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The Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials In 1692

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The Salem Witch Trials took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony of Salem in 1692. There were over 200 people accused of practicing in witchcraft during this year long trial. Nineteen of the accused were executed by hanging, fourteen of them women and five of them men. One of the accused men refused to enter a plea and was later crushed to death by weights. There were also several men and women who died while sitting in jail awaiting their trial for witchcraft. Were all of these men and women accused of such tragedy really guilty though? There are many documents as well as records that leave much room for confusion and conflicting opinions. To better understand why there could be any confusion lets take a closer look. It all began January 20th, 1692 when nine year old Elizabeth Paris and eleven year old Abigail Williams, daughter and niece of Samuel Paris began to experience unexplainable and uncontrollable “fits”. The symptoms included the girls throwing themselves to the floor, screaming, twitching, fever, muscle aches, and abdominal pain. Samual Paris feeling confused and unsure of how to help the girls called for Doctor William Griggs. Once the doctor had arrived he too sat with confusion and could not diagnose the girls using medical terms. After much thought and examining the girls he determined they must be victims of witchcraft. During this era men and women believed that the devil could give witches the power to harm other people and influence the acts

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