The Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692

It all began in 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts, a Puritan town. Ironically, this supposed religious town, put 20 people to death for witchcraft. The invisible crime had made itself prevalent in the town through two girls, Betty Parris, age nine, and her 11 year old cousin Abigail Williams. These two girls, in order to escape punishment for witchcraft, accused two local white women and the slave Tituba (What Caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692?, Background Essay). It was this first accusation, that set forth the next turn of events. From here, the number of accusers grew. Suddenly, everyone’s neighbors became witches and the jails began to overflow. A special court was built to hold trials, however, the judicial system was biased along with the rest of the town. They allowed their set religious beliefs interfere with logical reasoning and evidence. Hence, the bias. The court proved all for not though, when it ordered a mass hanging on September 22, ending the witchcraft epidemic in Salem. To this day, historians still don’t fully understand what caused the hysteria in Salem. Thus, it could only be theorized the causes of such an event. Taking a gander at probability, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were likely rooted in scapegoating, greed, and bias.

There were many things that caused the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. One of the things that caused the Salem Witch Trials started with Parris’s, the one who experienced these things first, Indian Slave, Tituba. Tituba even admitted to being a witch and said that four women and one man were causing the strange illnesses. Another thing that caused the Salem Witch trials was an accused victim, Abigail Hobbs. She claimed to have seen the devil, which she said made her make a covenant with him, which made her wicked and have the ability to use witchcraft. Also, another thing that caused the Salem witch trials was when Cotten Mather argued that there was witchcraft in the city. He argued that a scripture said that there was witchcraft in the

Nineteen people were hung, four people died in jail, and one man was pressed to death during the Salem Witch Trials Hysteria of 1692. (Document A) Because of actors and attention seekers, neighbor conflicts, and gender, marital status, and age, many people were executed. (video notes) The Salem Witch Trials Hysteria of 1692 was a tragic period of time when many innocent people lost their lives and people lived in fear. (video notes) In England, Pope Innocent VIII had declared heresy to witchcraft. (video notes) Since then, witch hunts had been held for over 300 years. (video notes) During this time, around 40,000-50,000 people were executed due to witchcraft accusations. (video notes) The most tragedies happened in the small community of Salem. (video notes) This was known as the Salem Witch Trials Hysteria of 1692. (video notes) So what caused these innocent people to die?

I am writing this report today to explain the major reasons behind the horrific witchcraft trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the years 1692 and 1693. For years this event has been ignored. However, after analyzing the evidence in this case, I have some startling news to share. First, I will share with you the various theories that make the most sense. Then I will explain what I believe caused the Salem community to respond in such a cruel and violent way.

In 1692, in the small village of Salem, Massachusetts, 20 people were hanged for offenses they did not commit. But what was the charge against the 20? The answer would be witchcraft. The charges deeply affected the small community. Neighbor turned on neighbor. Every act that a person made would be carefully scrutinized, dissected, and repeated to others. This would lead to the question. What caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692? The 3 main factors that would cause widespread panic in the town of Salem were gender, marital status, and age, actors and attention seekers, and neighbor conflicts within the village of Salem.

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 in Salem, Massachusetts, hysteria broke out throughout the town in an event that later became known as the Salem Witch Trials. They were the largest account of witch hangings ever in America, as 20 women and men were put to death for being accused of practicing witchcraft. Historians have been debating about how these trials were caused. The frenzy in Salem happened because at first, young girls were afraid of punishment and wanted to avoid it so they blamed older women and accused them of being witches. These accusations began to spiral out of control when the religion of the town supported the allegations, which causes paranoia and panic to spread throughout Salem, which blinded the townspeople from clues revealing that the

The Salem Witch Trials were caused by mass hysteria in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Christians have always had a great fear of the devil as evidenced by the witch trials of Europe in the fourteenth century. The Massachusetts Bay Colony, where Salem was located, was predominately settled by Puritans, a branch of the Christian faith. Puritan ideals and laws ran the Colony. The citizens of Salem believed that the devil would approach witches and offer them power in exchange for their loyalty, allegiance, and evil acts. These religious fears were one of the strongest flames in the fire that was the Salem Witch Trials.

             How would you feel if your life was ruined just because you were considered unfit for society? This is exactly what was going on during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Prior to the trials, there were witch hunts that caused global unease mainly to Protestant societies. King Philip’s War also contributed to this unease by pushing people from the east coast and into Puritan towns. These towns had misogynistic male leadership, depriving many people of humanity because they had to live under unrealistic expectations. This leads to the question of what led to the mass destruction of faith, hope, and trust in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Factors that motivated the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were the

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

During the 17th century many people fear of people working with the devil, or the devil making his way into Christian communities and tearing them apart. The Salem community had just formed in America, a strange new place. The Salem colonist was highly devoted to Christ and living a Christian life so they always had the fear of the devil making his way into their community and breaking it

The Salem Witch Trials took place in early 1692. During these trials around 150 people were accused of being witches by a group of young girls. The girls claimed that these “witches” had the power to harm them as a result of giving their loyalty to the devil. The Puritans strict culture and previous tension due to the fear of native american attacks bordering the village made it more susceptible to falling victim of the widespread chaos known as the Salem Witch Trials.

The Salem Witch Trials in New England comprised the largest outbreak of witchcraft panic in American history. Historians and scientists have contributed the accusations of witchcraft in the early 1690’s to everything, from disease, religious and political agendas, to harsh weather. It is believed that a better understanding of the cause of the atrocities in Salem, and those like it, may prevent such events from reoccurring. Despite many years of study, however, what caused such panic in New England and the subsequent bizarre accusations against over a hundred and fifty people remains largely speculative.

In today's world, no other colonial American event intrigues audiences more than the Salem Witch Trials. Most of this intrigue results from the lack of information regarding the accused witches, the “bewitchment” of the girls, and the judges who controversially sentenced the witches to death without sufficient evidence. The mass paranoia resulting from the accusations of witchcraft is something that has haunted the region ever since the trials ended in 1693. Overall, the three main groups involved in this important colonial event were the accused, the accusers, and the judges.

The Salem Witch Trials are a big part of history that is still hard to unravel today. These trials occurred in 1692, when a few teenage girls admitted to being possessed with the devil and blamed other local residents with committing Witchcraft (“Salem Witch Trials”). The accusations all started with a young girl named Abigail Williams. She believed that if she blamed other people, she would not be punished for the things she did. As a result, many other girls followed her lead and named innocent people, who they said did witchcraft. It is sad to say many people died due to false accusations and factious evidence. From this horrific event, Arthur Miller wrote a book called The Crucible.