The Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials

Puritans settled in the Massachusetts town of Salem in 1630, with their leader John Winthrop. Winthrop claimed that Salem would be “As a City Upon a Hill,” meaning that the Puritans coming to the New World would set a religious and civilized example among other colonies. However, this wasn’t the case. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of accusations and persecutions due to what was thought to be witchcraft among Salem townspeople. King Philip’s War played a role in the trials. It caused regional mass hysteria which lead to the accusing of witches in Salem. Samuel Parris was the local preacher of Salem and in 1691 he started preaching about the devil and focused more on hell instead of more positive things which also played a role in the crafting of the witch trials. Rich versus poor feuds, the desire to feel around and inspect women, and easily being able to have someone punished by accusing them of being a witch, fueled and motivated the Witch Trials of Salem in 1692.

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

It all started after a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil in Salem Village, Massachusetts 1692. Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams at the ages of 9 and 11 started having fits, that included getting violent and screaming at random times. After a local doctor declared bewitchment, other girls started showing the same symptoms. The other girls were Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Walcott, and Mary Warren. The young girls accused several women in the village of witchcraft causing hysteria to spread throughout colonial Massachusetts. A special court was put in Salem to hear out all the cases of those accused of witchcraft. The first convicted witch was Bridget Bishop she was hanged that June, 150 more people including men,women,and children followed.

The Salem witch trials were a series of different court trials. They occurred after a group of young girls were claimed to be possessed by the devil. These individuals experienced hallucinations. Some of the suspects explained the attacks as if bugs were crawling under their skin. When the outbreak began to spread, the government proceeded to accuse multiple people in the colony of witchcraft. This is how the Salem witch trials came to be. The trials took place in colonial Massachusetts. According to the History channel, “They begun during the spring of 1692,” in a town called Salem (History.com staff,1). During this series of hearings, many people, women specifically, were accused of witchcraft. These people and their families were

I believe that the girls were playing a game but then it got too out of hand and they didn’t want to come forth because they got scared that they might get in trouble for joking around and got so many people killed. Now I think that them being actual witches is least likely because in my opinion there is no such thing is magic like that now I do believe that wiccans are true to a point but I don’t think that you can bewitch someone. Now the things that lead to the Salem Witch Trials is that there was a constant threat of Indians attacking, disease that were plaguing the colonists, the fact that the Puritans believed that Satan or Lucifer recruited witches, warlocks, wizards, smallpox, and even people who were admitting that they were witches.

Beginning in 14th century Europe, hysteria from the devil’s practice of witchcraft emerged. This frenzy was caused by the belief that witches were given the power to harm others from satan in return for their loyalty. As the belief in the supernatural increased in Europe, tens of thousands of accused witches were executed. As the hysteria in Europe began dwindling down, however, the witch craze sprang up again in the New England colonies. In a time where the after-effects of the French and Indian war mixed with a smallpox epidemic, the Salem Witch Hunts provided the necessary scapegoat for the tensions that were fueled among the suspicions and resentment between neighbors.

In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, a group of girls (Elizabeth Parris, Abigail Williams, and Ann Putnam), claimed to be possessed by Satan and accused other local women of witchcraft. They were under pressure by magistrates Jonathan Cornwin and John Hathorn to blame Tituba, the Parris’ Caribbean slave; Sarah Good, a homeless beggar; and Sarah Osbourne, an old poor woman; for afflicting them. It caused mass hysteria and confusion in the town, since they were all church-going people and strongly believed in the Devil. Many people were wrongly hanged and their reputations were ruined by lies. If one did not confess to witchcraft when they were accused, they would be hanged. This caused false confessions and unjust deaths which fueled the hysteria. One thing I think is interesting is that the three people the girls accused of afflicting them were all at a disadvantage; being either a slave, homeless, or old and poor. Those that were accused and survived the trials were compensated, but there was no compensation for the families of those who were hanged. Everyone who had been accused were not officially claimed innocent until October 31st 2001. Witches today face a lot of stigma because of things like the Salem Witch Trials, though those who follow the Wiccan religion do not worship the Devil or even acknowledge his existence, but rather use their religion to celebrate closeness to the earth. “If it was the last moment I was to live, God knows I am innocent…” -Elizabeth How (May

When challenged by fear people respond in extreme measures and act irrationally. The Salem Witch Trials began in the early spring of 1692 after a group of adolescent girls claimed to be under the control of the devil and began accusing townswomen of using witchcraft. Hysteria engulfed Salem to the point where 150 people were accused over several months. September of 1692, the hysteria finally died down as public turned against the court. Later, the court nullified the guilty verdicts against those accused and compensated the families of the supposed guilty who were executed. I don’t believe anyone could have done more to end the hysteria in Salem because there were so many causes of tension that everyone was on the brink of insanity. The town of Salem was going to boil over one way or another, and because of this even the most influential people of Salem had no actual influence over the what would happen during the trials. There was no way of stopping it.

The causes of the Salem Witch Trials have fascinated historians, judges, and psychologists alike for centuries. What is found most intriguing by most is why it got so out of control so quickly. Indeed, even at the time of the Salem Witch Trials, there were those who found the whole predicament unsettling and questioned the methods of the judges. Though, there were others who found the trials to be work from God allowing them to cleanse the new world. Whoever was correct in their beliefs is uncertain, but the fact that innocent lives were judged guilty cannot be disputed.

The Salem Witch Trials was a witch hunt started by a group of young girls whom the locals believed to be possessed by the devil. The Salem Witch Trials caused a lot of hysteria among the community. Many of the locals who believed this witch hunt was untrue stayed quiet in fear of being accused themselves. Those who believed they were innocent were punished harshly for refusing to confess. This resulted in the death of twenty people and over two hundred people were accused of witchcraft in the span of only one year. Unlike today's court system where one is innocent until proven guilty, the courts in Salem presumed the accused automatically guilty. This was due to mass hysteria because of superstition, stress due to recent Indian raids and current social climate because these women were looking to accuse others or gain attention from people in the village.The Salem Witch Trials were crucial in the formation of a proper government for America that not only included one’s religious freedom but also their inalienable rights that were given to them as human beings. From watching “The Witches of Salem: The Horror and The Hope” one can see the controversy and the chaos that these witch trials caused throughout Salem. From the film, one can see the true causes of what started the Salem Witch Trials, which were the politics throughout the village, the role woman held, and also the fear from one another. As seen from the film, the gruesome and inhumane Salem Witch Trials started a

Imagine living in a period of time where everyone around you was afraid of being put under the spell of a witch or even worse, being accused of being one. It all began back in 1692 in a Puritan village in Massachusetts known as Salem. Reverend Samuel Parris’ daughter, Betty Parris, became sick and started to hallucinate. This then spread to her friends and they began showing the same behavior. A doctor examined the girls and tried to cure them using common medicine but that failed. He suggested it was the work of witchcraft. The talk of witchcraft then took over Salem Village like a plague and the hunt for witches began. The gossiping and accusations had consumed the small town of Salem. Women and men were accused of being witches or practicing witchcraft. Even a dog was accused. Some were sentenced to jail, some were hung, and others were stoned to death. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 occurred because of many factors such as religion, politics, and social division. Other factors included Native American contact and ergotism, a mold that caused an array of symptoms, also played part in the chaos. Centuries later, the Salem Witch Trials still remain an unsettling event in American history.

The accused witches screamed in agony as the rope wrapped around their innocent necks. Some people observing the trial screamed alongside them, while others cheered, relieved that their community was finally safe. The Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts from January 1692 to October 1692. The people who lived in Salem town were all Puritans, so they strongly believed in the existence of witches and that they worked for the devil. When some townspeople began to get convicted of witchcraft, there was a large period of time in which many people were executed in public because the community thought they were evil. Many of the people living in Salem at the time thought the local court had unfair judgements, including Governor William Phipps himself. The great amount of public backlash on this topic led the Governor to shut down the court system entirely, although he had to compromise to do so. He set up a new one that passed different laws about what evidence is enough to convict someone of witchcraft. Overall, the Salem Witch Trials were caused due to the townspeople’s religious beliefs and came to an end because Governor Phipps compromised with everyone who disagreed with his new ideas for court, resulting in the convicted witches getting out of prison, but having to stay there until their fees were paid.

During the 1690s an epidemic was swarming through Salem, Massachusetts. This problem was the possibility of witches and or the practicing of witchcraft. The Hallucinogenic mold was clearly the reason for the Salem Witch Trials. First off the women suspected of being a witch would take broomsticks and cover them with ergot ointment which would make them hallucinate into thinking they were riding it. Also farming was very common in many societies, including Salem and many researchers said it was on every plant around making it look like a normal thing to have. Which gave the people no way of knowing what was even happening to them. The last reason why Hallucinogenic mold was the cause is because the molds effect leads to a disease called convulsive ergotism which can make the body have muscle spasms, hallucinations, and most importantly delusions. In which all around if everyone is considered mentally unstable then obviously the Salem people would be practicing bizarre things like witchcraft.

There has been a lot of historic events take place in the United States that made it

In 1692, 20 people were executed for being witches or warlocks during the Salem Witch Trials. There was rumors from neighboring towns of witchcraft as there was in Salem. The main contributing factors for those 20 people being killed was the religion, superstitions, rivals, boredom, economics, rumors, and how women were seen in that time period. These people were Puritans, a form of Christianity. Part of their superstitions was the ability for someone to be possessed by the devil or in cahoots with the devil or practicing witchcraft. The women in this time had a status almost as low as slaves. Rivals between Salem Village and the Town of Salem were big as the village tried to break off and the town would not let them. When little girls are bored they make up games, this may have been just one big sick game. The rumors would spread around from the other towns and fuel the accusations as proof that there was witchcraft.