Throughout history millions of people have been scorned, accused,
arrested, tortured, put to trial and, persecuted as witches. One would
think that by the time the United States was colonized, these injustices on
humanity would have come to an end, but that was not so. In 1692 a
major tragedy occurred in America, the Salem witch trials. It all began
when a group of girls accused others, generally older women, of
consorting with the devil. The witchcraft hysteria in Salem,
Massachusetts resulted from the strict Puritan code which aroused the
girls interest in superstition and magic and caused strange behavior.
The Salem witch trials were based on the Puritans and their God
versus Satan and his followers and their strict codes. Puritans had
always thought that they were the new chosen people, abandoning a land
of sin and oppression to establish the Promised Land (New England).
Puritans beliefs were rooted in contrasts. (1) They believed that if......
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