The Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem Village, Massachusetts in the time of the colonies. During and after the Salem Witch Trials took place, there was confusion and anxiety not only in Massachusetts, but in the surrounding colonies. Throughout the trials, many were falsely accused and imprisoned, fined, hanged, and even crushed to death. In the next few pages, I will talk about the cause, effect, and importance of the Salem Witch Trials. The beginning of the trials started in January 1692, when Reverend Samuel Parris’ daughter, Elizabeth Parris, and niece, Abigail Williams, became sick. They did not expect that anything was unusual about their sickness, but when they continued to get worse they asked William Griggs, the village doctor, to give his opinion. The two girls would do strange things like hideout in holes, sit under chairs and benches, twist themselves into uncomfortable positions, and speak in their own language. After seeing their behavior, Doctor Griggs said that they had been bewitched; this was the start of the Salem Witch Trials. This news was terrifying, so Samuel called in other ministers to fast and pray with him. Most of the people in Massachusetts had found out what had happened, and now they were wondering who bewitched them. They asked the girls many times who had cursed them and after some effort, they revealed that that Tituba, their Caribbean house servant, had done it. They also said that Sarah Good, a beggar, and Sarah Osborn, an elderly
In 1629 Salem was settled. In 1641 Salem makes a law saying witchcraft is a capital crime. The year of 1692 was a major event for Salem, Massachusetts. There are still many questions as to why men and women were killed during these trials. The Salem witch trials started the spring of 1692, in the village of Salem, Massachusetts (History.com Staff. "Salem Witch Trials). It was a series of hangings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft. Many participating Christians and other religions, believed that the devil could give people certain powers to harm others in return for their loyalty (Blumberg, J, A brief his…). The trials consisted of a complaint made to the magistrate about a suspected witch. The magistrate then makes an arrest warrant for the accused person. The accused person is taken in and examined by two or more magistrate, and then the accused person states their testimony and awaits trial.("Procedure Used in the Salem
Did you know that the Salem witch trials resulted in the execution of only twenty people? Most people believe that hundreds of people were executed during the Salem witch trials, which is often a very common thought but in actuality only twenty people (mostly women) were executed. The Salem witch trials was a huge part of American history, they are important to remember because they are probably a crucial turning point for America, because before the trials religion and superstition were very important and after the trials happened rational thinking became more and more important. The Salem witch trials had such an impact on American people that they are still remembered and talked of in today’s society. These trials are still today widely thought of as being important, because they showed an excellent example of how people hate or fear what they do not understand, which is still a behavior that is seen in present society. The Salem Witch Trials had many causes which all could have been prevented if the Puritan government would have taken the time to investigate the accusations of the alleged crimes being committed. The Salem witch trials provide many interesting aspects to discuss such as, the historical information on the Salem witch trials, how the Puritan government could have prevented this by not accepting spectral evidence, and why the puritan government was so willing to accept the accusations being made.
Confused on what was going on, the village turned to the doctors in which said that it was a form of witchcraft. The Reverend asked the girls who was behind all of this, thinking that the girls couldn't do this on their own. Three names came up in the conversation with the girls. On February 29, 1692, three arrests were made. One was Sarah Good who denied the accusations and blamed it on the other woman, Sarah Osbourne, who also denied the whole thing. During the trial of the three women, the other one accused, a slave of Reverend Parris named Tituba, had admitted to being a witch. She claimed that four women and a man had claimed that if she did not hurt the children then they would hurt her. The hunt went on to find more witches that were responsible in which led them to a respected church member Reverend George Burroughs, a former minister in Maine. The villagers went to Maine and brought him back to Salem to be tried for witchcraft.
Between the months of June to September of 1692, the infamous witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts resulted in the hanging of 19 men and women; the deaths of five others, including two children, while imprisoned in jail; the pressing to death of an 80-year old man, and the stoning of two dogs for collaborating with the Devil. Hundreds of others faced accusations and dozens more were jailed for months during the progress of the trials. For over three hundred years these events have not only captured the general publics' imagination, but that of the academic community. Beginning with Charles Upham, in 1867, historians have attempted to explain the mass hysteria that swept through Salem in 1692. These accounts vary both in their
== = The Salem Witchcraft trials started in 1692 resulting in 19 executions and 150 accusations of witchcraft. This was the biggest outbreak of witchcraft hysteria in colonial New England. The trials began because three young girls, Betty Parris, Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam began having hysterical fits, convulsions and terrifying visions after being caught engaging in forbidden fortune telling[1].
The Salem Witch Trials occurred in seventeenth century Massachusetts. The small Puritan town of Salem was first burdened with the accusations of witchcraft in January of 1692, according to the article “Salem Witch Trials” on “History.com.” The article also states that two local girls, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, began having violent fits accompanied with bloodcurdling screams (“Salem Witch Trials). When the girls never healed, the town doctor, William Griggs, was called to the girls’ homes says the article “The 1962 Salem Witch Trials.”
The Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. As a wave of hysteria spread throughout colonial Massachusetts, a special court convened in Salem to hear the cases; the first convicted witch, Bridget Bishop, was hanged that June. By September 1692, the hysteria had begun to spread and public opinion turned against the trials. Though the Massachusetts General Court later annulled guilty verdicts against accused witches and granted indemnities to their families, bitterness lingered in the community, and the painful legacy of the Salem witch trials would endure for centuries.
For example, the Salem witch hunt trials began in 1692 in the springtime, when young girls in Salem village, Massachusetts claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several other people of witchcraft. Then it just spread throughout Massachusetts. So then the court convened in Salem to hear the case and whoever was convicted was hanged. Then ever more people, some of them children, were accused of witchcraft. The Massachusetts General Court later annulled guilty charges against accused witches and granted indemnities to their families and community. The painful legacy of Salem Witch Trials would endure for centuries.
The Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem Village, which was a part of the Massachusetts Bay colony in the 17th century. Salem Village was a Puritan village, Puritan supposedly being the purest form of Christianity. However, the witch hunt soon spread to surrounding towns.
The first thing that made Salem Witch Trials what they are today is when Abigail Williams and the other girls gathered in the woods. Then the kids were seen dancing and chanting to Tituba performing voodoo over the fire in attempts to kill Elizabeth Proctor. Proctor was the wife of Williams’ boss, John Proctor, with whom she had been having an affair. Tituba was asked to cast this charm by Abigail. The next day, Reverend Parris’ daughter, Elizabeth, and niece, Abigail
In the year (1692) witch trials held the Salem area hostage people were terrified. People of
The witch trials began when nine girls, known as the afflicted girls, experienced strange symptoms. In the beginning, there were only five afflicted girls: Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam Jr., Mary Walcott, and Mercy Lewis. Elizabeth Hubbard, Susannah Sheldon, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Booth later began experiencing the symptoms, which involved strange fits, irregular body contortions, and fevers. Although the symptoms seem phenomenal, modern theories suggest that the children were merely bored, abused, or had epilepsy, a mental illness, or a disease that was obtained from eating rye bread infected with a fungus. Reverend Samuel Parris, Betty Parris’ father, asked Dr. William Griggs to deduce the problem, and Dr. Griggs concluded that they were bewitched. The group of girls accused three women of causing their unnatural behaviors: Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, a slave owned by Samuel Parris. The women were easy targets for the girls because they were outcasts (Brooks). Sarah Good was a beggar, Sarah
Life in the New England colonies during the 1600’s proved to be harsh with the constant fear of Native American attacks, scarce food, freezing winters, and conflicting opinions about religion. From this perpetual state of distress, the Salem Witch Trials were birthed, causing a wave of hysteria in Salem Village and Salem Town. Though the exact day and month is uncertain, historians can claim that the trials emerged in early 1692 and came to a close in 1693. The Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 with more than one hundred fifty people being accused of practicing witchcraft, and the trials finally ended with the courts declaring there was no evidence in the cases being tried, and the Governor stopped the trials because his wife was accused.
The Salem Witch Trials was a series of events that killed innocent people and brought fear to the community. The infamous Salem witch trials began during the Spring of 1692, located in Salem Village, Massachusetts. The people of Salem wanted to purge against anything that was considered remotely unholy. A group of young girls claimed that they were possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. A special court was made due to this wave of hysteria that spreaded through colonial Massachusetts. The first convicted witch, Bridget Bishop, was hung in June of 1692. More than 150 men, women, and children were accused of being witches and eighteen others were trialed and executed. There were also two dogs that were trialed
The type of people involved in the trials was the surroundings of the Salem village, puritan religion, but mostly women. Their belief was sacred to both, god and devil. They believed that women were too weak to fight the devil and lose so they become the devil's servant, which is a witch. Puritans also believed in predestination which is having god already knowing it they go to heaven or hell. No matter what life they had, whether good or bad, they will be going to the place god assigns them.