Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials Hysteria Of 1692

In 1692, the subjects of Salem Massachusetts turned on each other, and blamed hundreds for their own neighbors with Witchcraft. Amid the era of June to September 1692, nineteen individuals were unjustifiably killed after ridiculous trials discovered them liable of demonstrations of Witchcraft. The explanations for the trials themselves are perplexing and multifaceted. Financial matters, religious imperatives, financial class issues, corrupted nourishment supply, property question, congregational quarrels and juvenile young ladies ailing in consideration all remain at the center of the Salem Witch

Between June 10 and September 22, 1692, 20 people were put to death in Salem Massachusetts for witchcraft. Neighbors turned on neighbors, women turned on women. Nobody was necessarily safe from being accused of witchcraft. During the time of the 1600s many English immigrants arrived in New England, a number of them being Puritans. They came to New England to practice Christianity in ways they felt were pure. To help guide the Puritans through life, they read the bible. Whatever the bible said, they believed and one subject was about the Devil. One of the tricks the Devil used, was to enter a normal person’s body and turn that person into a witch. A witch could cause terrible damage. Of course, the Puritans believed it, so every bad act they saw, they often accused the person of being a witch. What

From June through September of 1692, nineteen people, all having been declared guilty witchcraft, were hanged in Salem Village. Another man of more than eighty years was pressed to death under substantial stones for declining to submit to a trial on witchcraft charges. Many others confronted allegations of witchcraft. Handfuls grieved in prison for a considerable length of time without trials. At that point, very nearly when it had started, the agitation that cleared through Puritan Massachusetts finished.

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 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.

Many people were accused of being witches in 1692 and hung or pressed to death for their crime, many others were thrown in prison for life. When the Salem Witch Trials Hysteria of 1692 swept Salem Village and surrounding areas, it was not a happy time. Many of the people living in Salem at the time were Protestants seeking religious freedom. Protestants were very religious people and looked to the Bible for help as God’s words were all true. One of the subjects that the Bible addressed was the Devil and how he possessed people to make them witches. When two young girls asked a West Indian slave woman be the name of Tituba to show them their fortunes, they begun to get more curious about her abilities. Tituba showed them the “magic” she knew from her former tribe, but when the young girls started acting strangely, she was accused for being a witch along side two other local white women. Instead of pleading guilty, Tituba confessed that she was a witch and told the audience of her trial that there were 6 more witches amongst them. This lead to a hectic frenzy to find the remaining witches and it turned neighbors onto each other, husbands on wives and entire families were thrown into prison for their crime. The three main reasons for the Salem Witch Trials Hysteria of 1692 were a group of young girls looking for attention, neighbor conflicts and gender/status/age.

Puritans settled in the Massachusetts town of Salem in 1630, with their leader John Winthrop. Winthrop claimed that Salem would be “As a City Upon a Hill,” meaning that the Puritans coming to the New World would set a religious and civilized example among other colonies. However, this wasn’t the case. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of accusations and persecutions due to what was thought to be witchcraft among Salem townspeople. King Philip’s War played a role in the trials. It caused regional mass hysteria which lead to the accusing of witches in Salem. Samuel Parris was the local preacher of Salem and in 1691 he started preaching about the devil and focused more on hell instead of more positive things which also played a role in the crafting of the witch trials. Rich versus poor feuds, the desire to feel around and inspect women, and easily being able to have someone punished by accusing them of being a witch, fueled and motivated the Witch Trials of Salem in 1692.

Terror raged through Salem Village in 1692, causing the citizens to accuse each other of heinous crimes supposedly committed through witchcraft, which they punished by arrest, and at times, execution. Twenty-five people died and many more imprisoned as a result of the Salem witch trials, a series of court cases regarding the 131 people accused of witchery (Foulds 258). Trouble first started when two girls acted so strangely, the villagers had no doubts that witchcraft had caused it. Soon, they considered no one safe because anyone might be a witch, or a witch may be tormenting them. The afflicted girls’ mysterious behavior activated a hysterical fear of witches, causing the Salem witch trials.

No single factor sparked the hysteria of the witchcraft trials of 1692. Instead, Multiple factors such as, politics, religion, gender roles, and illness, combined to create a perfect environment for paranoia and panic. In 1692 New Englanders were deeply religious, and living in fear. Salem village was a, “Puritan Society based solely on religion” (Griffin 2010).

The historical record clearly shows that the Salem Witch Hysteria was caused by religion, lying, and jealousy.

The panic began in 1692, during a raw Massachusetts winter when a minister’s niece began to writhe and howl, exhibiting strange behavior that caused many to believe she was bewitched. Fear was rapidly gaining momentum in Salem Village, as neighbors accused neighbors, husbands accused wives, parents accused children, and children, parents. More than two hundred colonists were accused and called to trial. It ended less than a year later, but not before nineteen people were hanged on Gallows Hill and one was pressed to death under a pile of field stone— their alleged crime: witchcraft. In the wake of the trials, people began to wonder just how the volume of accusations and convictions got as big as it did. Although Puritan belief in witchcraft

Many lives were lost in Salem Village during the summer of 1692. Twenty people, primarily married women, were executed for alleged witchcraft. Many individuals, primarily historians, continue to ponder the causes of the Salem Witch Trial hysteria of 1692. Clearly, there were a few possible causes of the hysteria; however, envious, young women; lying girls; and sexism stand out as the main causes.

In 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, hysteria broke out throughout the town in an event that later became known as the Salem Witch Trials. They were the largest account of witch hangings ever in America, as 20 women and men were put to death for being accused of practicing witchcraft. Historians have been debating about how these trials were caused. The frenzy in Salem happened because at first, young girls were afraid of punishment and wanted to avoid it so they blamed older women and accused them of being witches. These accusations began to spiral out of control when the religion of the town supported the allegations, which causes paranoia and panic to spread throughout Salem, which blinded the townspeople from clues revealing that the

In 1692, Salem, Massachusetts had the first accusations of witchcraft. Trials were held and concluded in 1693, where many women and children were tried for witchcraft. Many other trials were held in different towns, the most famous being in Salem. It all began when a group of girls made false accusations toward older women, that they were interacting with the devil. “Wherefore The devil is now making one Attempt more upon us; an Attempt more Difficult, more Surprizing, more snarl’d with unintelligible Circumstances” Cotton Mather states that the devil is making one more attempt to take over innocent souls, and if they get through it, and enjoy the rest of their days. Relationships between neighbors, friends, and loved ones were all torn apart by these false accusations. The Salem Witch Trials shaped the American society in ways that no one imagined.

In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, a group of girls (Elizabeth Parris, Abigail Williams, and Ann Putnam), claimed to be possessed by Satan and accused other local women of witchcraft. They were under pressure by magistrates Jonathan Cornwin and John Hathorn to blame Tituba, the Parris’ Caribbean slave; Sarah Good, a homeless beggar; and Sarah Osbourne, an old poor woman; for afflicting them. It caused mass hysteria and confusion in the town, since they were all church-going people and strongly believed in the Devil. Many people were wrongly hanged and their reputations were ruined by lies. If one did not confess to witchcraft when they were accused, they would be hanged. This caused false confessions and unjust deaths which fueled the hysteria. One thing I think is interesting is that the three people the girls accused of afflicting them were all at a disadvantage; being either a slave, homeless, or old and poor. Those that were accused and survived the trials were compensated, but there was no compensation for the families of those who were hanged. Everyone who had been accused were not officially claimed innocent until October 31st 2001. Witches today face a lot of stigma because of things like the Salem Witch Trials, though those who follow the Wiccan religion do not worship the Devil or even acknowledge his existence, but rather use their religion to celebrate closeness to the earth. “If it was the last moment I was to live, God knows I am innocent…” -Elizabeth How (May