Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a series of prosecutions of people who were accused of acts of witchcraft or of being a witch in Salem, Massachusetts through the time period of February 1692 through May 1693. This was a dark time in history as more than 200 prosecutions took place and at least 20 people were killed during this time of fear and hysteria. The accusations began as three girls Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne were accused of witchcraft from other young girls in the community. During this time period, fear of the Devil was common as people in Salem were very devoted to their religion and religious practices. As one of the accused girls, Tituba, confessed to working for the Devil and admitting to being a witch, this caused panic and hysteria as a massive witch hunt took place to find more of these witches. This confession was the main reason behind months and months of fear and mass panic as it triggered more accusations.

The Salem witch trials were a result of mass hysteria. It was caused by false accusations. On May 1693, fourteen women, five men, and two dogs were executed for supposed supernatural crimes. The Salem trials have a unique place in our collective history today. (" Saxon, V,Procedure Used in...").

In 1692, in the small village of Salem, Massachusetts, 20 people were hanged for offenses they did not commit. But what was the charge against the 20? The answer would be witchcraft. The charges deeply affected the small community. Neighbor turned on neighbor. Every act that a person made would be carefully scrutinized, dissected, and repeated to others. This would lead to the question. What caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692? The 3 main factors that would cause widespread panic in the town of Salem were gender, marital status, and age, actors and attention seekers, and neighbor conflicts within the village of Salem.

== = 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 were a time of paranoia and mass hysteria. In this small town of Massachusetts hundreds were accused of witchcraft and 19 people were executed. Salem was home to very devout Puritans. The worries arrived when young girls would become sick with no explanation or cure. The doctors not knowing what the cause of the illness was, quickly pronounce the girls bewitched. It spread terror through the town. The girls, as well as other residents, started accusing others of witchery. Many accusations were because of vengeance or self-interest. There were rivalries between families over land or wealth. Neighbors started accusing each other in order to gain their land. The religious community had an intensified sense of fear that the Devil was walking among them. They believed witches were out to destroy the Puritans. In order to purify the village of evil they had trials for the accused.

In the Salem Witch Trails 20 people were hung because the people in town (mainly woman) would accuse others of being a witch. More than 20 people were accused, it all ended when the mayors wife was accused of being a witch. So what caused the hysteria surrounding the Salem Witch Trials? The Salem Witch Trials In the Salem Witch Trails 20 people were hung because the people in town (mainly woman) would accuse others of being a witch. More than 20 people were accused, it all ended when the mayors wife was accused of being a witch. So what caused the hysteria surrounding the Salem Witch Trials? The Salem Witch Trial hysteria of 1692 was caused by the fear of being accused and hung for a witch the beleife people could be a witch, the belief people could be a witch, and the parranoia of being a witch.

20 people were hanged for being accused for being a witch, in the period of three months. The people involved were the men and women in Salem ,but the women played a big role in the salem witch trial. Women were being accused of being a witch mainly women and the people accusing these women were mostly young girls. Over 20 people were hanged for being accused of being a witch but also for defending them. My opinion for what caused the Salem Witch Trial hysteria was that Jealous poor women accused rich old women of being witches to get their husbands.

The creaks of the swaying rope were loud in the deafening silence. The victim’s life was hanging on a thread—just like the noose around her neck . . . . In Salem Village, the year 1692, twenty men and women were accused of witchcraft and was executed accordingly. Many historians are still bewildered at what exactly caused the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. There were a few possible origins of the hysteria; however, jealous, young, single women; sexism against women; and lying little girls stand out as the main sources.

The Salem Witch Trial hysteria of 1692 caused 20 people to be hung or pressed to death and 4 perished in jail. In addition, 200 people in Salem were accused of being witches. On June 10 of 1692, Bridget Bishop was charged with practicing witchcraft and she was also accused of bewitching her husband to death. The result of her not confessing was that she was hung to her death. All of this frenzy started in the house of Samuel Parris. His daughters were consumed by the bizarre tales told by their Indian slave, Tituba. Over the next several months, the girls array strange behavior. After arriving at court, the young girls accused two white women and Tituba of practicing witchcraft. After this strange incident, the people of Salem started to

The primary cause to the Salem Witch Trial hysteria was the depth of belief. There were twenty-four people accused who died, nineteen of which were hanged, as said in “Document B”. The people of Salem believed that evil spirits were surrounding them and that Satan is said to have ‘employed’ the witches, read in “Document C”. Their beliefs even got them to examine the accused, shown in “Document D”. Depth of belief helped cause the hysteria in Salem because people completely believed their neighbors were witches. This caused everyone to accuse everyone.

It began in 1692, over an exceptionally raw Massachusetts winter, when a minister 's daughter began to scream and convulse, while other girls manifested the same symptoms. Their doctor suggested one cause, witchcraft. That grim diagnosis launched a Puritan inquisition that took 24 lives, filled prisons with innocent people, and frayed the soul of a Massachusetts community called Salem. It ended less than a year later, but not before the hanging of 20 men and women, including an elderly man who was crushed to death. The hysteria spread quickly, involving the most educated men and prominent politicians in Salem. Aside from suffrage, the Salem witch trials represent the only moment when women played a central role in American history. There are many theories as to what caused the mass hysteria of the Salem witch trials and the bewitchment of several young girls including the lack of freedom and want of attention from young girls, the role of religion and Satan in Salem, lack of verifiable evidence, economic and social divisions within the community, and the possibility of ergotism.

Between 1692 and 1693, in Salem, Massachusetts, 200 women were put under indictment, and 20 were executed because they were accused of witchcraft. Although all the cases against these women were false, this significant event displays paranoia and injustice. Many theories have been hypothesized on the reason why the trails happened. Social, political, religious, and economic factors played into the causation of this horrific madness. The hysteria, known as the Salem Witch Trials, were caused by the insanity amongst the people of the Salem, the hypocritical Puritan code, false accusations, and the misconception that there was a correlation between a lack of resources and evil spirits.

In 1692, 20 people were executed for being witches or warlocks during the Salem Witch Trials. There was rumors from neighboring towns of witchcraft as there was in Salem. The main contributing factors for those 20 people being killed was the religion, superstitions, rivals, boredom, economics, rumors, and how women were seen in that time period. These people were Puritans, a form of Christianity. Part of their superstitions was the ability for someone to be possessed by the devil or in cahoots with the devil or practicing witchcraft. The women in this time had a status almost as low as slaves. Rivals between Salem Village and the Town of Salem were big as the village tried to break off and the town would not let them. When little girls are bored they make up games, this may have been just one big sick game. The rumors would spread around from the other towns and fuel the accusations as proof that there was witchcraft.

The Salem Witch Trials began in Massachusetts in 1692. These horrific witch trials were nothing short of a huge mess. The witch trials in Salem were caused by a combination of false accusations, lies, political competition, arrogance, and misdiagnosed health diseases. This combination lead to widespread hysteria and chaos in Salem.

I think the leading factors in the Salem witchcraft hysteria were politics, religion, superstition, and acting. All the accusations made during the trials and examinations were based off of “spectral evidence” and what twelve year olds were saying. However, during the time period all the children were seen as good Christian children. Perhaps more common sense could have been used, but since the town was run based off of religion the priest’s word was like the law. But one key fact was that a number of people were opposed to the minister. The only reason that he was there was because more people that could vote wanted him there.