The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692 Essay

The Salem Witch Trials started on February 29, 1692. Two young girls accused their slave woman, named Tituba, of putting a curse upon them when getting their fortune told to by her. They reported strange behaviors, ridiculous speeches and muttering, creeping under chairs, and getting into holes. Three women were accused of this crime, but only Tituba admitted to practicing witchcraft which saved her life. This spiraled into the hysteria of witchcraft. Three things that might have caused the hysteria of 1692 were land disputes, power of suggestion, and acting.

The Salem Witch Trials were a constant and consistent occurrence in 1691 Massachusetts; hangings became consistent, but the fear of the unknown became the true evil unleashed amongst the dark times that reigned upon Salem. Such atrocities were caused by a development of preposterous dispositions created by desperation and fear. The colony ran into hardship after exposure to illness, misfortune, and power struggles. Due to their religious ideology, they believed that an evil force was responsible for their hardship, and was responsible for wreaking havoc within their civilization.

The Witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts began in 1692. The witch hysteria was started by two young girls who later though recounted the story as false. The people who believed in this was the Puritan community because of their devotion to God and the church. The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria in 1692 was mainly caused by health reasons but social and religious reasons were underlying causes. The Salem Witch Trials were caused by health reasons.

In Salem, Massachusetts 1692, 134 people were accused as witches, 20 of them were put to death, 4 died in jail, but why? (Document A and B) Why did these people get accused of being a witch, a person possessed or controlled by the Devil? Well there was the strong belief in witchcraft and the Devil at the time, it didn’t help that the Bible said, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Background Essay). That probably caused some uneasiness among everyone in Salem, but wasn’t enough to cause the mass hangings. Then what could’ve happened in Salem that caused the witch trial hysteria of 1692? Well, it looks as if there were three causes - young girls against older women, girls faking affliction, and a division of the town over wealth and

The Salem Witch Trials took place in early 1692. During these trials around 150 people were accused of being witches by a group of young girls. The girls claimed that these “witches” had the power to harm them as a result of giving their loyalty to the devil. The Puritans strict culture and previous tension due to the fear of native american attacks bordering the village made it more susceptible to falling victim of the widespread chaos known as the Salem Witch Trials.

During the time period of 1691 to 1692 the town of Salem, a small thriving community within the Puritan Massachusetts Bay colony, was struck by widespread hysteria in the form of witch trials. The way these trials and accusations played out are historically unlike any other witch trials found in European and American history. Historians have pointed to a number of economic, political, and social changes of the then existing institutions throughout the Massachusetts Bay area to be the cause of the Salem witch trials, along with the direction they took. If studied closely however, it becomes apparent that the main cause for the Salem witch trials can be found in the way the people of Salem viewed and

It was also a society experiencing a great many difficulties. They feared the Native Americans and, “a repetition of the devastation of King Philips War” (Norton). The village, had also just experiences a terrible outbreak of smallpox and were involved in “a longstanding rivalry with the more affluent community of Salem Town” (History.com), which left Salem Villagers, paranoid and untrusting of outsiders. The Salem Puritans believed that all these cruel things happening to them were a punishment passed down onto them by God. Religion and Witchcraft provided reasoning and an excuse for

== = The Salem Witchcraft trials started in 1692 resulting in 19 executions and 150 accusations of witchcraft. This was the biggest outbreak of witchcraft hysteria in colonial New England. The trials began because three young girls, Betty Parris, Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam began having hysterical fits, convulsions and terrifying visions after being caught engaging in forbidden fortune telling[1].

The Salem witch trials were a dark time in American history. It all started when Reverend Parris’ daughter and niece were acting strangely after spending time with Parris’ slave Tituba. For example, “They were believed to have danced a black magic dance in the nearby woods. Several of the girls would fall to the floor and scream hysterically” (“Witchcraft in Salem”). Parris then believed that Tituba along with two other women had bewitched his daughter and niece, thus starting the witch hunt.

The Salem Witch Trials began in Salem, Massachusetts, 1690. To this day it is not completely clear why these trials began, but some believed that physical and/or mental illness, like hysteria, was the cause. Others suggest that some of the local plants had been poisoned. The most reasonable cause was that there was a pact amongst a group of girls that wanted revenge on some of the people in the town; since they accused many and had similar accusations that could have been rehearsed. Other explanations include that the Puritans, coming from the same views from Europe, believed that witchcraft was possible.

There was a point in our history when people believed in witches. If you were accused as a witch, you would be tried, most of the time found guilty, and hanged. These events happened in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. During the Salem witch trials in 1692, more women were accused than men. At the same time, women were also accusers. Many things could have caused women to be accused and accusers. These included, the stories Tituba told, the effects of Ergot Poisoning, Hysteria and the hunger for Power. During this time, the young girls (Elizabeth Parris, and Abigail Williams) started having fits. This was after Tituba told stories about demons and witches to them. These fits were similar to the fits one would have gotten if poisoned with

Throughout our nation 's history, Americans have survived times of struggle by remaining strong and brave despite their fears. Disease, natural disasters, and starvation are just a few of the trials our country has faced. While these are certainly dangerous, perhaps the most frightening of all is when you fear those closest to you. This is what happened during the horrific frenzy labeled as the Salem Witch Trials. Nobody truly knows why they occurred, although there are several plausible theories. It all originated in seventeenth century New England, in a tiny place called Salem Village (History.com).

Accusations of witchcraft ran rampant in the 17th century colonial settlements in the United States. The individuals accused, mostly women, were put on trial and punished, if found guilty. The most well-known of such cases on public record are the Salem Witch Trials. Between February, 1692 and May, 1693, hearings and prosecutions were set up to deal with those accused of dabbling in the dark arts in the cities of Andover, Salem, and Ipswich, all in Massachusetts Bay. These trials came to commonly be referred to as the Salem Witch Trials because some of the most notorious cases were heard in the Oyer and Terminer courts in Salem. At the time, practicing witchcraft was considered a serious crime, and was

humanity would have come to an end, but that was not so. In 1692 a

This source will help me answer my question because it is mentioned that Salem was a puritan society and that they believed in evil supernatural spirts. This also shows that die to the religious indoctrination it was easy for people to believe in things that they would not normally believe in. This source shows what the puritans believed in and what they feared during this time and to what impact it affected their decisions. It gives a