Motives Of The Salem Witch Trials

It all began in 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts, a Puritan town. Ironically, this supposed religious town, put 20 people to death for witchcraft. The invisible crime had made itself prevalent in the town through two girls, Betty Parris, age nine, and her 11 year old cousin Abigail Williams. These two girls, in order to escape punishment for witchcraft, accused two local white women and the slave Tituba (What Caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692?, Background Essay). It was this first accusation, that set forth the next turn of events. From here, the number of accusers grew. Suddenly, everyone’s neighbors became witches and the jails began to overflow. A special court was built to hold trials, however, the judicial system was biased along with the rest of the town. They allowed their set religious beliefs interfere with logical reasoning and evidence. Hence, the bias. The court proved all for not though, when it ordered a mass hanging on September 22, ending the witchcraft epidemic in Salem. To this day, historians still don’t fully understand what caused the hysteria in Salem. Thus, it could only be theorized the causes of such an event. Taking a gander at probability, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were likely rooted in scapegoating, greed, and bias.

I am writing this report today to explain the major reasons behind the horrific witchcraft trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the years 1692 and 1693. For years this event has been ignored. However, after analyzing the evidence in this case, I have some startling news to share. First, I will share with you the various theories that make the most sense. Then I will explain what I believe caused the Salem community to respond in such a cruel and violent way.

The Salem Witch Trials were controversial events in history. Many people are to blame for the confusion caused by this horrific event. For puritan colonists, such as the magistrates of the time, if something could not be explained scientifically then it was immediately blamed on the supernatural. While there were many symptoms that could be logically explained there was a number of unexplained circumstances of the afflicted such as babbling in an unidentifiable language and crawling under furniture. A multitude of individuals have varying ideas toward The Salem Witch Trials that are brought to life from a number of myths; some people believed that all the victims were female, some people thought that all the panic and chaos took place in Salem, and it has been said that superstition was the driving force.

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 view that religious beliefs were behind the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 is predominantly incorrect. While the Puritan culture’s strong Christian beliefs did dictate the behaviour of New England society, for the authorities that instigated the Witch Trials, religion was a mere justification for their actions that allowed them to gain support by instilling in the masses the fear of a higher power. Their true motives lay in the political and social issues of the time, with Salem Town’s division due to two disputing families, the ever-present fear of smallpox, and the male population’s immense opposition to female independence and sexuality. Thus, while society had strong religious beliefs, they were merely a pretext for the political and social factors of family conflict, disease, and fear of women that were the true bases for the accusations dealt in 1692.

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.

Three centuries ago, the Puritan religion was the base of the Salem village and many townspeople strongly believed in the existence of witches and witchcraft. According to the common Puritan belief, witches were in alliance with the devil and were granted power to harm. People were blamed for illness, failed crops, to bad weather, and many other things that were evident centuries ago. Due to the belief in witchcraft villagers were, perhaps, inclined to the most improbable explanations. The Puritans held strict views, ways of living, perspectives fears, and fantasies. Many Puritan ministers used the the fear of witchcraft to scare the believers into following the church. Historians believe these strict Puritan ways of life may have brought upon the witchcraft hysteria in Salem. At the time, witches and witchcraft were a serious and viewed as a real threat; almost as real as

blended into tales of witchcraft, war stories circulated in the town, and the girls in it were

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

The Salem Witch Trials was a twisted time in American History. These trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts, in which many were accused of being involved in witchcraft. Most of those who were accused pleaded innocent and were put through dangerous tests to determine if they were witches or not. One person who admitted to being a witch after many accusations was Tituba, a slave to a family in Salem. Although Tituba was the first woman to admit to practicing witchcraft, her confession led to her survival.

In 1692 a troubling time began in Salem, Massachusetts. It ended a year after that in 1693. It was called the Salem Witch Trials. The trials are known as a prime source of scapegoating. If you mix fear with something traumatic and stressful then the outcome will be scapegoating. Salem was a place full of fear of the devil and the witches he chose to harm others. Christians during this time had an idea that the devil chose certain people to have some wicked power to hurt and potentially kill someone. They were very afraid the devil would try to find a way to kill the Christians and all of the Christian communities.(Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice) When it was all said and done a few of the town officials publically declared that it was much overreacted and that it was a pretty big mistake. They compensated all the families of the ones who got convicted afterwards.(A Brief History)

In Salem Massachusetts 1692, many innocent people were accused of practicing witchcraft, or being possessed by the devil. The puritans believed everything in the bible and that people had been inhabited by the devil either by force or on purpose and needed to be killed. What caused the chaos in Salem, 1692? The witch trial hysteria was caused by the fear of being accused and hanged, or for being possessed when they weren’t. In that time, you would die either way, unless you confessed in which case you would be sent to church to fix yourself. Also, back then people were very proper and not allowed to sit improperly, otherwise they would get in trouble.

In 1692 the Puritans, colonists that believed in the bible, settled in America. They believed in witchcraft, and believed that people who study it should be executed. This led to many people being accused and executed. What made the Salem witch trials of 1692 such a threat and fear to the people of Massachusetts? The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 was caused by the fear of being possessed by the devil, by the fear of being accused and what your consequences would be, and lastly the belief of people being witches which was a crime worthy of death.

Before and during the Salem Witch Trials, the community suffered under poor leadership and disunity, while led to abuses of power from its courts. The trials began at a time in Massachusetts history known as the “inter-charter” period, as the colony did not have a working royal charter and lacked a strong government. The years before the trials were marred with political conflict due to unpopular leadership, and by the 1690s, a new governing body known as the Council was created to “restore the institution of government and impose political order” (Ray, 50). Coincidentally, right before the Salem Witch Trials, the magistrates of the Salem court were appointed to the Council. In examining the motivations of the magistrates, it is evident that the court, as a new political body in Salem. acted to protect its authority over the people. When faced with the witch hysteria, the courts moved quickly to shut down the conflict, presumably to restore order within the community. However, the methods they employed, such as forcing confessions, created more harm than good, exaggerating the panic the people of Salem were facing. Examples of these improper court procedures are referenced in Miller's book when, in a conversation between herself and the Proctors, Mary Warren states, “He sentenced her. He must. But not Sarah Good. For Sarah Good confessed, y'see” (Miller, 53). Those that confessed to engaging in witchcraft, regardless of the truthfulness of their statements, were spared from death. While this was likely done to speed up court proceedings to alleviate some of the tensions within the community, it did the exact opposite, bringing to light false confessions that both emboldened the courts in their sentencing and instilled fear in the people of Salem. In addition, because the court was seen as a political structure, the magistrates refused to accept criticisms, as doing so would challenge their authority within the community and lead to disunity in a time when conditions were already highly unfavorable. This is reflected in Danforth’s portrayal in The Crucible. Miller depicts the judges, particularly Danforth, as authoritative and unwavering, refusing to accept evidence that challenges their ruling; instead they

In the year (1692) witch trials held the Salem area hostage people were terrified. People of