The Salem Witch Trials A Devastating Event - 958 Words

The Salem Witch Trials was a devastating event in which 19 people and dogs were killed due to the cry of witchcraft. The outburst of these events could be blamed on several things. Certain things like economics, medicines and culture have to be taken into account when trying to understand the events of the Salem Witch Trials. People like Franklin Jr. Mixon, Linnda R. Caporael, Dr. Allan Woolf, Elaine G. Brewslaw, and Isaac Ariail Reed take into account one of the three: economics, medicines and culture and explain as to why or why not the event happened the way it did disregarding all the other factors. Franklin Jr. Mixon is a Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Economic Education at Columbus State University. In his work Homo Economicus he states that it is clear that a religion (specifically Puritan for that is the religious people whom occupied the Salem Village) can simply manipulate doctrine to establish or maintain monopoly, increase membership, and augment individual or corporate wealth. The Salem witchcraft episode shows how relatively easy it was in colonial North America for ministers to interpret questionable actions as witchcraft and thereby increase the demand for ministerial services.1 Franklin puts into perspective the economic point of view. Regardless witchcraft is not involved but rather an economic crisis occurred. In 1976 Linnda R. Caporael writes Ergotism:The Satan Loosed in Salem? where she explains that ergotism is the cause ofShow MoreRelatedHysteria Comparison of the Salem Witch Trials and the Holocaust1222 Words   |  5 PagesEnglish Final Draft Hysteria comparison of the Salem Witch Trials and the Holocaust During both the devastating Holocaust in the Germany and the tragic Salem Witch Trials in the small town of Salem, innocent people were brutally killed, causing hysteria among the people. Both groups of people endured hardships because of the hysteria that occurred among them. This hysteria caused people to react in ways that they would not usually act. Both of these events are very historical and help The United StatesRead MoreThe Salem Witch Trials Essay1725 Words   |  7 Pages By the end of the 17th century one of the most devastating proceedings in American History took place. 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A special court was made due to this wave of hysteria that spreaded through colonialRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller Essay2290 Words   |  10 PagesCrucible, in order to compare the Salem witch trials to events of his time and to expose the social injustices that existed in his society due to the controversial Communist scare that was occurring. Though Miller wrote The Crucible for this purpose, its themes are quite appropriate when considering current events, as the audience is met with the ever-prevalent themes of the severity of false accusations, reputation, and integrity. There is no doubt that many current events relate to these themes, what