History Extension Proposal – Salem Witch Trials

Description of Preliminary Research The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial mama between 1692 and 1693, and involved over two hundred people being accused of practicing witchcraft. by and by the execution of twenty people, the colony admitted the trials were a mistake and compensated the families of those convicted. Following the events, the story of the trials has become synonymous with paranoia and injustice, and continues to beguile the common imagination.Initially, I aimed my inquiry at allowing myself to attain a sense of the atmosphere that pervaded Salem, Massachusetts in 1962, as I was unsure about the focus of my project. After reading playwright Arthur millers The Crucible, my interest in the social, cultural and religious context of the time was enhanced. The play encapsulated the hysteria of the townsfolk and provided a general arc of the events, adding to my fascination surrounding the Salem witch trials and why they occurred. To enhance my knowledge, I proceed ed to investigate the general and historiographical information surrounding the event.I looked at various websites, primarily Wikipedia, the online word Salem witchery The Events and Causes of the Salem Witch Trials written by Tim Sutter and A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials, an article written by Jess Blumberg. I extracted information from books including Witchcraft A Secret History, written by Michael Steeter and ___________. From my research I gathered that the most important historiographical issue was not in fact the context, but the induce of the event, and I have extracted as many theories from my readings as I could collect.The evidence we have from the time before, during and later on the period of the trials is expansively open to interpretation, as is the evidence that isnt there, this being the spectral evidence and misdiagnosis of the afflictions of the asseverate witches. Linda Caporeals hypothesis Ergotism The Satan Loosed in Salem? investigates a possibl e psychological condition smitten on the women as the travail of the girls illness and misconduct. The recent article Were the American Colonists medicine During the Salem Witchcraft Trial? ritten in 2008 by Josh Clarke demonstrates the continual debate over the cause of the trials amongst various historians. Description of Historiographical Focus The Research Intentions My project will focus primarily on the historic debate over the cause of the Salem witch trials, as from my research it has become clear that in order to deal with this topic, I must focus on the contrasting perspectives of historians and others, and why they hold authentic opinions.In order to proceed with my research, I have comprised a list of subsidiary questions, these being -Why is the cause of the trials a controversial issue? -What approaches have been taken by historians and others to investigate why the trials occurred? -How do different approaches to account reflect both the context of the historian a nd their ideology? I am aware there is no right answer in relation to cause, but I will investigate the answers to these questions and will attempt to better understand why a historical event is continually revised, reviewed, debated and theorised by historians.I intend to select, analyze and analyse three opposing theories surrounding the cause of the trials. At this stage in my research I am interested in exploring the oppressive religious beliefs and customs of the Puritan religion, as well as the Linda Caporeals conjecture on convulsive ergotism. I aim to select a third theory that will best demonstrate conflicting approaches to the ordeal following further investigation into the topic. Preliminary taste Question Ideas