The Impact Of The Salem Witch Trials

Salem Witch Trials- Salem Witch Trials are a series of persecutions and hearings for people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts in 1692 and 1693. These trials resulted in the execution of 20 people. There was one huge hearing in 1692 in Salem town. This trial resulted in 19 executed, and 8 condemned.

Witch trials were a big part of the United States’ history. During the witch trials violence was more abundant than usual. They really started getting “popular” in the late 1600’s. The violence of the trials impacted people’s lives so heavily back then. By looking at witch trials, we can see the vicious impact it had, which most readers don’t see; this is important because it shows that violence was and is always the answer. People were most commonly tortured by stoning, being burned alive, and by placing heavy rocks on top of one’s body until they died. Women and, sometimes, men went into hiding and feared for their children and their own lives. Puritans wanted to please God and they thought killing witches, who were thought to be satanic, would be a good deed. Cotton Mather was one of those Puritans. Violence was a public practice and people would often come out with their kids and watch the trials so everyone became desensitized, for a period of time, but it also struck fear into the people who were “not doing what they were supposed to do”, according to the Puritans, or who were mentally disabled.

Many people were accused of being witches in 1692 and hung or pressed to death for their crime, many others were thrown in prison for life. When the Salem Witch Trials Hysteria of 1692 swept Salem Village and surrounding areas, it was not a happy time. Many of the people living in Salem at the time were Protestants seeking religious freedom. Protestants were very religious people and looked to the Bible for help as God’s words were all true. One of the subjects that the Bible addressed was the Devil and how he possessed people to make them witches. When two young girls asked a West Indian slave woman be the name of Tituba to show them their fortunes, they begun to get more curious about her abilities. Tituba showed them the “magic” she knew from her former tribe, but when the young girls started acting strangely, she was accused for being a witch along side two other local white women. Instead of pleading guilty, Tituba confessed that she was a witch and told the audience of her trial that there were 6 more witches amongst them. This lead to a hectic frenzy to find the remaining witches and it turned neighbors onto each other, husbands on wives and entire families were thrown into prison for their crime. The three main reasons for the Salem Witch Trials Hysteria of 1692 were a group of young girls looking for attention, neighbor conflicts and gender/status/age.

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.

The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692 and became one of the most infamous witchcraft episodes in United States history. It all started in the small Puritan village of Salem when little Betty Parris and Abigail Williams become ill and did not show any sign of improvement. This is when Reverend Parris, Betty’s father, called in the village doctor William Griggs. His diagnosis of bewitchment had the village overtaken with mass hysteria that would continue to plague them long after the May 1693 end. During the trials one hundred and fifty six people were accused of witchcraft: fifty four of which confessed, nineteen of which were hanged, four of which died in jail, and one whom was pressed to death.

The Salem Witch Trials was a series of events that killed innocent people and brought fear to the community. The infamous Salem witch trials began during the Spring of 1692, located in Salem Village, Massachusetts. The people of Salem wanted to purge against anything that was considered remotely unholy. A group of young girls claimed that they were possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. A special court was made due to this wave of hysteria that spreaded through colonial Massachusetts. The first convicted witch, Bridget Bishop, was hung in June of 1692. More than 150 men, women, and children were accused of being witches and eighteen others were trialed and executed. There were also two dogs that were trialed

The Salem Witch Trials happened about 325 years ago, and yet we’re still studying it in schools and beyond. Why is such an obscure topic still relevant to today’s world? It comes down to the fact that there are a lot of ideas and laws that Americans think of as common knowledge and rights we deserve that were contradicted immensely during The Salem Witch trials.

The fear over the devil and people who did his bidding spread rapidly across Salem. People feared that the devil would find a way to infiltrate and damage Christian communities; they feared that the devil was nearby. Yet, how had this happened? Many factors contribute to this question such as religion, economics, vengeance, fears and even imagination. However, there’s one factor which contributes the most: one of the accused witches, going by the name of Tituba, confessed that she and other people were indeed witches bound to do the bidding of the devil. It was the already-found fear and the confession of the accused witch who seemed to start it all, who seemed to start a massive witch hunt.

There are several contributing factors to the wrongfully executions of the accused “witches” of salem , Massachusetts 1692 depicted in the film “Three Sovereigns for Sarah”. Puritans believed that God would punish all those who were unfaithful. So they were blinded to the dishonesty of the Young girls who faked being harmed by supposed witches. They couldn’t see the truth of the accused in the court and were swayed by the acting of the young children. This led to the accused witches to be wrongfully imprisoned and killed.

The Salem Witch Trials occurred in the spring of 1692, when a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts seemed to be possessed by the devil. The public insisted that several local women were guilty of witchcraft. A wave of frenzy traveled throughout the colonial part of Massachusetts, causing a special court to convene to hear the cases of those accused of witchcraft. Thereafter over 150 men, women, and children were accused over the several months of the trials. In addition, one man was crushed to death; seven others died in prison, and the lives of many others were changed drastically. The majority of the accused and hung revolved around the women of Salem. By September 1692, the frenzy began to subside due to public opinion against the trials. The Massachusetts General Court then declared the guilty verdicts invalid and provided indemnities to the victims ' families.

Like Slavery the Salem Witch Trials are a part of history that all would like to erase. In Salem Massachusetts the colonist were mostly made up of Puritans. Puritans were lead on the firm foundation that the Bible was, is and still the only word. This lead to the belief that this was the only way to convict, judge and execute those of a satanic faith, such as witch craft. The Salem Witch Trials were mostly conducted between the months of February 1692 through the middle of May 1693. By the end of this period over 200 men, women and children were accused of being witches. These accusations were brought on by a group of girls in age of 12 to 20 years old.

The Salem witch trials have has a long lasting effect on America’s justice system. Salem has had an effect on the justice system by helping to create the idea that all men are innocent until proven guilty. Salem helped to create this idea due to the fact that during the witch trials if a person were to accused they wouldn’t receive a lawyer and the person they had accused couldn’t be accused at all. The accused would be accused with no evidence and there would be no investigation. The only evidence the trials would consist of was spectral evidence.

n the year of 1692, the town of Salem, Massachusetts began to be filled with fear as people tried to decipher who around them might be committing the horrific acts of witchcraft. It was at this time that the citizens of this town began to point fingers and randomly accuse anyone of this crime. Anyone who was accused and denied that they committed this crime, was put on trial and then sentenced to their death. Due to the fact that people were quick to claim others as witches, the Salem Witch Trials were able to reveal tremendous information about gender and religious norms in this century.

The Salem Witch Trial appears to have minor effect on America for the event occurred in isolation and the belief of Witchcraft was common back in the 1600s. However, such cruel event revealed the unreliability of trials back in the 17th century. Not only the incident established more equitable trials, but it also portrayed the consequences and dangers of religious extremism. Therefore, Salem Witch Trial marks a turning point in American history.

The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. Hysteria began to spread throughout the colony, and a special court was created to hear the cases. The next several months involved over 150 men, women, and children were all jailed and accused of practicing witchcraft.