Endless Witch Trials: Salem, Massachusetts, McCarthy Hearings, and the KKK :: essays research papers

What is the difference between witches in today’s society and witches in the past? Why were people accused of being witches? What were the punishments people got when they were accused of being a witch and found guilty? How is the witch trials repeated in history?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When someone talks about witches what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Most people think of witches from movies such as the witch in the â€Å"Wizard of Oz† or in â€Å"Snow White and the Sevens Dwarfs†. These two witches are looked at as old, ugly and dressed in black from head to toe. People also think of witches in today’s society riding on brooms and chanting evil curses on their enemies. In the past witches could be anyone from the family doctor to the next door neighbor. The word witch comes from the old English word Wicca which means male witch. Witch also means to cast a spell on others. No matter how a witch is looked at, it’s all about mystery and magic. In Massachusetts there are two Salem’s, Salem town and Salem village. The villager wanted to be separated from the town. The accusing began in the village at the Parris’s home because of Reverend Parris wanting to accuse people. Then the Parris’s allies the Putnam’s started to get accused of witchcraft. In Salem people were accused to be witches because they were different or an outcast in the community. Tituba, who was a slave in the Parris household, was an easy person to accuse of practicing witch craft because she was black, mysterious and had a different religion and traditions. If people didn’t attend church they would also be accused of being a witch. Sarah Good was a beggar who everyone thought was mean spirited and always grumbling things to people even if they did give her money or food. She also smoked a pipe, which also gave people a reason to say she was performing witch craft. Sarah Osborne was another person accused of witchery becaus e she married her servant. Martha Corey, a well known church woman was accused because she was to inherit land from her husband who past way. Other people wanted to take that land from her, so they put a false accession on her. Other people in the village were accused because people didn’t like them or they weren’t in good social standings.