The Salem Trials : The Consequences Of The Salem Witch Trials

The Salem witch trials was a story of envy, lies, and the danger of the people. Others wouldn’t defend those accused, and if they did, they themselves were eventually charged as witches. In many ways, defending others was condemning yourself. Such was the case for John Proctor in “The Crucible”. John Proctor was someone who had made mistakes, but through his own crucible made peace with himself and defended the honor of himself and the others that would not admit to witchcraft.

History generally regards the period of Salem witchcraft trials as a radical instatement of religious zeal which favored superstition over reason and targeted a large number of women over a much smaller number of men. Admittedly, the 1692 witchcraft crisis is a very complex historical episode, yet seeing as the majority of the people involved were women, it can be perceived as a gender issue, and illustrative for the definition of the role of women in New England. The present work's aim is to outline the colonial mindset concerning women and present relevant theories by means of analyzing three cases of witchcraft accusation together with delving into the accusers' perspective.

These girls did not all show “symptoms” at one time. The first girl to start experiencing symptoms was Betty Parris. She was followed by Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam Jr., Mary Walcott and Mercy Lewis (History of Massachusetts). These girls were throwing tantrums, hiding under furniture and contorting to pain. Since panic and fear set in, witchcraft was the easy choice to make. In today’s medical science, these girls would have been diagnosed with boredom or epilepsy. Although at the time the cause was unknown, these symptoms were probably brought on from eating rye infected with fungus. The three victims were not the only ones accused. There were numerous cases of scapegoating running prevalent.

History shows the remarkable things that society has done over the years, it also shows where society failed and mistakes were made. This is the case of the Salem Witch Trials. The people of Salem experienced an event that would change them and the course of this country forever. The mass hysteria and rampant paranoia that swept New England in 1692, is what turned neighbor against neighbor. The Salem villagers would accuse one another of casting spells, consorting with the devil, and being witches, all of which was a punishable crime in the 17th century. ("Search")

The Salem Witch Trials began during the spring of 1692 after a group of young girls in Salem Village, MA, said they were being possessed by the devil and accused local women of witchcraft. With chaos running around the village, the special court began taking on cases. Bridget Bishop, the first convicted witch, was hung that June month. Many people of the Salem community had major consequences including death and harrassment. Belief that the devil could give certain humans, or witches, power to harm others in return for their loyalty emerged throughout europe as early as the 14th century. All of this chaos and phenomenon led to a pointing fingers game of who is guilty. Chaos also brought up the question of why it happened, malice, spite, or

The Salem Witch Trials were a series of accusations, trials, and executions based on the supposed outbreak of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. The trials began during the spring of 1692, and the last of them ended in 1693. It all started when two young girls, Abigail and Betty Parris, began experiencing violent convulsions and outbursts, which were thought to be brought about by witchcraft. Whether they were faking these symptoms, were afflicted with an actual sickness, or were experiencing them because of some sort of psychological reason is widely debated, though it is known that the sisters accused their maid, Tituba, of forcing them to participate in witchcraft with her. Some who theorize about the causes of the trials dismiss the Parris girls involvement in the beginning and instead attribute the outbreak of accusations to judgement upon the members of society who break social or religious rules, or who struck the upright members of society as ‘strange’ and ‘suspicious’, such as the homeless, the poor, and old or widowed women. The cause of the hysteria that went on in Salem after this is what is speculated by so many. There are probably hundreds of theories out there, but a few in particular are more widely known, accepted, and supported than others.

The myths surrounding the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 spike the interest of historians and non-academics alike. These trials have been the concern of different historical articles, novels, plays, films, and even religious debates. One issue that is certain, is the hysteria of the community overwhelmed Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 and 1693. A particular primary source, “Accounts of the Salem Witchcraft Trials (1693)” by Cotton Mather, suggests that the actions brought forth provided proof of satanic work. Even though Mather was a contemporary observer, Mather fails to analyze the importance of the real contemporary issues displayed during the time of the trials. Furthermore, historian Kyle Koehler, takes a different approach in his review,

Introduction - The Salem Witch trials was a time of hysteria and confusion. People were being accused and giving false confessions of witchcraft being performed on the people of Salem, Massachusetts.

Two hundred people were accused and twenty were executed between the years of 1692-1693 in Salem, Massachusetts due to suspicion of witchcraft. Although most, if not all of these people were falsely accused this act by the court could’ve ended up a good thing in Salem in the future. The Salem witch trials affected Salem positively and negatively. The unfortunate event helped positively towards the government because it separated law and church, but had a negative effect on the church making them lose credibility, and a clear negative effect on the people of Salem that died and were accused.

Massachusetts Bay Colony, first settled into in 1630, was overwhelmingly controlled by Puritans. Their goal was to establish colonies based on the word of God. Salem, like many other towns at the time, had little distinction between church and state and focused all aspects of their society on God. (Roach) Due to these conditions, Salem became the site of the largest and most violent witch hunts in America. The significance of the trials comes from the large impact they had on American law. The conditions before, during, and after the Salem Trials were unlike the witch hunts in any other colonies in the New World or in Europe. However, towns and cities being struck with fear of the Devil were a common occurrence throughout the sixteenth century.

In the aftermath of the Salem witch trials, the American colonies were shaken to their core. The events were captivating, horrifying and fascinating. In the aftermath, the country looked towards a brighter future, one free of demons and hysteria. America was on the path to modernization, keen on putting aside such old world ideas as witches. In his wide spanning book, America Bewitched, Owen Davies follows America’s life after Salem, recounting the country’s fascination with witchcraft. Through thematic chapters, Davies offers reports of witch-trials, magical beliefs, and the changing attitudes of a modernizing society. While thorough and gripping, the book steers clear of arguing for a specific meaning behind the United States’ continuing enthrallment with the subject. However, a common thread can be found in the evolving attitudes towards beliefs in witchcraft and the European concept of the ‘other.’ By highlighting Davies tales of interracial confrontations in the Spanish colonies of the southwest, the tension between slaves and owners in the Deep South, and the outer reaches of the Alaskan territory, a clear connection ties the United States continuing enthrallment with witchcraft and colonialism.

During the time period of June to September 1692, twenty people were unjustly murdered after trials found them guilty of acts of witchcraft. The series of hearings and prosecutions of the accused witches in colonial Massachusetts marks one of the nation 's most notorious cases of mass hysteria. The reasons behind the trials and deaths are complex and multifaceted. Internal disputes, strict religious lifestyles, accusations from young children, witch hunting methods, spectral evidence, and even some medical theories all stand as causes of the Salem Witch Trials.

The many differing interpretations surrounding the cause of the Salem Witch Trials 1692 makes the topic captivating as many historian perspectives offer explanations for the causation of the trials, yet the personal context of each historian has determined its historic reliability. This questions the level of objectivity each historian has in their responses to the Trials. The aims and purposes of a historian, as well as their differing methodologies may alter the approach the have towards the investigation of the Trials. Many interpretations offered for the causation of the trials include psychological illness within the victims, the supposed victims of witchcraft were fraudulent, or that social conflicts were to blame. This reveals the difficulty in simply identifying one cause of the trials due to the controversy in conflicting perspectives and the ambiguous circumstances of this event, which opens its ability to be debated and appeals to the curiosity of historians and the audience.

It is universally understood that the majority of humans are skeptical, if not reluctant to understand or accept that which unknown or different from what they previously considered being true, right, or normal. Such was the case in 1692 when over a hundred people from the Salem Town, Salem Village, and surrounding areas of Massachusetts were accused of witchcraft, leading to numerous arrests and even executions. The events that transpired in the small New England colony have intrigued, seduced, and baffled historians since their occurrence hundreds of years ago. The majority of these historians have conducted extensive amounts of research with the goal of determining the origins and factors that prompted these witch trials. While many attribute the 1692 accusations and trials to past beliefs in the supernatural that have remained since the fourteenth century, historians Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum conclude that the Salem witch accusations and trial were the result of tensions regarding wealth, residential location, and morality along with spirituality. However, their approach in their research differs from that of other historians. In their publication, Salem Possessed, Boyer and Nissenbaum support their argument that the 1692 Salem witchcraft trials occurred due to geographic, economic, and moral tensions using maps, journal entries, and tax records.

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.