From his perspective, the girls were "under an evil hand" (Godbeer 2). Thus the summons of local physician William Griggs of the village of Salem in January 1692, to begin what became known as The Salem Witch Hunt and Trials. In the late 17th century, the small village of Salem, Massachusetts, was predominantly Puritan and governed by Puritan laws. The Puritans were educated, middle-class people who were able to pay for themselves and their families to travel across the Atlantic. The Puritans were primarily artisans and middle-level farmers practicing trade, and in the wake of the reform of the Church of England, they left for the colonies to better dedicate themselves to God because they saw the Church of England as a corrupt institution where salvation could be bought and sold, and with no success in further reforming the Church, they left for the colonies. The English Puritans believed in an omnipotent God who, at the moment of Creation, determined which humans would be saved and which would be damned (Goldfield 45). Puritans in the colonies had established communal and familial hierarchical orders to govern themselves. At the top of the power structure was the village pastor who dealt with all the community's grievances and disputes, whether spiritual or worldly in nature. In the family structure, power rested with the father or the elder male of the family. David Goldfield argued that women in Puritan New England were held in high regard and given great responsibilities although they were assumed to be legally and economically dependent on the men of the families. The economic contribution of women was in fact fundamental to the success of the family. In addition to taking care of children, cooking, sewing, gardening and cleaning, most women engaged in household chores... the center of the paper... events of daily life have transformed into something more. From the belief that women were more susceptible to evil intimidation and having a weaker constitution since Eve was tempted by the Devil, to having a non-existent justice system to resolve disputes between neighbors or simply the fact that there were people who saw a 'opportunity to gain personal wealth, the witch hunts and Salem trials were much more than just a religious cleansing of the community by pious people. They were a microcosm of what might happen when people don't understand the relationships between themselves, their neighbors, and the natural causes and effects of the world around them. Works Cited Godbeer, Richard. The Salem Witch Hunt A Brief History with Documents. Boston, NY: Bedford/St. Martins 2011Goldfield, David. The American Journey A History of the United States. New Jersey: Pearson 2011