Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

From 1692 to 1693, twenty people were executed after being accused of witchcraft in Salem Village, Massachusetts, many more died in jail, and around 200 people total were accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Records from the event indicate that the Salem Witch Trials started when a group of young girls began acting strange, claiming they had been possessed by the Devil and bewitched by local villagers. The Salem Witch Trials is a much debated event; historians argue over the motivation and causes behind the trials and executions, not over the proceedings. Each historian approached the Salem Witch Trials with their own brand of logic and interpretation building off of and criticizing the interpretations of their predecessors. No one historical theory can conclusively explain the cause of the Salem Witch Trials because there were too many variables and motivations among the villagers. These historians used the best of their abilities to examine the events of the Salem Witch Trials and the mere fact that there are so many interpretations means there are not certainties when it comes to this historical event. However, a combination of their theories could provide a better picture of the Salem Witch story and the many aspects in determining the outcome of 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 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.

In today’s society we are always hearing about teens, predominantly teen girls, threatening each other via social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Ask.fm and this type of crime can be traced back to several centuries ago, like during the Salem Witch Trial in 1692. This incident arose not only because adolescents were in quest of attention but also because back in the seventeenth century religion played a starring role in the community and according to the bible verse Exodus 22:18 “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Doc A). For that reason people who were identified as witches were hanged and that created massive tension throughout the community between the different age groups and genders.

The Salem Witch Trials, which occurred in colonial Massachusetts, were an act of mass hysteria leading to the deaths of twenty citizens. In late 1691 a young group of girls, including Betty Parris and Abigail Williams who lived with Revered Samuel Parris, began asking an African American, or possibly Native American, slave named Tituba about witchcraft. They soon began acting abnormally and were diagnosed as being bewitched. In April of 1692, Ann Putman accused the first three people, Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osburne, as being witches. The next month, Governor William Phips established the Court of Oyer and Terminer to handle any cases involving witchcraft. Bridget Bishop was the first accused witch to be hung in June 1692, followed by

Although many events contributed to the infamous Salem witch trials, irrefutable evidence supports that the Indian War is one event that caused the trials. Their time in Indian captivity affected many of the accusers and the accused psychologically. Another contributing factor of the Salem Witch Trials is the superstitions among the Puritans. With so much time and so very few answers concerning their eternal destinies, the people of Massachusetts Bay Colony conjured up various methods of distraction, and perhaps entertainment, through the practice of folk magic. The Salem Witch Trials are a cause of built up factors that involve the Puritans belief system and the effects of the Indian War.

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 was a tragic time in New England that was caused by the choas of mass hysteria. The inciting incident that started this event was in January 1692, when two young girls were afflicted with convulsions and halleucionations, and witchcraft was apointed the blame. Most of the accused were women a generation above the accusers, who were young women ages 11-20. The accused were also linked to 'socially unaccepted behavior.' The onslaught of accusations made it clear action needed to be taken, so Governor William Phips created a court so that the precedings were as fair and as close to the law as possible. However, the judges had contrasting views, one believing whole-heartedly that witchcraft had torn the town apart, the other doubting the entire crisis. Also, the court accepted spectral evidence,

During the seventeenth century supernatural played a huge role in everyday life for the people in North America. The peasants during this time would use witchery to invoke particular trinkets for farming and agriculture. As time progressed white magic, which was known to be good, turned into dark magic, which was correlated with demons and evil life forces. However, witchcraft became common between the years 1560 and 1670. In Salem people believed that their town’s misfortunes could be credited to the work of the devil. The people of Salem blamed the supernatural for their tragedies, such as crop failures, infant death and societal hostility among the congregation.

What really happened during Salem 1692? Many questions still haunt many Americans in the beginning of the twenty-first century. During 1692 the people of Massachusetts were living in fear about satanic afflictions, like the same way everyone else feels about terrorism around the world today. Everything about witchcraft outbreak during that year was strange. Many responses to the information were never answered during the late seventeenth-century when the witchcraft crisis occurred. During this time there were horrifyingly Indian attacks that mainly scared northern frontier of settlers, refugees, and also the main accusers of witches these groups all fled to communities like Salem. But on the other side colony’s leaders were very defensive about

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, but most of them women.

Salem Witch Trials, one of the worst times in history, many people were killed by hanging, and pressing. There was only one person to be killed by getting crushed, it was 81 year old Giles Cory, they put a board on top of him, and people interrogated him, trying to make him testify against his wife Martha, whenever he refused to testify against her they put a pile of rocks on top of the board, eventually getting to the point where he couldn’t take the pressure of all the rocks and died, 3 days later his wife was accused and hung.

The United States of America has a long history going way back to the 17th century. Some parts of history are remembered for their greatness or because they are examples of success or achievements. Others are remembered for the mistakes or the horrible decisions made at that time. It helps us to know our past mistakes so that we will never repeat them. The Salem Witch Trials fall under the category as an event that helps teach us the mistakes of the past. With the knowledge we have today about the trials, hopefully we will never succumb to killing wrongfully convicted people.

The Salem Witch Trials were a constant and consistent occurrence in 1691 Massachusetts; hangings became consistent, but the fear of the unknown became the true evil unleashed amongst the dark times that reigned upon Salem. Such atrocities were caused by a development of preposterous dispositions created by desperation and fear. The colony ran into hardship after exposure to illness, misfortune, and power struggles. Due to their religious ideology, they believed that an evil force was responsible for their hardship, and was responsible for wreaking havoc within their civilization.

Imagine this: You live in Salem Village, and you’re the perfect example of a good Puritan. You go to church every Sunday, read the bible daily, and you’re kind to everyone. All of a sudden, your life is ripped apart when you’re accused of witchcraft by a girl who you’ve known since she was little. This was exactly how it went for some, including Rebecca Nurse, a kind and loving grandmother who never should have been accused. The Salem Witch Trials were times of woe and despair, with many accused but all being innocent.

“I am no more a witch than you are a wizard. If you take my life away, God will give you blood to drink.” These words were spoken by Sarah Good who was accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. During the Salem witch trials which ran from February 1692 to May 1693 more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were executed. What caused the famous trials to happen?

Einstein once said, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who do nothing” (Gurteen). The Salem witch trials began in the Spring of 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts. A group of young girls, who claimed to be possessed by the devil, began accusing a few women of witchcraft, which caused hysteria among the people in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Approximately 150 people were convicted of practicing witchcraft, 19 were hanged at Gallows Hill, and others died in captivity (“Salem Witch Trials”). These tragic events lead to the convictions of many innocent people in Salem Village and later in Salem Town, Ipswich, Gloucester, and other towns (Brooks). The Salem witch trials are a