Salem Witch Trials
By Dakotah Herr
Summary
They community went on a witch hunt and caught who they thought were witches. "These where usually people that were very vulnerable in the community" (www.history.com). The accused witches usually pled guilty, because of the Puritan community they believed that the ones that confessed where turned over to God and the ones that didn't would face punishments. The punishment was death, the Puritans got this punishment from the bible, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" - Exodus 22:18.
"In May 1692, the newly appointed governor of Massachusetts, William Phips, ordered the establishment of a special Court of Oyer (to hear) and Terminer (to decide) on witchcraft cases for Suffolk, Essex and Middlesex counties" (www.history.com). The court's first case heard Bridget Bishop, a known partier, and was found guilty later hung by the state. Over 200 people were accused of being witches. "The governor of the colony, upon hearing that his own wife was accused of witchcraft ordered an end to the trials. However, 20 people and 2 dogs were executed for the crime of witchcraft in Salem" (http://www.ushistory.org/).
Milgram's Experiment
Standford Prison Experiment
Connections
Standford Prison Experiment also explains why they got so carried away with accusing people of being witches. They got so afraid of people might being witches that they took away the rights of them. Thats just like the guards did when the prisons got too much power. They also had the trials until the governor's wife got accused, the Experiment got cancelled unexpectedly, because the guards were out of control.
People may hurt other people because that is what they believe or because they're scared. That partially why the Colonists did because they where also afraid of "women getting their own rights" (www.history.com). Nobody really knows what went on and if it was a joke or it could even be food poisoning that got the girls to act crazy.