Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

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.

Salem Witch Trials: The witch trials were a series of hearings, and prosecutions of people being accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692, through May 1693. The primary source of the trials is unknown, but it was most recognized when a group of young girls, from the village Salem, started to speak of the devil invading their home and try to take over through his “minions” that he persuaded to write in his book. This group of girls accused over 200 people for working for the devil, or being witches, and

By the spring of 1692, Salem Village, Massachusetts the infamous witch hunt began. It all started by several girls diagnosed by a doctor who claimed they were possessed by the devil. The girls later claimed they were bewitched by some local women and saw these women in their dreams, torment them. Sarah Good, a beggar and described by the people of Salem as bad tempered, filthy, strangely detached from the community, happened to be one of the first three individuals who were accused. The girls claimed they were pinched, nibbled or injured by three women including Sarah Good. Good’s examination began in March 1, 1692. The examination was reported by Ezekiell Chevers.

The Salem Witch Trials, also know as the Salem Witchcraft Trials were legal proceedings which took place of course in the Salem Village of Massachusetts. These trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in the village, claimed to be possessed by the devil accusing several local women of practicing the craft. Victims were prosecuted and executed for reputedly practicing witchcraft, when little to no evidence of the act itself existed. This historical period resulted in twenty people, mostly women, being hung for black magic conspiracies. Neighbors accused neighbors; even church members accused other church members of witchcraft. Others were accused, but fled the area before they could be arrested. During this time

The Salem Witch Trials were a huge part of history, full of controversy and mystery, it confused historians today and in the past. The Trial’s killed approximately 20 people and 14 of them were women, mostly killed by hanging. Many people were convinced that children and women could be witches, and that’s why these short lasting trials went down in history.

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 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.

The Truth: The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692 and were named as so because they were a series of cases accusing people of Witchcraft occurring in Salem, Massachusetts. These trials were brought on due to the strange behavior of many of the young girls of Salem. During this time period it was not rare for people to be concerned about the Devil trying to destroy Christian towns and people, and the community of Salem was a highly religious town. After playing a fortune-telling game, many teenage girls became ill. They all suffered from similar symptoms including "fits," fever, contorting in pain, and hiding under furniture. In February of 1692, Salem's Reverend Samuel Parris arranged for the afflicted girls to be examined by a doctor, and the

The Salem witch trials began in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. Over 200 people were accused of practicing the devil’s magic, twenty of which were executed. Suspicions of witchcraft started when a group of young girls began acting bizarre, as they became ill, suffering from epileptic fits, their bodies contorted involuntary to odd positions as well as causing them to utter unusual sounds. Only when they went to a doctor did the man declare it was a matter of the supernatural. This caused an epidemic among the area in which numerous people were accused of the craft. Previously, in 1689 the English rulers William and Mary began a war with France among the American colonies. Spreading through the regions of upstate New York, Nova

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,

The Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 when a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the Devil, Which was essentially being a witch. The punishment of being a witch was death. After the girls trials were done they were all hung at the Salem gallows. After That 150 women and children were accused. But in the end only 18 people were killed by the state of Massachusetts.

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.

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.

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