The Puritans: The Salem Witch Trials

New England in the seventeenth century was a difficult place to live. The raging winds of winter, the ravaging Indian tribes and the many diseases that killed both livestock and family members often had inhabitants believing that they were being punished by God for their sins, or that their afflictions were caused by something much more sinister. Anyone who threatened traditional gender and societal roles was seen as a potential threat to both themselves and the rest of the community. The outbreaks of witch accusations that occurred throughout New England during this time reflected how unsettled the settlers really felt about their lives. This is reflected in both the Salem, Massachusetts witch trials and the Stamford, Connecticut witch trials even if these trials had different results.

In the Puritan religion, there was a strict code to follow. Children couldn’t even have an imagination, and no one could sing or dance either. This was because everybody was all scared of the devil. If one person went off track of the religion by just a little bit, they were thought of as helpers of satan, or as they were called witches. Once the whole hysteria started, people grew even more scared of the devil and even the smallest bit of suspicion that one person was disobeying the religion, they would be accused. Once you were accused, you it was hard to be let off the hook. Most people would just confess to being a witch so they would just go to jail. On the other hand, if you denied it, you would most likely be hanged. I the end, religion was a huge factor to the start of the Salem witch trials.

In 17th-century Colonial America, contact with the supernatural was considered part of everyday life; many people believed that evil spirits were present and active on Earth. This superstition emerged 15th century Europe and spread with the colonization of North American puritan colonies. Women were believed to be the most susceptible to demonic behavior; females were considered simple targets for Satan due to being viewed as the weaker sex physically, spiritually, and morally. Women who did not conform to the Puritan ideals at the time were usually ostracized, institutionalized, or brutally murdered. In 1692, thirteen women were famously put on trail for accusations of witchcraft; famously known as the Salem Witch Trails. Most of these women were put on trial and later burned to death for erratic and un-Godly behaviors, 78% of the people charged were women who were accused of doing devilish things such as; speaking out against church officials, being a financially wealthy widow, having pre marital sex, or just being too beautiful. According to Michael Coren’s Why Catholics are Right “five million women were killed by the Church as witches… witch hunts began in the sixteenth century in Europe and that between 30,000 and 50,000 men and women were burned to death for

From the time of the 1690’s the entirety of Salem, Massachusetts were Puritans. “The Puritan lifestyle was restrained and rigid: People were expected to work hard and repress their emotions or opinions. Individual differences were frowned upon.” (Salem Witch Trials, The World Behind the Hysteria). These people believed that doing anything sinful would result in punishment from God. Just as much as they believed in God, they also believed in the Devil. Keeping up with the Puritan code, it led to the first women being accused of witchcraft. They were viewed as pariahs, and seen differently. Had the Puritan government let the afflicted defend themselves, not be so dependent on religion, not investigating the facts or scrutinize the trials the killing of many could have been prevented. The hangings from the trials would ultimately be the last in America.

During 1692, Puritan society in Massachusetts was filled with pressures: pressures to be a loyal and dedicated Christian and also pressures to remain in a uniform manner so each individual would not be criticized. Tensions in Puritan society escalated during the Salem witch trials, Puritans, mostly middle-aged wealthy women were kept under close observation and if something seemed unusual about an individual they would be persecuted by the town and told they are a witch, often this lead to their banishment from the colony or ultimately their death. The ideology of predestination created extreme conflicts throughout the Puritan society. People were constantly in fear if they committed a sin, they would go to hell. This fear sparked a distress that witchcraft was among the colonies and Satan was leading it by controlling the ones accused of witchcraft. Puritan society was dominated by fear that caused victimization throughout the colonies.

In 1692-1693, the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria occurred, resulting in 20 deaths out of the 200 accused of practicing the Devil’s magic, a practice that women were commonly accused of. Salem, Massachusetts, was a colony that consisted of Puritans, both Separatists and non Separatists alike. From the start, the Puritans believed that the Bible was true in all aspects: every word, every idea, every thought--was true. The Puritans also had minimal understanding of science, which led them to believe that phenomenon was an act of the Devil. Thus, when three young girls admitted to seeing demons and started behaving strangely, the Puritans grew progressively hysterical because they became more convinced that witches existed within Salem as they had little scientific knowledge. In a nutshell, the cause of the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria were Puritan fundamentalism, misogyny, and hysteria.

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

It was evident that the Puritan beliefs were strictly inflexible. They thought that their rules were too severe, and it motivated them to accuse others and use them as scapegoats. As a result, it formed a community conflict. Modern historians have noticed a repetitive pattern throughout New England in the early 1600s: community stress had a direct relationship to accusations of witchcraft (Saari, 23). Therefore, they were in great fear of being accused. The Puritans began to wonder who among them might be with the devil in disguise (Saari, 24). They thought deeply if a “local person was in a pact with the devil then that person was ultimately responsible for the community’s problems” (Saari, 24). Blaming others was becoming a constant and endless situation. “They were focused on cooperating simply to survive (Saari, 24). Innocent people often pleaded guilty to being witches to avoid torture and potential death. These accusations became madness because of the Puritans’ overly pious views on lifestyle.

The 1690s were a terrible time, full of accusations, lies and death, a scary time for all those in New England, especially in Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials were a result of a Puritan theocracy, in which the Puritans destroyed the lives of innocent women all the while believing they were doing the right thing. A Puritan theocracy meant that all aspects of the ruled area were controlled by the church. The Puritans were extremely strict about creating a perfect Puritan society, the oppression of women was prominent during this time and there was intense pressure to be a model citizen, making no mistakes. Religion ruled the life of a Puritan, it controlled every aspect of their lives.

A quote from the King James Bible, Exodus 22:18, states that “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Doc A). Puritans, who made up the majority of the Massachusetts colony, were fundamentalists. Fundamentalists believed that everything the Bible said must be followed to the letter. When people were being accused of witchcraft and were found guilty, the Puritans sent them to Gallows Hill to be hanged, because the Bible said to kill witches. Respected church officials like Cotton Mather, who was a respected minister and intellectual, wrote, “Go tell mankind, that there are devils and witches” is a quote from one of his written works (Doc C). There were many other powerful leaders like Cotton Mather who were tied to the church and could spread word of the ‘evil sorcery’. Again, the fundamentalist Puritans obeyed the religious leaders because they were God’s messengers, and God’s word was the law. A large part of the Massachusetts colony life was religious belief, and the rush of the Salem Witchcraft trials was largely because of it. However, there was one more thing that caused the Salem Witchcraft trials - personal relationships between two families and the two sides of the

In North America some Puritan people decided to settle down in what is now known as Salem Massachusetts. They believe in the Bible which means they knew about the devil and they also know he can possess people, and turn them into witches. These Puritan people were so superstitious that they accused over 100 people just in Salem. They stopped after the mayor’s wife was accused. People could have been stressed from the Indian raids so they accused traitors.

During the mid sixteen hundred several episodes of witch trials and hangings transpired throughout New England. In order to avoid harm as the accused one would have to confess and claim to nullify the agreement with the devil or to flee south out of New England to either New York or Pennsylvania where witchcraft did not get punished. However, in reality the accused were not wealthy enough to escape south quick enough to avoid getting caught by the sheriff chasing them. During this era, it was a common time when people saw the Devil as producer of every mishap. This lead to the easier belief of witches becoming common in the seventeenth century New England. With this hysteria more than a 100 men and women were imprisoned and about 13 women were executed. In the late spring 1692, a rising number of unexplainable, foreign events took place and members of the town of Salem were hysterically frightened about what their future survival faced. Similarly, right around that time a group of pubescent girls in Salem began to accuse several people, mainly middle aged women being their target, of being witches. The girls learned that they gained attention from adults when they had screaming spasms and accusing women of witchcraft. Moreover, the greater attention they received the larger span their accusations grasped. More foolishly the evidence that was used to justify were through dreams and visons solely. The governor at the time realized the firsthand affects of the hysteria when the

Proverbs 28:8 states “Do not bring hastily to court, for what will you do in the end if your neighbor puts you to shame?” Jesus is clearly expressing the importance of not jumping to conclusions and accusing someone innocent for the accuser might end up being judged himself. Nonetheless the Puritans of Salem did exactly the opposite. Absurd superstitions and irregular religious beliefs caused many to believe witches exist and have the ability to control humans and animals. The Salem Witch Trials are famous today for how a people group took a simple thing too far. The Salem Witch Trials were caused by the religious ways of the Puritans, pressure upon women, and the fear of speaking up.

Seventeenth century Massachusetts was a community fueled by the fear of the Devil and idea that he was constantly trying to find ways to destroy religious groups and their communities (History of Massachusetts). Witches were chosen specially by Satan to be given supernatural power in return for their loyalty (History). They were the beings that carried out Satan’s biddings. In addition to these beliefs, the citizens in Salem lived in constant fear of disease epidemics and surprise attacks from neighboring Native American tribes. These fears caused tension and stress within the village (History). Fear of the Devil and the witches, and the tension and stress caused by this idea is what ultimately led to the accusations (History of Massachusetts).

The New England colonies were built on the belief system of a reformed edition of the Church of New England. They were seeking to go away with the Church of England's Catholic standards and pushed to reform the church into a stronger religious hold. The Puritans who lived in Salem Village, Massachusetts were widely known to have common disputes among others as with any close related town or village during the 1690s. A lot of the disagreements were due to unequal grazing land or disputes within the church. Growing tensions among the people of the village produced different thoughts on the causes of it all. Contributed to the start of the Salem Witch Trials and responded with complaints of witchcraft among the community.