The sentencing of Bridget Bishop, the first victim of the witch trials, was typical of the Salem justice. Bishop was accused of not living “a Puritan lifestyle” because she wore black clothing. Her coat had been found to be oddly “cut or torn in two ways”, and her behavior was regarded as “immoral.” Thus convicted of witchcraft, she was tried on June 10, 1692, and executed by hanging the same day.
Immediately following this execution, the court adjourned for 20 days and asked for advice from New England’s most influential ministers “upon the state of things as they then stood.” A mere five days later, they produced a voluble answer penned by Cotton Mather, the prolific pamphleteer of the period, assuring the court and the grand jury that they had done well.
The prominent ministers “humbly recommend[ed]” more of the same: that is, “the speedy and vigorous prosecution of such as have rendered themselves obnoxious, according to the direction given in the laws of God, and the wholesome statutes of the English nation...”
More people were accused, arrested and examined, but historians believe that by September 1692 the hysteria had begun to abate and public opinion turned against the trials. In 1693, some of the convicted suspects were pardoned by the governor. The Massachusetts General Court annulled the guilty verdicts and even granted indemnities to their victims’ families.
When were people most likely to be accused of witchcraft in Salem?
A. when something new happened in Salem
B. when they appeared to be different from the norm
C. when they expressed dissatisfaction with life in Salem
D. when they committed a serious crime other than witchcraft
choose the correct answer
1 answer
The correct answer is B. when they appeared to be different from the norm.
The case of Bridget Bishop exemplifies this, as she was accused primarily for not conforming to the Puritan lifestyle and for wearing black clothing, which set her apart from the community's expectations.
