Practice Quiz

CLEP US History I

Category - Society

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Widowed women were most likely to be targeted in witchcraft trials because:
  1. The fact that their husband died made them suspicious.
  2. They generally kept a lot of cats.
  3. Getting married was thought to scare the devil away.
  4. They were thought to be particularly weak and vulnerable to the devil.
  5. They often had no one to speak on their behalf.
Explanation
Answer: E - Widows were disproportionately represented among those put on trial for witchcraft because they often had no one to speak on their behalf. This left them vulnerable, often without a legal voice since they could not testify in court unless given permission to do so. They would often take over their husband's business or farm, which put them outside the narrowly defined roles for women, making them suspect as well.
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