Religion of Slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries
Religion of Slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries
- Type of paperEssay (Any Type)
- SubjectInternational Affairs/Relations
- Number of pages2
- Writer levelUniversity
- Format of citationMLA
- Number of cited resources2
Topic: Your topic is of your own choosing, so you can write a more traditional essay about any kind of American literature written before 1865. However, you can also compose an essay based on a topic that coincides with our reading such as the Spanish war again Islam in the 15th century, Native American lives before 1865, Pocahontas, Puritan religion, Salem Witchcraft Trials, Science in the 19th century, slavery, John Brown. In other words, as long as a text we read provokes your interest, you may pursue it! Have fun with your research—I don’t assign topics so that your interest can be developed! Research: Two academic sources must be used in order to have your work accepted. Academic sources are peer-reviewed articles or books. Our library database is an excellent source for you. Go to the library homepage, click on databases, choose English, choose Literature Reference Center, type in your Key Words or Author’s Name! If you have not used our library database, please call the library for help! Format: This essay is formal with all the requirements of a formal essay such as third person ONLY, thesis statement, and a Works Cited page along with correct grammar and punctuation. WARNING: MLA has changed the requirements for this page. Please go to this website for the NEW rules: https://style.mla.org/whats-
Salem Witchcraft Trials
In the 17th century, there emerged a series of epidemics and tragedies all over Salem Village. Then on January 1692, Reverend Samuel Parris’s daughter fell ill. The village doctor was called in, and he tried all that he could to cure the little girl but with no success. When this doctor, William Griggs, failed to make any progress in healing the little girl, he concluded that she must have been bewitched. This bewitchment diagnosis without knowing put into motion forces that resulted to hanging of 19 old women and men who were accused of practicing witchcraft. The total number of those who died included seven men who died in prison and one who was crushed to death. There are those whose lives were irrevocably changed (Roach, 25).
In this century there was strong belief that the devil had an impact on people in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Salem Village was always in rivalry with Salem Town, which was just nearby. The had been a smallpox epidemic that had threatened the peace of the region since there were these who believed that their rivals had something to do with it (Goss, 52). There was, therefore, a threat of having a war between the communities. After a short while, the prisons in Salem were filled with over 150 men and women from Salem’ surrounding areas. They are the people that had been thought to be causing the trouble. Their names were said to have been “cried out” by young girls who were seemingly tormented by the devil which was a painful experience. Witchcraft and sorcery were a crime punishable by death, and therefore all these 150 culprits risked death (Roach, 51). The trials were to be done in New England, where they suspect would be tried for witchcraft.
In the 6th month of the year (1692), the Court of Over and Terminer was set to decide the fate of the people. Over meant “to hear” while Terminer “to decide.” The jury, therefore, sat in Salem to listen and take a decision on the cases. The cases were presided over by William Stoughton, who was the Chief Justice. The court consisted of jurors and magistrates. The first one on the list was Bridget Bishop of Salem. He was found guilty and was later killed by hanging on 10th of June. Five men 13 women from all walks of life then followed and suffered the same fate. They were hanged on three hanging days that followed successively. The court was then disbanded by William Phipps, who was the then Governor in October 1692 (Roach, 41). The court that was formed later (The Superior Court of Judicature) was meant to stand in place of the Court of Over and Terminer. However, the court did not allow any spectral evidence. The belief of the people who were suspected of bewitching using their invisible powers over their subjects was the reason as to why those tried were kept away from the community. This belief in the force of the accused to use their invisible forces or specters to torture their victims had sealed the fates of those tried by the Court of Over and Terminer. The Superior Court of Judicature decided to realize all those who had been arrested awaiting trial. It went on to pardon those who were accused and were to execute (Goss, 85). This brought to an end the Salem witch trials.
Then after several years, many apologies were offered by individuals and the state. Restitution was made to families of the victims. And then on January during the following year, The General Court of Massachusetts declared a one-day fasting ceremony in remembrance of the victims of witchcraft. They wanted to remember and honor the Salem witch victims who were accused and executed in an unlawful trial. Samuel Sewall, who was the then leading justice later, decided to apologize publicly for the role he played in making the judgment that got the victims hanged (Goss, 22).
It has then been an indeed painful ordeal and could be vividly explained as a painful legacy. The Salem witch trials have endured to date, and many sociologists and historians have taken their time to examine this episode that looks like the most complex in our history. It has helped us to understand our society whatsoever.
Works cited
Goss, K D. Daily Life During the Salem Witch Trials. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, 2012. Print.
Roach, Marilynne K. The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege. Lanham, Md: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2002. Print.