When you hear about colonial New England, you might think about a small town placed somewhere like Boston, Cape Cod, or any little colony that was around that area. You might think about the pilgrims coming to Plymouth and the first Thanksgiving. But, did you ever think about the culture and their society? What their religion meant to them? What was bad to them and what was good?
Well, you'll find out. The Puritan were the settlers that were God-fearing people. They believed that God watched everyone, and if you messed up, then you were going to Hell. They also believed in Predestination, and that everyone had to do good works. In other words, the Puritans were very religious. They didn't want to mess up. This article talks about what the Puritans believed in. But isn't Predestination and good works the same thing? It kinda is, but it's also different. Predestination and good works are great for going to Heaven, but what if there was something bad that could make people scared about predestination, and think differently about the Puritan culture. That's where witchcraft begins. The Puritans also believed that if someone did something bad, then everyone will suffer. They also believed about Satan too. And that Satan can do things too. That's what they thought that witchcraft was. Witchcraft in their words was Satan. That Satan was trying to come and do bad things to everyone. But, witchcraft was also different. When the Salem Witch Trials happened in 1692, it started out as a small problem, but soon developed into a massive dilemma. Almost everyone was getting accused of being a witch, or you had to be very careful about what you said or did. And if you were accused, then you had a trial, which determined if you were guilty of not. Well, your accusers wanted you to be guilty. They would do everything they can to make you guilty. That's so wrong, right? In their eyes, it was right. Beside believing that God was watching over them 24/7, they also believed that a witch shouldn't be able to live. That's just how their culture was and that was how their society worked. I personally believe that the Salem Witch Trials caused chaos, but also gave the Puritan community a little action and scare because their lives would have been boring. The Salem Witch Trials also changed how the world looked at witchcraft because it continued a little bit after the big Salem hunt. That's just what I believe.
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