Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

The Salem Witch Trials occurred in seventeenth century Massachusetts. The small Puritan town of Salem was first burdened with the accusations of witchcraft in January of 1692, according to the article “Salem Witch Trials” on “History.com.” The article also states that two local girls, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, began having violent fits accompanied with bloodcurdling screams (“Salem Witch Trials). When the girls never healed, the town doctor, William Griggs, was called to the girls’ homes says the article “The 1962 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.

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

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 Salem Witch Trials started on February 29, 1692. Two young girls accused their slave woman, named Tituba, of putting a curse upon them when getting their fortune told to by her. They reported strange behaviors, ridiculous speeches and muttering, creeping under chairs, and getting into holes. Three women were accused of this crime, but only Tituba admitted to practicing witchcraft which saved her life. This spiraled into the hysteria of witchcraft. Three things that might have caused the hysteria of 1692 were land disputes, power of suggestion, and acting.

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 tried to accuse innocent members of the society of doing witchcraft. The trials began June 2, 1692 in a court house in Salem, Massachusetts (Burgan 18-19). It affected four counties in Massachusetts: Salem Village, Ipswich, Salem Town, and Andover Counties (Totallyhistory.com). Anyone accused would be brought to a local magistrate to testify if they were truly a witch or not. Over two-hundred people were accused of doing witchcraft and 19 people were hanged (Brooks).

How many deaths and arrests could a few young christian girls possibly cause in a small colonial town? The town of Salem is located north of Boston on the coast of the North Atlantic. This was an ideal location for puritan and quaker immigrants to escape persecution for their beliefs. They were mostly persecuted by the Roman Catholics in Europe. Hard life styles, constant work, and disputes led to hard feelings between the settlers of Salem. Soon, girls started acting strange and accusing witches afflicting them. This led to over two hundred accusations, ninety unjust arrests, and claimed the lives of twenty four victims.

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.

The search for commies and witches happened at different points in time but had many similarities with very few differences. George Santayana said that, "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." this quote I feel directly goes along with McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials.

Furthermore, many other difficult situations were appearing for colonists in Salem Village, including a smallpox epidemic, threats from neighboring Native Americans, a rivalry with Salem Town, and the arrival of many Canadian refugees following a war with France (“Salem Witch Trials”). The numerous issues leading up to the Salem witch trials caused large amounts of stress and trepidation, and initiated a chaotic chain of events.