"Under an Evil Hand" A Reexamination of the Salem Witch Trials

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"Under an Evil Hand" A Reexamination of the Salem Witch Trials

Young, Nicole - Thesis

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title: "Under an Evil Hand" A Reexamination of the Salem Witch Trials

creator: Young, Nicole

subject: Academic theses.

description: The Salem witch trials have traditionally been framed as a case of religious zealotry and superstition. For centuries blame has been placed on the accusers and this narrative has gone largely unquestioned. However, it ignores the role that the magistrates and Governor Phips played in the crisis and how their actions directly contributed to the spread of witchcraft accusations through Essex county. The judges presiding over the Court of Oyer and Terminer were the best legal minds of their generation and their actions were heavily criticized by their contemporaries. Phips was a poorly educated man with no political experience that chose to ignore the crisis instead of confronting it, and people died because of his inaction. Recent disasters including military losses, economic hardship, and the lack of a legal charter threatened the power structures of Massachusetts and the Salem witch trials were used by some of these men as a way to hold on to that power and increase their wealth.

publisher: Simmons University (Boston, Mass.)

contributor:

date: 2020

type: Text

format: 1 PDF (89 Pages)

identifier: td_ha_2020_ny

source:

language: English

relation:

coverage:

rights: Material from the Simmons University Archives collections are made available for study purposes only. For more information, or to request rights to reproduce or reuse any material, contact the University Archives at archives@simmons.edu.

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