The Negative Effects Of The Salem Witch Trials

Did you know that the Salem witch trials resulted in the execution of only twenty people? Most people believe that hundreds of people were executed during the Salem witch trials, which is often a very common thought but in actuality only twenty people (mostly women) were executed. The Salem witch trials was a huge part of American history, they are important to remember because they are probably a crucial turning point for America, because before the trials religion and superstition were very important and after the trials happened rational thinking became more and more important. The Salem witch trials had such an impact on American people that they are still remembered and talked of in today’s society. These trials are still today widely thought of as being important, because they showed an excellent example of how people hate or fear what they do not understand, which is still a behavior that is seen in present society. The Salem Witch Trials had many causes which all could have been prevented if the Puritan government would have taken the time to investigate the accusations of the alleged crimes being committed. The Salem witch trials provide many interesting aspects to discuss such as, the historical information on the Salem witch trials, how the Puritan government could have prevented this by not accepting spectral evidence, and why the puritan government was so willing to accept the accusations being made.

The Visible and Invisible Worlds of Salem by James Davidson elaborates on the effects of the Puritans being so driven by fear that they made obscured accusations which led to the termination of many innocent people. The Puritans were so deep in their faith, they became hysterically obsessed with trying to get rid of witchcraft. While everyone was pointing fingers at who committed their crimes, there was never actual hard evidence. These accusations were becoming rampant and many people were effected from them.

Church was the foundation of life in New England. People in Massachusetts were Puritans colonists seeking freedom and religious acceptance by leaving England. The Puritan lifestyle was self-controlled and firmly enforced. Since Puritans were expected to live by a resistant code; they believed that all sins committed should be punished and that God would punish sinful behavior. When someone went against their codes, Puritans saw it as God’s will to not help them. In keeping up with the Puritan code of obedience, the many women to be accused of witchcraft in Salem were seen as divergent and social

While Puritan religious beliefs did contribute to the Salem Witch Trials, it was only to a minor extent as, rather than being the true source of the witchcraft fear, they were used by New England authorities to manipulate and control the public. In the 1600s, religion was the cornerstone of Puritan society, a denomination that originated in England and was established in America with the migration of approximately 9,000 colonists between 1630 and 1645. Already superstitious, with a Christian Church that preached of a God who protected his servants, and a Devil who preyed on the weak, society’s fears were intensified

Imagine living in a household in Salem, Massachusetts. It is the year 1692 and you are a young female, around the age of 20. Now while a mass of events involving witch hunts are happening, everyone around you is panicking, accusing your friends, family and finally you of witchcraft, whether it was true or not that you had been practicing such sorcery. You confess anyways, being terrified, what happens to you next? The Salem Witch Trials should have been taken care of in a different way. The Salem Witch Trials a way to suppress people from exposing the truth behind the Government. The Trials were unfair, the Government and the townspeople were corrupt, and they had stress from outer threats surrounding the village.

The Salem witch trials had a drastic affect on the Puritan religion. The trials helped shape and point the direction for the New England Colonies and the Puritan religion. The Salem witch trials outbreak began in 1692. In the past, there had only been about five convictions of people being accused of witchcraft; none of this resulted in any deaths(Wilborn 16). Usually just a fine was given, but by the end of 1692 there was already 150 arrests (17). Whether you were rich or poor, it didn’t seem to matter, anyone and everyone was being accused. No one felt safe at this time (Trask ix).

Three centuries ago, the Puritan religion was the base of the Salem village and many townspeople strongly believed in the existence of witches and witchcraft. According to the common Puritan belief, witches were in alliance with the devil and were granted power to harm. People were blamed for illness, failed crops, to bad weather, and many other things that were evident centuries ago. Due to the belief in witchcraft villagers were, perhaps, inclined to the most improbable explanations. The Puritans held strict views, ways of living, perspectives fears, and fantasies. Many Puritan ministers used the the fear of witchcraft to scare the believers into following the church. Historians believe these strict Puritan ways of life may have brought upon the witchcraft hysteria in Salem. At the time, witches and witchcraft were a serious and viewed as a real threat; almost as real as

After watching the film “Three Sovereigns For Sarah”, I understand more about the Salem witch hunts and trials. The central reason for the witch craze was a falsehood taken too far. The actions of three girls and one woman cost twenty innocent people their lives, and countless others to suffer in less than adequate prison conditions.

Between the 1300s and 1600s, there had been an uprising of witch accusations in Europe. When it finally died down, the craze soon followed into the colony of Massachusetts Bay. While in the 1690s, the Salem Witch Trials threatened New England’s freedom of religion and conservative beliefs; the evil entity as well threatened the country’s political and economic system, giving the government a reason to get involved. Because Massachusetts Bay was filled with religious refugees from England, a lot of tension formed between the colonies, England, and France. The King Williams War between France and the English colonies had put a tremendous strain on the Salem resources and its people. The colony was barely able to support itself and when more refugees fled to Salem from sounding areas, it came close to collapsing. Within the Puritan community, there had been a lot of hardship and strenuous issues mainly due to the shift between the people in society at the time. The Salem Witch Trials were not influenced by the presence of witchcraft but rather the exhausting hardships, the societal changes and the desire for complete control of the Puritan community.

In 1692, the paranoia of witchcraft being amongst them struck the puritan colony known as Salem Massachusetts with fear. More importantly, the belief in witchcraft was carried over from their home country, England. In England, an act of witchcraft was considered treason against the church, not to mention the king was the head of the church so turning your back on the church also meant going against the king. Many acts against witchcraft were passed, the one dated closest to the Salem witch trials was the Witchcraft Act of 1604 that moved trials of the supposed witches from churches to actual courts. The fact that they were once held in churches rather than courts seems like a biased situation to me. The puritans were afraid of witchcraft so having the church conduct the trials of said witches could only mean that death was certain. The puritan faith to my understanding was a tough faith to follow, especially for women.

Political, local, and religious context is necessary in order to understand the mass hysteria that occurred in the 1690s during the Salem Witch Trials. In the early 17th century, English Puritans settled in North America, mainly in New England. Puritans were Christians who “wanted the Church of England purified of any liturgy, ceremony, or practices which were not found in Scripture” (Curtis). When King Charles granted a colonial charter to the Massachusetts Bay Company, the document failed to specify that the governor and officers of the company had to remain in England. The Puritans took advantage of this silence and moved the whole government of the colony to America. They wanted to establish (a) biblical community as an example to England and the world. Their settlements were organized into towns, each with their own meeting house or the church at the center of the town. The church was the center of their

Even though it was taken too far, this hysteria did cause the church to gain many more followers. This was because people believed that god did everything, and that there had to be a reason for this to happen. They thought that god must be punishing witches for their sin, so joining the church also kept them safe from being punished and being accused of witchcraft. As long as the followers practiced their Puritan religion, they thought that they would not be able to be bewitched. Followers started to gather into churches to practice, and to find shelter from the witches who were starting to pop up everywhere out of nowhere. The people who started to follow the church did give them more power than they had before, and gave the churches money to be able to continue their practices against

“The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises and thanks to God, we should neither eat nor sleep, but eat to God and sleep to God and work to God and talk to God, do all to His glory and praise.” (Sibbes 1). The Puritans, a very religious group, came to Massachusetts looking for a new colony free of religious tolerance. They wanted to live in a place without sinners and expected everyone to follow a rigid moral code. Not attending church was considered a sin that would also affect your social standing so we can see how the witch trials came about as many people did not live up to the Puritan’s beliefs. The diagnosis of witchcraft launched the Puritans into a state of hysteria causing them to accuse falsely people of which led to the jailing of hundreds of innocents.

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.