Reasons For The Salem Witch Trial Of 1692

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 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 1692 the area of Salem town and Salem village became very vulnerable to conflict. Severe weather such as hurricanes had damaged land and crops, the effects of King Phillips War began to impact New England society, and colonists were being forced off of the frontiers by Native peoples. The Church and the government were in heavy conflict. And those residing in Salem began to grow suspicious of one another when some prospered and others hadn’t (Marcus, p13).

During the late 1600s, Salem, Massachusetts faced a period of witch trials due to panic stirring among the Puritans in the area. Because of these

Confidence in the supernatural–and particularly in the demon's practice of giving certain people (witches) the ability to mischief others as an exchange for their loyalty–had rose in Europe as promptly as the fourteenth century, and was across the board in frontier New England. What's more, the brutal substances of life in the rustic Puritan group of Salem Village (present-day Danvers, Massachusetts) at the time incorporated the delayed consequences of a British war with France in the American settlements in 1689, a late smallpox scourge, reasons for alarm of assaults from neighboring Native American tribes and a longstanding contention with the more prosperous group of Salem Town (present-day Salem). Betwixt these stewing strains, the Salem witch trials might be energized by occupants' suspicions of and disdain to their neighbors, and their alarm of outsiders.

The Salem witch trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts and began around spring of 1692 (History). They started when a group of young Puritan girls believed that they were possessed by the devil, and they accused many innocent people of witchcraft. This lead to trials being held, and almost always would the witch be deemed guilty. During this time period, they would use various forms of evidence to prove someone guilty that are not seen today, and a good example of this is in The Wonders of the Invisible World written by Cotton Mather. In their trials they would strange methods of evidence to prove a person guilty, and obviously there is no way that this is seen in our modern society today.

One of the explanations for the Salem witch trials was that they were heavily reliant on their religion and beliefs. The people of Salem had Puritan beliefs which meant that they strived for human perfection in the eyes of God. This belief led them to believe that any small imperfection in the body of someone such as a mole or birthmark was the act of you signing an agreement to the devil. They believed in the devil as much as they believed in a God

In 1692 the Salem Witch Trials happened in Salem, Massachusettes. The trials were to prosecute people who were accused of witch craft. Some of the people were hung and many others were arrested. The trials went from 1692 and 1693.

The blame for the Salem Witch trial and the hanging of innocent people were Judge Danforth. During the witch trial, he put his personal beliefs and opinions first, but did not use facts, barely had any type of eyewitness and didn’t question the victims hardly. And when Mr. Parris told Danforth about how Abigail and Mercy ran off with his money, Danforth reaction should have been to cancel or postpone the execution of the so called witches. But hard headed, selfishness and fearing that the people might overthrow him he continued on with the executions. And called Mr. Parris stupid.

The path of religious decline inspired the creation of a dark culture of witchcraft in Europe. It was an unintended consequence of the war between France and American colonies. Significant turmoil remained as a result of the war. It destroyed American regions and drove refugees into Salem Village in Massachusetts Bay. Salem’s first ordained minister, Reverend Samuel Parris, was greedy and devious. Villagers openly voiced concern, stating the turmoil in their region was inspired by the devil. In attempt to combat the evil, a group of young girls in Salem, Massachusettes claimed to be bewitched by older women from New England. A “witch hunt” ensued, seeking to find the “possessed”. Thousands of witches were lynched because of their affiliation with witchcraft. (Cohen, 2013)

In the book “In the Devils Snare: The Salem Witch Trials” by Mary Beth Norton, it starts by giving details of what was occurring in Massachusetts before the accusations and trials began. Norton starts off by describing the First and Second Indian Wars and how it affected the colony of Massachusetts when 150 Wabanaki Indians burn and rob the whole town of York, killing 50 and capturing over 100 townspeople. Mary Beth Norton than begins to write about the town of Salem, describing the first of many “fits” the town’s pastor Samuel Parris’ niece Abigail, and many other accusers would have, in the accusations of so-called witches also called specters. Young girls in the town of Salem began having strange fits described as falling on

Throughout the time of human history, people have written about inhuman beings, many of which include gods, demons, wizards, sorcerers, and witches. Nowadays, mystical beings are seen everywhere in media, and are popular within society. Most of society stopped believing in these stories years ago, and now know them as the fantasy that you read in books and see on tv. With this being said, in 17th century Salem, this was not the case. Witchcraft became a living nightmare for people during this time, and was feared to even think about. The reason for this fear was due to the events that occurred during the Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693 in Massachusetts, which have been the focus of speculation and curiosity for many years.

During the mid 17th century of America, an ominous wave that spread mass hysteria and shook the conscience of villagers swept across New England. It was an outbreak of witchcraft that plagued the American lands. The first signs of this menacing witchcraft were in the Salem Village of New England. The villagers of this Puritan village did not know anything that could have been the cause of this forbidding event besides that it was the work of the devil himself. These puritans started with a string of accusations that eventually led to a trial held by the village committee. A domino effect soon took its place and unraveled a chain of unstoppable events. This frenzy was recorded down in history as the Salem witch trials.

The Salem witch trials began in February 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. During the time, nearly 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft. 20 people were killed during the time of the trials, fourteen women and five men were killed by hanging. One man was pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea. The trials were a dark time in American history.

In a small town in Massachusetts, a community was unfortunately filled with controversy and suspicion. The town of Salem was a Puritan community that suffered through mass hysteria. The Puritans were so concerned about witches that they wrongfully executed numerous people under suspicion of witchcraft, but what caused this mass paranoia? The town of Salem was going through a difficult time during the 1600’s. The whole colony in Massachusetts was under leadership of a tempered governor named John Winthrop, who wanted to create a model Christian society. The colony was also under the Congregational church, which caused an alliance between ministers and government officials. This agreement lead to the Puritans to believe that Satan could control people and force them into the practice of witchcraft. Eventually, this Puritan movement led to witch-hunts fueled by superstitions and fear across the Atlantic, and people found guilty of witchcraft were wrongfully hanged. However, the Puritan movement died down in the 1680’s. Anxious leaders and citizens began to realize that the mass hysteria was corroding their society, but a horrific epidemic occurred later in Salem Village. In 1692, arguably one of the worst witch-hunts took place in the town of Salem.