The Salem Witch Hysteria Essays - Salem Witch Trials,

The Salem Witch Hysteria The Salem Witch Hysteria Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the Salem witch trials Thesis Statement: The Salem witch trials were a series of events that lead up to the hanging of 19 man and women in Salem Mass. I. Introduction- A. - The year, 1692. The place, Salem Mass. Imagine yourself a woman at home cooking dinner for your family. You peer out the window and find your husband finishing up his days work in the field while your children frolic about as the sun sets behind them. Or imagine yourself a man. Wiping the sweat from your brow as you hurriedly finish up a long days work with anticipation of dinner with the family. Now your at the dinner table , across from your husband or wife. You discuss the weather, how the day went , and the Reverend's most recent Sunday sermon. Suddenly, there's a knock on your door. It's the town magistrate with a warrant for your arrest. You are charged with the crime of witchcraft, examined , then found guilty . If you confess, you spend a lifetime in prison. If you maintain your innocence, you're hung. This is similar to a common scenario of what happened at the Salem witch trials. B- The Salem witch trials were a series of events that eventually lead to the hanging of 19 men and women. They took place in Salem Mass. in the year 1692. C- Who were the accusers? Who where the people being charged? What were the out comes of the trials and why ? Let's start with how it all began. II How did it all begin?- A - Rev. Samuel Parriss' daughter Elizabeth, age 9, and niece Abigail Williams, age 11, had a slave that cared for them : TITUBA B - Tituba tells story from native land C - Girls love stories and start playing with it. Joined by other girls in town. D- On Jan. 16, 1692, started to have fits , seizures , and trance - like episodes. Soon after that the rest of the girls did too. E- Rev. Parriss brought in Dr. William Griggs who could diagnose no medical reason for girls behavior. Concluded girls under influence of Satan. F- Pray services and community fasting held by Rev. in hoped of relaying the evil forces that plagued them. In efforts to expose the witches John Indian baked a witch cake with rye meal and the afflicted girls urine. G- Pressured to identify the witches, girls named 3 woman. Tituba, Sarah Goode, and Sarah Osborne. H- Goode and Osborne maintained their innocence while Tituba confessed to seeing the devil. AND testified to a witch conspiracy in Salem. I- Judges John Hawthorne and Jonathan Corwin examined the 3 women. Once again only Tituba confessed to practicing witchcraft. J- Over the next few weeks, more and more people came forward with accusations III - Who were these new accusers? - A - Most of the new accusers relates to the Putman family B - Ann Putnam Jr. - one of the afflicted children Age 12, accused a total of 62 people of being witches. C - Thomas Putnam - Chief filer of complaints in the Town of Salem. Aided Anne Jr. In her accusations by taking her to court. D - Her mother Anne Putnam SR in court room as much as daughter with accusations. Coincidentally in court room, would become afflicted. E - Mercy Lewis- Servant to Putnam's 17 years old. Also on of the afflicted girls F - Mary Walcot- Ann jr. Best friend. Afflicted girl. G - All 5 girls, Ann Jr., Mercy, Mary, Abigail, and Elizabeth were involved in Tituba's story telling, voodoo practicing, and fortune telling IV Who were the people being charged ? A - The 1st people accused of witchcraft were Tituba, Sarah Goode and Sarah Osborne. Once again , Tituba confessed, while Sarah Goode and Osborne still maintained there innocence. B - Sarah Goode- a prime example of what caused a lot of the accusations. She was viewed as socially undesirable. Sarah 's actions and attitude caused friction amongst other community members and it was no wonder she was accused. C - The next to be convicted was Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse. Both were upstanding members of the community. Always