salem witch trials. Perhaps due to boredom or as a result of the strict household in which the Parris children were raised, 9-year-old Betty Parris and her cousin, year-old Abigail Williams, began secretly spending their evening hours listening to Tituba tell stories.
Sometimes Tituba would engage the girls in forbidden activities such as fortune telling. Then in early , Betty and Abigail began to act strangely. They experienced fits that included seizures, screaming, and making odd noises. Soon more of Betty's playmates began experiencing similar behaviors, including year-old Ann Putnam, year-old Mercy Lewis, and Mary Walcott. The local physician, Dr.
William Griggs, could find no physical explanation for the girls' odd behavior. He attributed their illness to the supernatural. Just three years earlier, Cotton Mather, a prominent Boston minister, published a book called "Memorable Providences" in which he described similar strange behaviors of the Goodwin children who were living in Boston and who had accused a servantwoman of bewitching them.
The servant was eventually convicted and hanged as a witch. Mather's book described the Goodwin case in detail. With the recent popularity of Mather's book, many in Salem Village believed that witchcraft could be the cause of the young girls' strange behavior. It was this confession and her dramatic testimony that convinced the people of Salem that this was not an isolated incident and that the Devil had invaded Salem:.
Tituba went on to describe conversations she had with evil pigs, dogs and rats who all ordered her to do their bidding and said she personally witnessed Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne transform into strange, winged creatures. There are many reasons why Tituba may have made these dramatic confessions.
Many sources, including Tituba herself, indicate she was forced to confess after being beaten by Parris. Also, as a slave with no social standing, money or personal property in the community, Tituba had nothing to lose by confessing to the crime and probably knew that a confession could save her life.
It is not known what religion Tituba practiced, but if she was not a Christian she had no fear of going to hell for confessing to being a witch, as the other accused witches did. Puritanism was created in the 16th century, when the people of the Anglican Church in England felt that the structure and lifestyle imposed by the church needed to be reformed. Many of these believers consisted of entire families, unlike typical American settlement, which was usually comprised of young, single men.
They eventually colonized in modern-day Massachusetts. Because of social, economic, religious, and physical problems within the community, Salem Village was present with prejudice and panic causing the Salem Witch Trials. Witchcraft has been present in many other religions, not only the Puritan religion. Witchcraft was also found in Catholic and Protestant parts of Europe. The Salem. The Salem witch trials had a drastic affect on the Puritan religion. The trials helped shape and point the direction for the New England Colonies and the Puritan religion.
The Salem witch trials outbreak began in In the past, there had only been about five convictions of people being accused of witchcraft; none of this resulted in any deaths Wilborn Usually just a fine was given, but by the end of there was already arrests The Salem Witch trials are an infamous moment in American history , portraying old American thought on society and religious belief.
In light of such theories, it becomes apparent that there is no magic to explain the decisions that the people of Salem made, but was rather fueled by jealousy of economic success and religious misguidance.
Several theories explain the cause of the witchcraft accusations. The Salem witch trials of were a scary and sad time in American History executing twenty innocent people and accusing over two hundred.
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