Moopuna
Site Search:    

Term Papers Categories

Acceptance Essays
Alcohol & Drugs
American History
Anatomy & Physiology
Animal Science
Anthropology
Architecture
Arts
Astronomy
Aviation
Biographies
Biology
Book Reports
Business
Chemistry
Computers & Internet
Creative Writing
Current Events
Economics
Education
Engineering
English
Environmental Issues
Ethics
European History
Film & Cinema
Foreign Languages
Geography
Government
Health & Beauty
Health Care
History
Human Sexuality
Legal Issues
Marketing
Mathematics
Medicine
Movies
Music
Mythology
Philosophy
Physics
Poetry
Political Issues
Political Science
Psychology
Religion
Science
Shakespeare
Social Issues
Sociology
Speech & Communications
Sports & Games
Supernatural Issues
Technology
Theater
World History
Zoology




Witches

Statistics

  Counts

  Total Pages: 6.92
  Total Words: 1729
  Total Characters: 9025
  Number of Sentences: 115


  Averages

  Words per Sentences: 15.03
  Characters per Words: 5.22


  Readability

  Flesch Reading Ease: 61.76
  Fog Scale Level: 11.61
  Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 8.38  

Witches


        American history has few subjects as interesting as witchcraft, because
it confronts us with many Ideas about women. It confronts us with fears about
women, the place of women in society, and with women themselves. Also, it
confronts us with violence against women and how the problems of society were
often blamed on women. Even though some men were executed as during periods of
witch hunting, witches were generally thought of as women and most who died in
the name of witchcraft were women. In the United States, witchcraft took place
among too educated of people to dismiss it as mere "superstition." (P.10)

        The first person  that was executed, as a witch, in America was Margaret
Jones, in 1648. Jones was a midwife and lay healer, who was accused of several
different practices. Minister John Hale, who witnessed Jones's hanging in Boston
when he was a boy, later said that she "was suspected partly because that after
some angry words passing between her and her Neighbors, some mischief befell
such neighbors in their Creatures, or the like: [and] partly because some things
supposed to be bewitched, or have a Charm upon them, being burned, she came to
the fire and seemed concerned." (P.20) Hale included neither of these charges in
his list of the evidence presented against Jones, but suggested that the crimes
had to do with her medical practice.  She was accused of having a "malignant
touch," Hale noted, and her medicines were said to have "extraordinary violent
effects." When people refused to take her medical advice, he added, "their
diseases and hurts continued, with relapse against the ordinary course, and
beyond the apprehension of all physicians and surgeons."(P.21) Hale also
mentioned that Jones was believed to possess psychic powers: "some things which
she foretold came to pass accordingly; other things she could tell of ... she
had no ordinary means to come to the knowledge of."(P.20)  John Hale pointed out
t...

Please login to view comments from other users.



If you are having problems registering, please don't hesitate to contact us.

© Copyright 1999-2009 Moopuna.com. All Rights Reserved.