New England Witches, Essay Example

Between February of 1692 and May of 1693, some twenty individuals in the village of Salem, Massachusetts, were executed for allegedly practicing witchcraft via what is now referred to as the Salem Witch Trials. All of these individuals as members of the Salem community shared a number of traits or characteristics that appear to have set them apart from other community members who for the most part were devout Puritans with strong beliefs in the existence of the supernatural and the powers of the devil to influence their lives. Although there are other traits, the five listed below were the most common:

• Most of the individuals either accused or executed for practicing witchcraft were female. In my opinion, the reason for this was because women during the 17th century in the colonies were seen as second-class citizens without any rights as compared to men. This made them easy targets for accusations and prosecution in a court of law.
• Most of the individuals were middle-aged between 40 and 50 years old. I believe the reason for this was due to the Puritan view that older women were suppose to be mothers to the children of their community as a sort of maternal symbol. Certainly, some of the women accused of witchcraft lived solitary lives outside of the normal maternal routine in the village of Salem.
• Most of the individuals accused or executed for practicing witchcraft had bad reputations in the village of Salem. They stood outside of the bounds of Puritan religious devotion and conviction, and were seen as troublemakers by the elders, due to their non-conformist lifestyles.
• Most of the individuals had been accused of other types of criminal activity, such as stealing food or saying bad things about the most upstanding citizens of Salem. From a Puritan religious viewpoint, these and other crimes were sins which reflected their irreligious attitudes.
• And lastly, most of the individuals were viewed by the Puritan elders and those in the Salem community as occupying the bottom of the social ladder without any kind of societal status, such as being prominent and active members of the church or doing good deeds for their community.

Overall, these five traits or characteristics were shared by all of the accused individuals. Of course, there are other shared traits, but these five appear to have been the most prominent.