THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS AND THE EARLY YEARS OF JAMESTOWN

THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS AND THE EARLY YEARS OF JAMESTOWN

The Salem Witch Trials

The Salem witch trials which occurred in colonial Massachusetts between the year of 1692 and 1692 are the most touching topics encountered because they reveal what the ancient society religion looked like. The Salem trials are attractive because of their association with paranoia and injustice, and it is worth noting that they have continued to beguile the popular imagination 300 years later. More importantly, the records from Salem witch-hunt reveal more fascinating features. They provide information on the practices and formalities of law court procedures that transpired in our society during the late 1690s. Their revelation of the behaviors and attitudes of various parties, including defendants, accusers, and examiners in the courtroom situation of our ancient society, makes the topic of great interest too, especially when an understanding of where our current courtrooms drew their practices from.

The features portrayed in the Salem witch trials are of great significance in American history in many ways. The importance of the Salem witch trials, especially as depicted in the works of Rissanen (2012) and Kahlas-Tarkka (2012), can be seen chiefly in the fact that they serve as an object lesson in power. Although historians have thoroughly discredited the trials as state murder, the critical issue of importance in the Salem witch trials in American history is their revelation of the appropriate position of religion and government in civil society. Besides, the power ratios between and among individuals and between individuals and the social structure they inhabit demonstrated by Rissanen (2012) and Kahlas-Tarkka (2012) marks also a significant part in American history. Generally, the subjects constitute formative events in the development of American civil society, which is of importance in American history.

Lessons learned depict that malevolence and incompetence in examinations during trial can project into adverse outcomes. The lessons can be applied in the modern world in the understanding of the huge factors implicated in society’s fears. They illuminate that people should be cautious when they elicit testimonies, and that is very important for our law keepers today.

The Earlier Years of Jamestown

The story about The Early Years of Jamestown can prove to be interesting to any reader. John Smith appears as a dashing romantic hero, smitten by an Indian princess. The relationship between Smith and Pocahontas and more widely between the Jamestown colonists and Pocahontas’s people was one of betrayal and dashed hopes. Pocahontas seemed to consent with English colonization, to enthusiastically adopt Christianity and civility. There was a possibility in the early relations between Indians and colonists to set up something common from Pocahontas’s life and her experience with Smith and the English. The expectations were very much dashed in the mind of Pocahontas for the Powhatans and Indian people across the continent over three centuries of colonization by European powers in the United States.

The subjects are significant in American history in many ways. The Pocahontas story has been passed to Americans from one generation to another to make them feel better about the evils brought about by colonization. Besides, they portray that If Jamestown had failed four centuries ago and it came a whisker of being abandoned on any occasion, then North America would probably not exist. Also, the emergence of British America and finally, the creation of the United States may have never happened. Moreover, the subjects are significant as they talk about one of the few American places that symbolize both the bad and good of our shared past. Jamestown matters in American history since it signifies coming to terms with our past, a past at times conflicted and excruciating, but which ultimately set the foundations of our modern America.

Several lessons are learned from the topic, and they can be used in the modern world to teach the people about the need for perseverance for the wellbeing of the coming generations. Also, the heroes of Jamestown, such as Smith, can be painted as role models to inspire the youth’s character and scripts of American identity and Nationalism.

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