Quarter One Assessment- Essay (MLA)
Using properly sourced text based evidence, write a
4-5 paragraph persuasive essay for the following
prompt: What were the two main reasons people
were accused of being witches in 1692?
Sarah Good: Accused Witch by Rebecca Brooks (2011)
Sarah Good was one of the first women to be accused of
witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
Good was the wife of William Good and, at the time of the
George Burroughs
George Burroughs was the only Puritan minister
indicted and executed in Salem in 1692. He
served as minister of Salem Village from 1680
until he left in 1683. As one of the succession of
three ministers who left the Village in the years
leading up to the trials, he became involved in the
Village's social conflicts. During his stay in
Salem he borrowed money from the Putnam
family and when he was unable to pay it back,
conflict with the Putnams arose. It was at this
point that he left. Although he eventually repaid
his loan, twelve years later, he was charged,
arrested and brought back to Salem from Wells,
Maine. Many members of the Salem Village and
Andover testified against him and called him the
"ring leader" of the witches, a virtual priest of the
devil. Cotton Mather also took particular interest
in the trial because of Burroughs' unorthodox
religious beliefs and practices. He was found
guilty and executed on August 19, 1692. His
hanging was the only one attended by Cotton
Mather, who urged the sympathetic crowd
against him.
Copyright 2002 by Benjamin Ray and The
University of Virginia
http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people?group.num
=all&mbio.num=mb3
Salem witch hysteria, was a poor, pregnant beggar who
would often wander door to door asking for handouts while
her husband worked as a day laborer. As a result, Good was a
prime target for the accusation of witchcraft in the small
Puritan-run town where nonconformity was frowned upon.
For years before the hysteria even began, Good and her
husband had a number of disagreements with other Salem
residents that made them very unpopular in the town. Many
historical sources have tried to paint Good as a sad, sick,
broken-down old woman during the trials, yet Good’s
behavior in and out of the courtroom gave no indication of
this: “Calef says she had long been counted a melancholy or
distracted woman; and Upham says she was broken down
by the wretchedness of her condition and ill-repute. Her
answers to the questions propounded to her, as the reader
will see, give no evidence of coming from a person ‘broken
down,’ or ‘forlorn.’ She appears to have answered with a
fair degree of spirit.”
On March 24, Good’s four-year-old daughter, Dorothy
(who is sometimes referred to as Dorcas in the court
records), was also arrested on charges of witchcraft after she
George
Burroughs
was accused by Edward Putnam and John Putnam on behalf
Picture Source:
stood trial. Although Dorothy was just a child, the
salemweb.com
depositions accuse her of physically hurting and torturing the
of the afflicted girls… but it does not appear that she ever
girls. Dorothy Good spent seven to eight months in jail before
being released and, as a result of the experience, she was
never the same.
Good was ultimately convicted but her execution was
pushed back until the birth of her child. Good’s infant died in
prison shortly after its birth and local officials brought Good
Sarah Good
to Gallows Hill on July 19, 1692 where she was hanged. “You
Picture Source:
are a liar. I am no more a witch than you are a wizard, and
Historyofmassach
usetts.org
if you take away my life God will give you blood to drink!”
Posted on October 20, 2011 historyofmassachusetts.org
The Trial of Rebecca Nurse
Posted Nov. 5, 2012 by Rebecca Beatrice Brooks
historyofmassachusetts.org
Rebecca Nurse was a 71-year-old grandmother and wife of a local artisan when she was accused of witchcraft during
the Salem Witch Trials. Born in Yarmouth, England in 1621 to William Towne, her entire family immigrated to
the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1640. Rebecca married Francis Nurse that same year and raised a family of eight
children on a farm in Salem Village.
Rebecca Nurse’s arrest on March 24, 1692 came as a complete surprise to the citizens of Salem because she was
considered such a pious and upstanding citizen. Nurse was accused of witchcraft by Ann Putnam, Jr., Ann Putnam, Sr.,
and Abigail Williams of Salem village, as well as several others, including Reverend Deodat Lawson of Boston, who
claimed to have seen Nurse’s spirit tormenting Ann Putnam, Sr., at her home that March.
Many historians believe that the Putnam family was behind the accusations against Nurse. Nurse and her husband,
Francis, had a long-standing dispute with their neighbors, the Putnam family, in Salem village about the boundary of their
adjoining land, and it is believed that the Putnams spurred accusations against Rebecca Nurse as retaliation. All of
Rebecca Nurses’ accusers, including Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Jr., Ann Putnam, Sr., Edward Putnam, Thomas
Putnam, Henry Kenney, Mary Walcott, and Elizabeth Hubbard were either Putnam family members or friends of the
family.
“1692, July 3 – After sacrament, the elders propounded to the church, and it was, by unanimous vote, consented to, –
that our sister Nurse, being a convicted witch by the court, and condemned to die, should be excommunicated; which
was accordingly done in the afternoon, she being present.”
Nurse’s conviction and execution marked the beginning of the end of the Salem Witch Trials. The citizens of Salem
doubted that such a pious woman could be guilty of witchcraft. This made them wonder if any of the other accused witches
were possibly innocent. The accusations continued throughout the spring and into the summer but opposition to the trials
began to grow. By the autumn, the court banned the use of spectral evidence in trial, rendering most of the accusations
baseless and eventually brought the trials to an end in 1693.
“Bridget Bishop”
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_BBIS.HTM
Bridget Bishop, "a singular character, not easily described," was born sometime between 1632 and 1637. Bishop married three
times. Her third and final marriage, after the deaths of her first two husbands, was to Edward Bishop, who was employed as a
"sawyer" (lumber worker). She appears to have had no children in any of her marriages.
Although Bishop had been accused by more individuals of witchcraft than any other witchcraft defendant (many of the
accusations were markedly vehement and vicious), it was not so much her "sundry acts of witchcraft" that caused her to be the
first witch hanged in Salem, as it was her flamboyant life style and exotic manner of dress. Despite being a member of Mr. Hale's
Church in Beverly (she remained a member in good standing until her death), Bishop often kept the gossip mill busy with stories
of her publicly fighting with her various husbands, entertaining guests in home until late in the night, drinking and playing the
forbidden game of shovel board, and being the mistress of two thriving taverns in town. Some even went so far as to say that
Bishop's "dubious moral character" and shameful conduct caused, "discord [to] arise in other familes, and young people were in
danger of corruption." Bishop's blatant disregard for the respected standards of Puritan society made her a prime target for
accusations of witchcraft.
In addition to her somewhat outrageous (by Puritan standards) lifestyle, the fact that Bishop "was in the habit of dressing more
artistically than women of the village" also contributed in large part to her conviction and execution. She was described as
wearing, "a black cap, and a black hat, and a red paragon bodice bordered and looped with different colors." This was a showy
costume for the times. Aside from encouraging rumors and social disdain, this "showy costume" was used as evidence against her
at her trial for witchcraft. In his deposition, Shattuck, the town dyer mentions, as corroborative proof of Bishop being a witch, that
she used to bring to his dye house "sundry pieces of lace" of shapes and dimensions entirely outside his conceptions of what
would be needed in the wardrobe of a plain and honest woman. Fashionable apparel was regarded by some as a "snare and sign of
the devil." (Note- Second Article on Next Page)
“The Dead”
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_DE.HTM
Nineteen accused witches were hanged on Gallows Hill in 1692:
June 10
July 19
Tituba Biography (2012)
http://www.historyrocket.com/Biography/Tituba-Biography.html
Rebecca Nurse
Sarah Good
Susannah Martin
Elizabeth Howe
Sarah Wildes
Tituba was an Indian woman and not as commonly believed a Negro slave. She was one of the
first three people accused of practicing witchcraft during the Salem witch trials of 1692 in Salem
village, Massachusetts. Tituba was originally from an Arawak village in South America. As a child
she was captured, taken to Barbados and sold into slavery.
Bridget Bishop
August 19
George Burroughs
Martha Carrier
John Willard
George Jacobs, Sr.
John Proctor
September 22
Martha Corey
Mary Eastey
Ann Pudeator
Alice Parker
Mary Parker
Wilmott Redd
Margaret Scott
Samuel Wardwell
Tituba was purchased by Reverend Samuel Parris, or given to settle debt, while Parris was a
merchant in Barbados. Since Parris was unmarried it was rumored that she may have served as
his concubine. Tituba helped maintain the Parris household on day-to-day basis. When Parris
moved to Boston in 1680, Tituba got married to another Indian slave named John. John and
Tituba then moved to Salem. It was in Salem where Tituba was first accused of practicing
witchcraft and eventually confessed (even though she did not believe she had). Tituba was the
third person accused by Parris of witchcraft. She was, however, the first person to confess
witchcraft in Salem village.
====================================================================
Tituba: The Reluctant Witch of Salem: Devilish Indians and Puritan Fantasies by Elaine
Breslaw (1996) New York, New York University Press (Print) Page 172
“At the end Tituba recanted her confession, admitting that she had lied to protect herself. That
action had little effect on the subsequent events and was almost lost in the rush by other
confessors, in fear of damnation, to admit their terrible sin. Tituba’s attempt to retract her
confession received scant attention at the time and was ignored in the written reports of most
observors. Only Robert Calef made note of it: ‘The account she [Tituba] since gives of it is, that
her Master did beat her and otherways abuse her, make her confess and accuse (such as he
call’d) her Sister-Witches, and that whatsoever she said by way of confession or accusing others,
was the effect of such usage.’ Hers was not the first retraction of a reluctant confession. The
others had already received a great deal of attention.”
One accused
wizard, as
male witches
were often
called, was
pressed to
death on September 19 when he failed to
plead guilty or not guilty: Giles Corey (see
note below)
Legal Executions in New England by Daniel
Allen Hearn (Print) Page 69 McFarland, Jan 1, 2005
“The trial of Bridget Bishop opened in Salem on June 2,
Other accused witches died in prison:
1692. It was a one-day affair. Seven judges headed by
Sarah Osborn Ann Foster
Roger Toothaker Lyndia Dustin
Deputy-Governor William Stoughton comprised the court.
Bridget was allowed no counsel; at least no one is known
“Giles Corey”
Because Giles stood mute, he was given the dreaded
sentence of peine forte et dure even though it had been
determined to be illegal by the government of
Massachusetts. It was illegal for two reasons: there was no
law permitting pressing, and it violated the provisions of the
Body of Liberties regarding the end of cruel punishments.
In the entire history of the United States, Giles Corey is
the only person ever to be pressed to death by order of a
court. Peine forteet dure. A species of torture applied to
contumacious felons. In the reign of Henry IV, the accused
was pressed to death by weights;
http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/Law508/PeineForte.htm
to have risked their skin to defend her. The evidence
produced was but a rehash of the scurrilous stories that
long circulated about her. The prevailing lunacy of the
‘afflicted girls’ counted heavily against her as well. Cotton
Mather, who later wrote of the trial, captured the
quintessence of the proceedings when he remarked, ‘There
was little occasion to prove the witchcraft, it being evident
and notorious to all beholders.’ Bridget Bishop was predoomed by popular opinion and prejudice.”
Massachusetts Legends: Procedures, Courts & Aftermath of the Salem Witch Trials
(2003- Present) Legends of America legendsofamerica.com
Evidence:
Spectral Evidence - Used by the "afflicted girls" and several others in their accusation against suspected witches, spectral evidence is
a form of evidence based upon dreams and visions. During the trials, the accuser would give testimony that an accused witch's spirit
(specter) appeared to the witness in a dream or vision. In many instances, the spirit might appear as an animal, such as a black cat or a
wolf. The dream or vision was then admitted as evidence. Even though the accused was nowhere near the "afflicted" person at the
time, testimony was often given that the "witch" had bit, pinched, choked or otherwise harmed the "afflicted" accuser.
As basis for the use of spectral evidence, a 60-page booklet entitled “A Tryal of Witches” written by Gilbert Geis and Ivan Bunn, was
utilized when the Salem magistrates were looking for a precedent in allowing so-called "spectral evidence".
Touch Test - Utilized in Andover, Massachusetts in September, 1692, this evidentiary practice appears to have been exclusive
to Andover. If the accused witch touched the victim while the victim was having a fit, and the fit then stopped, it meant the accused
was the person who had afflicted the victim. On September 7, 1692, the Reverend Barnard ordered all those accused of witchcraft to
come together at the Andover meeting house, where the Salem Village "afflicted girls" were being kept. Once the accused had all been
gathered, he conducted the "Touch Test," one of the most diabolical schemes of the witch trials. At that time, it was believed that if the
hand of a witch touched the body of the person whom they had bewitched, that person would immediately become well and could
identify the witch. After reciting a prayer, Barnard then blindfolded the accused who were then forced to go near the "afflicted girls,"
who would fall into fits and cry out claiming they were under the curse of a witch when the accused drew closer. However, when the
accused touched the girls, they would immediately come out of their fit and identify the person touching them of being the one who
afflicted them. This evidence was enough to cause the arrest of the accused as witches. After this event, warrants were issued for 18
men and women who had been accused in the touch test.
Witch Mark - A practice that came from England in the witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries, looking for witch marks, or devil's
marks was also utilized during the Salem witch trials. The common belief was that a "witch teat," or extra nipple on a witch’s body,
permitted a familiar or imp to suckle human blood. It was also believed that these "witches" who bore these marks would not feel pain
or bleed when the mark was pricked. In the minds of the Puritans, these marks might be disguised in birthmarks, warts, moles, or any
outstanding swelling or discoloration of the skin was suspect as being a witch’s mark. Even red spots, bumps under the tongue, or in
private parts might be a witch mark.
After an accused witch had been arrested, his or her body would be searched for any peculiarities. Doctors and midwives were
employed for these searches, which were frequently done before the judge, jury and an audience. The examining tool was usually a
sharp instrument such as a pin or needle and if an insensitive portion of the body did not bleed, it was designated a witch’s mark. It
was later found that some of these so-called sharp objects were actually blunt or dull. Out of fear people sometimes cut off their warts,
moles, and other bumps in order not to be suspect as a witch.
Other Evidence - This included confessions of the accused, the testimony of a person who confessed to being a witch identifying
others as witches, the discovery of poppets, books of palmistry and horoscopes, pots of ointments in the possession or home of the
accused, and the existence of so-called witch's teats on the body of the accused.
Examinations- In the 1692 witch trial era, when someone was "examined," this usually meant is they were brought in for an
investigation, separately from any others examined the same day. The first part of the examination generally included the accusers,
who would demonstrate the effect that the accused, or their specters, were having on them at the moment or had in the past. Early on
in the examinations and trials, spectral evidence, based on dreams and visions was allowed and used as evidence of guilt.
The examinations often included a doctor or midwives to see if the accused had a "witch's teat," which were birth marks, moles, or
other markings on the body that were thought to be marks of a witch or a devil's mark. The accused were stripped of their clothing and
if unusual marks were found, the spots were pricked, and if no pain was felt or they didn't bleed, it was surely the mark of the Devil.
The accused were then questioned by the magistrates, who generally assumed a presumption of guilt.
Other tests and torture were also utilized against accused witches in the examinations and at trial. Sometimes the accused were asked
to recite the Lord's Prayer. Puritans believed that the Devil would never allow his subjects to recite the Lord's words in full. Another
test, called the sink or swim test, the suspect would be curled up in a non-breathable position with rocks tied to their ankles. If the
victim sunk, it would obviously die, and the midwives would know it was not a witch, yet if the victim floated, there would be a trial
held.
http://www.schoolimprovement.com/docs/Common%20Core%20Rubrics_Gr11-12.pdf