WITCHCRAFT AT SALEM essays

WITCHCRAFT AT SALEM essays Chadwick Hansen's "Witchcraft at Salem" provides an interesting account of the infamous Salem Witch Trials that took place in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. Hansen provides and account of the accused persons who were tried and eventually hanged for witchcraft. Through the utilization of contemporary accounts and the trial documents, Hansen relates the usual details of the rise and fall of the terrible dealings that took place that year in Salem Village. There has been a great deal of work produced about this popular subject, with the majority of it focusing on the theories of the origins and causes of the witch craze society. Chapter one provides an introduction into the early years of witchcraft in Salem and provides the reader with a brief historical profile of witchcraft. Hensen begins by attempting to provide the reader with a useful definition of witchcraft and how it applies to Western society and the establishment of New England. Historical milestones in the evolution of witchcraft and the contributions of "learned men" such as Locke and Hobbes to that development are discussed. For example, Hensen describes how Locke recognized witchcraft in his writings and thereby recognizing an In Chapter 2 the reader is given a history of four significant witchcraft examples that occurred in 1692 in New England prior to the trials in Salem. The circumstances surrounding the cases of Anne Hibbins from Boston, Rebecca Greensmith and her husband Nathan from Hartford and Anne Cole's role in Greensmith's trial, Elizabeth Knapp from Groton, Massachusetts, and John Goodwin's four children from Boston are profiled. In each case, Hensen provides details of the "hysteria" symptoms displayed by the individuals and the outcome of their case. These examples are significant because they provide evidence to the strength of the accusation of witchcraft without any proof for a trial....