The Reasons for the Persecution Flashcards
How did Salem’s isolation contribute to persecution ?
Community isolated from the wider MASS community - as a result there was a higher sense of fear of the devil
How did tensions from within society contribute to persecution ?
Divisions made persecution easier :
Native Americans + their military threats
Beggars : Puritans afraid of vagrancy and denounced charity
Women , more susceptible to the devil
What was the local situation like in Salem during this time ?
Disputes between Putnam and Porters
Putnams wanted independence from Salem Town yet the Porters wanted to maintain links to Salem Town
Samuel Parris ( supported by Putnams ) preached against people who opposed him
What was the role of Samuel Parris in Salem at this time ?
He was an outsider
Before hunt , the town refused to pay his salary as he £££ unnecessary items for the Puritan meeting house
Preached that the church was under attack by devil aided wicked men .
All of the initial people in his home + a key witness in the trials
What was the role of Tituba ?
Her + Husband were servants for Parris who looked after his kids
May have told them stories of Voodoo - Later confessed to a pact with the devil
Said she was beaten by Parris and forced to confess
What was the role of children in Salem ?
Behaviour of Parris’s children led to the trials / His daughter + her cousin behaved oddly .
How did Ignorance lead to Persecution ?
Impact of Scientific Revolution occurred in England but not the rest of the colonies
As a result , Crop failure , hallucinations were seen as the devils work
Anyone who wasn’t a Puritan was seen with suspicion
How did economic hardship lead to persecutions in Salem ?
Impact of cold weather led to economic issues and people wanted scapegoats
This was not new and had affected other areas so it doesn’t explain why there was a hunt in MASS or why it took place in 1692
How did the Puritan clergy lead to persecutions ?
Puritan clergy initially supported the trials as did Cotton Mather
But Clergy opposition also ended them
How did Civic authorities lead to persecutions ?
Mass Hysteria was important - Genuine fear for witches made people listen - Coupled with the view that the Natives had demonic power
Jurors in trials convicted due to witnesses and neighbours who swore under oath
Chief Judge and William Stoughton influenced Judicial course of events - Governor Phipps was away fighting yet stopped proceedings on his returns
