'History Extension Proposal – Salem Witch Trials\r'

' translation of Preliminary explore The capital of Oregon witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693, and involved over two hundred people creation accused of practicing witchcraft. After the execution of cardinal people, the colony admitted the trials were a mistake and correct the families of those convicted. Following the events, the story of the trials has contract synonymous with paranoia and injustice, and continues to beguile the common imagination.Initially, I leaded my enquiry at allowing myself to attain a guts of the atmosphere that pervaded capital of Oregon, Massachusetts in 1962, as I was unsure about the concentrate on of my project. After reading tactical maneuverwright Arthur milling machine’s The Crucible, my interest in the social, heathen and religious context of the time was enhanced. The play encapsulated the hysteria of the townsfolk and provided a planetary arc of the events, adding to my fascination ring the Sa lem witch trials and why they occurred. To enhance my knowledge, I proceeded to wonder the general and historiographical knowledge surrounding the event.I looked at various websites, primarily Wikipedia, the online word Salem bewitchcraft: The Events and Causes of the Salem Witch Trials written by Tim Sutter and A picture History of the Salem Witch Trials, an clause written by Jess Blumberg. I extracted information from books including Witchcraft: A Secret History, written by Michael Steeter and ___________. From my research I collected that the most important historiographical ply was non in fact the context, but the take a crap of the event, and I confuse extracted as many a(prenominal) theories from my readings as I could collect.The evidence we attain from the time before, during and after the period of the trials is ebulliently open to interpretation, as is the evidence that isn’t there, this world the spectral evidence and misdiagnosis of the afflictions of the alleged witches. Linda Caporeal’s hypothesis Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem? investigates a possible mental condition afflicted on the women as the cause of the girl’s complaint and misconduct. The recent article Were the American Colonists drugged During the Salem Witchcraft Trial? ritten in 2008 by Josh Clarke demonstrates the continual line of reasoning over the cause of the trials amongst various historians. Description of Historiographical Focus The Research Intentions My project willing focus primarily on the diachronic debate over the cause of the Salem witch trials, as from my research it has become clear that in order to see with this topic, I must focus on the contrasting perspectives of historians and others, and why they hold certain(prenominal) 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 tak en by historians and others to investigate why the trials occurred? -How do different approaches to accounting reflect both the context of the historian and their ideology? I am sensitive there is no ‘right’ resultant role in relation to cause, but I will investigate the answers to these questions and will flak to better understand why a historical event is continually revised, reviewed, debated and theorised by historians.I intend to select, dissect and analyse tierce opposing theories surrounding the cause of the trials. At this stage in my research I am interested in exploring the dictatorial religious beliefs and customs of the Puritan religion, as well as the Linda Caporeal’s guess on convulsive ergotism. I aim to select a third theory that will best demonstrate contrasted approaches to the ordeal following further investigating into the topic. Preliminary Essay Question Ideas\r\n'