The culture of the USA was formed under the influence of numerous factors. The first colonists who arrived at these lands brought European beliefs and visions with them. However, along with the evolution of local communities, they started to acquire unique ideas and representations. Thus, the Salem Witch Trials can be viewed as the result of strong puritan norms’ influence on local farmers’ communities. However, the further change in the attitude to the processes and their reconsideration indicated the strong impact of Enlightenment ideas and their spread over the region. It preconditioned the cultural and intellectual shift in the mentality of people living there.
Analyzing Salem Witch Trials can be viewed as the embodiment of cultural values and representations dominant at that period of time. The area was inhabited by puritans with strict beliefs and restrictions. Their lives were regulated by a set of norms and standards that should be followed (Schoeneman, 1975). Moreover, the community had to fight for survival with neighbors and aboriginal people. For this reason, the Witch Trials can be viewed as an attempt to unite the society by using traditional values and struggling with others (Schoeneman, 1975). It also represented the mentality of people at that period, who were ready to preserve their isolation and adhere to old values.
At the same time, the change in the attitude to the process of witch hunt and trials represent a significant cultural and intellectual shift. Salem Trials resulted in the execution of numerous citizens accused of witchcraft using the words of little girls as the major evidence (Singh, 2021). It demonstrated the medieval way of thinking with no need for real evidence. However, the evolution of humanistic values and Enlightenment ideas cultivated shifts in people’s mentalities (Singh, 2021). As a result, Salem citizens understood the risky nature of their beliefs and trials with no credible evidence. As a result, the trials were stopped and blamed by the majority. It indicated the critical shift in the thinking and intellectual life of citizens.
The Enlightenment age and its ideas can be viewed as one of the major catalysts of the changes mentioned above. The medieval representations emphasizing the critical importance of faith and its dominance over human beings were replaced with new ones, devoting more attention to individuals and their needs (Schoeneman, 1975). For this reason, scientific reasoning and science acquired a new stimulus for their evolution and rise. It created the basis for the cultural and intellectual shift mentioned above. People recognized the importance of human life, its value, and the impossibility of using specific beliefs to justify verdicts (Singh, 2021). It became an important event in the history of the state and its culture.
Altogether, the Salem Witch Trials and the following change in citizens’ perspectives on them demonstrated the shift in people’s culture and thinking. The old ideas of puritanism, strict norms and rules of the past, and the dominance of religious doctrines, created the basis for such events. However, under the impact of society’s evolution and gradual penetration of the Enlightenment Ideas, people reconsidered their attitudes and views. This shift became critical for the further survival of communities and their ability to build a new world. People understood the importance of human life, its value, and the necessity to protect it. At the same time, the values of the Enlightenment age influenced the establishment of a more open and democratic society.
References
Singh, S. (2021). Comparing Puritan beliefs with the Enlightenment perspectives on the Salem Witch Trials. OWLcation. Web.
Schoeneman, T. (1975). The Witch Hunt as a culture change phenomenon. Ethos, 3(4), 529–554. Web.