StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Hysteria of Salem witch trial in comparison to the 1980s day care case hysteria, - Term Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Hysteria of Salem Witch Trial in comparison to the 1980s Day Care Case Hysteria The Salem witch trials comprised of a chain of trials and prosecutions of individuals suspected and accused of practicing witchcraft in the late 17th century in the colonial days of Massachusetts…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.8% of users find it useful
Hysteria of Salem witch trial in comparison to the 1980s day care case hysteria,
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Hysteria of Salem witch trial in comparison to the 1980s day care case hysteria,"

Download file to see previous pages

Peasants used witchcraft to invoke charms for agriculture and farming, which gradually transformed from white magic into dark magic with a growing association with evil spirits and demons. With an increasing association of superstitions with the devil, incidents of witchcraft persecutions also increased rapidly, causing panic that led to aggressive witch hunts (Adams 69). On the other hand, the daycare sex abuse hysteria of the 1980s was in the form of panic that featured claims of child abuse, specifically sexual abuse, and satanic ritual abuse against providers of daycare (Malloy, Lyon & Quas 164).

As more mothers ventured into employment and had to be away from home, a large number of daycare centers opened up to care for their children. However, an outstanding case in California’s Kern County started a wave of panic, lasting for nearly a decade. Characterized by incredible accusations of children being sexually molested, the panic spread out of the United States to New Zealand, Canada and some countries in Europe (Malloy, Lyon & Quas 164). The most prominent cases in the United States were Kern County child abuse cases; McMartin preschool trial; Fells Acre Day Care Center; Wee Care Nursery School; Cleveland child abuse scandal; and Little Rascals Day Care Center (Malloy, Lyon & Quas 165). . The two sets of trials originated from the behaviors of children and the statements they issued.

Driven by hysteria, parents and doctors interpreted the statements and behaviors in extremely portentous and threatening ways, rather than innocent and rational interpretations. It is the panic that led the people to believe the remotely conceivable accusations placed by children, ignoring all the inconsistencies as narrated by either scared, confused or preconditioned children. In both sets, literature analyses show that the prosecutors were asking leading questions. Repetitive questioning led to multiplication of the accusations and with the heightened spread of the hysteria, there were new targets of the accusations.

Most of them were those that defended the accused or showed cynicism about the charges. The hysteria and bias against the accused in both sets of trials led the prosecutors and investigators to find meaning in very unlikely places. For example, in the Salem trials, the investigators concluded that a mole on an accused person’s body was an entry or sucking point for evil spirits and demons. On the other hand, it was concluded that drawing hands by children on stick figures was evidence of them having been molested in the daycare cases.

Another unlikely conclusion in the daycare cases drawn was that the hatred of tuna fish by a child was caused by exposure to vaginal odor (Malloy, Lyon & Quas 162). The insistence and use of leading questions by the investigators rendered the investigations themselves as the roots of multiple problems. Effectively, the accused were faced with the burden of proving their own innocence in both sets of trials. For example, in the Salem trials, the

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Hysteria of Salem witch trial in comparison to the 1980s day care case Term Paper”, n.d.)
Hysteria of Salem witch trial in comparison to the 1980s day care case Term Paper. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/law/1493955-hysteria-of-salem-witch-trial-in-comparison-to-the
(Hysteria of Salem Witch Trial in Comparison to the 1980s Day Care Case Term Paper)
Hysteria of Salem Witch Trial in Comparison to the 1980s Day Care Case Term Paper. https://studentshare.org/law/1493955-hysteria-of-salem-witch-trial-in-comparison-to-the.
“Hysteria of Salem Witch Trial in Comparison to the 1980s Day Care Case Term Paper”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/law/1493955-hysteria-of-salem-witch-trial-in-comparison-to-the.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Hysteria of Salem witch trial in comparison to the 1980s day care case hysteria,

OJ Simpson Trail Case Analysis

Simpson case, the burden of proof comprised: (a) the 9-1-1 call that had been made and a history of Simpson's violence against Nicole Brown; (b) the hair evidence which was consistent with Simpson's hair which was found on cap at Bundy residence and on Ronald Lyle Goldman's shirt; (c) fiber evidence in the form of cotton fiber which matched the carpet found on a glove at Rockingham and also matched the carpet from Bronco at the Bundy residence; and (d) blood sample, among others....
5 Pages (1250 words) Case Study

Dividend Policy Theories

The author of the following case study "Dividend Policy Theories" initially underlines that it was hydrocarbons under the North Sea and under the permafrost of Alaska that were to play the key role in transforming BP into the company it is today.... In 1990, it also took responsibility for BP's household cleaning and personal care products -- successors of the old detergents business.... At its peak, the Forties produced half a million barrels a day, equivalent to one-quarter of the UK's daily oil requirement....
7 Pages (1750 words) Case Study

Murder Trial and Murder Case

This essay describes the issues pertaining to the case were that an infant daughter (Lillian Rose) and her mother (Rachel Entwistle) were found dead, the reason for the death had been that of being shot by the same bullet.... hellip; The author stresses that the murder case of Entwistle deals with an English man Neil Entwistle who was firstly established to be a possible suspect and was finally convicted of murdering his infant child and wife, Lillian and Rachel respectively....
7 Pages (1750 words) Case Study

Business Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility

In August 2008, the Canadian food manufacturer Maple Leaf came under close scrutiny after the products the company produced were found to… 22 people died while multiple others suffered serious illnesses.... The company immediately suffered a 50 percent decline in sales.... This report conducts an ethical analysis of the actions of Maple Leaf prior to and after the Listeria crisis. Moral standards are One moral standard is core ethical values....
5 Pages (1250 words) Case Study

The Traditional Organization Structure of Philips NV

This is partly evident from the fact that according to results of a survey conducted in the second half of the 1980s, which was about 100 years since the birth of Philips NV, the enterprise had spread so much that its subsidiaries were noticed to be functional in 60 countries worldwide which had offered job opportunities to nearly 300,000 employees from all over the world.... billion on a profit of $ 28 billion and declining revenues because of some hardships encountered in the 1980s....
7 Pages (1750 words) Case Study

Cottle Taylor SWOT

Secondly, they are not in a reach of oral health care products as the disposable incomes of people living in rural areas have $2 per day, in comparison of urban population who are wealthy and they have great purchasing power.... million. How can Cottle Taylor gain up to 30% per unit sales in toothbrush… What plan should they develop to allocate the advertising budget and marketing strategy for oral care to gain the attention of potential market? In the case, the company is looking to expand in the Indian market but some strategic issues are coming in its way....
6 Pages (1500 words) Case Study

Valuation of the Concord and Associates Company

As the least contributing sales representative, it is necessary to determine what might be driving this poor performance and identify strategies that might better… It is likely that Jose suffers from problems with extrinsic motivation, or maintaining a reliance on social recognition and rewards to be motivated as a salesperson....
12 Pages (3000 words) Case Study

Patients Perceptions of Interventional Clinical Trials

This paper  tells that explores patients' views and opinions following being approached for participation into a qualitative research study after previous recruitment into interventional clinical research trials when they were critically ill in Intensive care Unit.... For the anticipated research, the researcher will seek information from patients who were critically ill, were admitted to intensive care and were approached and recruited to Interventional Clinical research trial....
12 Pages (3000 words) Case Study
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us