The Salem Witch Trials : The Puritan Legal Trials

In January 1692, when a group of juvenile girls began to display bizarre behavior, the tight-knit Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts couldn’t explain the unusual afflictions and came to a conclusion. Witches had invaded Salem. This was the beginning of a period of mass hysteria known as The Salem Witch Trials. Hundreds of people were falsely accused of witchcraft and many paid the ultimate price of death. Nineteen people were hung, one was pressed to death, and as many as thirteen more died in prison. One of the accused Elizabeth Bassett Proctor, a faithful wife and mother, endured her fictitious accusation with honor and integrity.

In January 1692, when a group of juvenile girls began to display bizarre behavior, the tight-knit Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts couldn’t explain the unusual afflictions and came to a conclusion. Witches had invaded Salem. This was the beginning of a period of mass hysteria known as The Salem Witch Trials. Hundreds of people were falsely accused of witchcraft and many paid the ultimate price of death. Nineteen people were hung, one was pressed to death, and as many as thirteen more died in prison. One of the accused Elizabeth Bassett Proctor, a faithful wife and mother, endured her fictitious accusation with honor and integrity.

Puritans had many beliefs that affected the Salem Witch Trials, these were based on how the attendance or lack of attendance of the church, how people should behave, social class, and the way the government should be handled. Puritans were English Protestants that came to America in 1630. They sought to reform the Church of England. When they first came to America they settled at Salem, Massachusetts. The main reason the Puritan’s came to Salem was for freedom of religion which they did not have in England. The Puritans also came because they believed that the Church of England was not religious or enforcing religion enough. Puritans were just like the Pilgrims. Years later the Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 and ended

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.

Witchcraft wasn't new to the world, it had been occurring in Europe for hundreds of years. From the 14th-16th century, 40,000- 50,000 individuals in Europe were executed for the suspicion of witchcraft. Religion was very pertinent to the people of this era. Anything that was written in the bible or created by the church was law, it says in Exodus 22:18, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." By the year of 1231, Pope Gregory IX declared that it was legal to expose and punish any belief different from Roman Catholic doctrine. Pope Innocent the VIII deemed witchcraft a heresy, with the punishment being death. Everyone followed this decree as witchcraft was wrongful in the eyes of the church. ("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

In the spring of 1692 , a small town named Salem is located in Salem, Massachusetts is where the witch hunt started(Blumberg). The girls who started they were caught dancing in the woods. Then they started to accused people of being witches(Blumberg). One of the first to be accused was Tituba which she confessed to being a witch(Blumberg). When they started the trails, the governor Phipps called for a special court to deal with the witch problem(Blumberg). Most people didn't even knew about them questions surrounding villages about consorting with the devil(Blumberg). The governor’s wife was even accused of being a witch(Blumberg). The first conviction was Bridget Bishop and she was hanged eight days later(Blumberg).

Brought to the New England colonies by the Puritans was not only a strict theology, but an understanding and fear of the supernatural world they believed was so tightly intertwined with their earthly world. Therefore, it was only natural for the pious colonists to be wary of things they did not understand and suspect denizens that did not act accordingly to the standards of what it meant to be a Puritan. However, even though there were many suspicions of certain individuals associating with the Devil and performing witchcraft, there was usually not enough substantial evidence to indict said individuals. Then, after several Native American raids, a change in government to an Anglican leader, and the arrival of Separatists, Puritans became even more wary and anxious of those around them. This turn of events set off the biggest witch hunt in colonial America, known as the Salem Witch Trials. Due to her personal misfortunes and venomous tongue, Sarah Good was one of the first three women to be accused of witchcraft and was later hung on July 19, 1692.

The United States of America is known to many as the Home of the Free. The United States has built itself on pride knowing that its citizens are protected against a government that abuses its power. Also, religious freedom and a separation of church and state are key fundamentals of America. However, the present day United States had to go through several conflicts in order to preserve the unalienable rights. One of these obstacles the United States had to overcome was the Salem Witch Trials.

Many people know of the events that transpired in Salem, Massachusetts, when in 1692, several women were put to trial after being accused by their community for committing witchcraft. To this day, these trials act as a hallmark of the puritan beliefs and spiritual controversy that defined the era. While these trials remain infamous in colonial history, many people are unaware of a similar series of events that took place in Stamford, Connecticut, the very same year. These trials would later become known as the Katherine Branch investigations. While they are often overlooked, these trials were influential in challenging the religious beliefs, logic-based legal systems, and hierarchical societies of 17th-Century Puritanism. The clash between the religious and social beliefs of the Puritans and the legal system of the colony throughout the Branch investigations provide historians with vital information on how the Puritans believed that supernatural forces affected their society.

On February 29, 1692, under the guidance of magistrates Johnathan Corwin and John Hathorne, Ann, Elizabeth and Abagail accused three women for afflicting them: Tituba a slave girl from the Caribbean who was owned by the Parris’s; Sarah Good, a homeless beggar and Sarah Osborne, an elderly woman. All three women were brought to trial before the local magistrates and interrogated for days at a time, these interrogations began on March 1, 1692. Both Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good claimed to be innocent, but Tituba confessed, “The Devil came to me and bid me serve him” (Witch Hunt). Tituba states that she has seen images of huge black dogs, red cats and a huge black man who asked her to write her name in his book. She said that she indeed did sign the book along with several other witches who sought out to destroy the Puritans. The Puritans were eager to believe the confession from the slave girl. Tituba’s skin reminded them of the Indians they came to hate so much. She was a dark skinned woman from Barbados, Tituba was also known for speaking her native language and practicing her native religion. Since Tituba confessed, all three women were sent to jail.

The Salem Witch Trial hysteria of 1692 caused 20 people to be hung or pressed to death and 4 perished in jail. In addition, 200 people in Salem were accused of being witches. On June 10 of 1692, Bridget Bishop was charged with practicing witchcraft and she was also accused of bewitching her husband to death. The result of her not confessing was that she was hung to her death. All of this frenzy started in the house of Samuel Parris. His daughters were consumed by the bizarre tales told by their Indian slave, Tituba. Over the next several months, the girls array strange behavior. After arriving at court, the young girls accused two white women and Tituba of practicing witchcraft. After this strange incident, the people of Salem started to

The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the Devil’s magic—and 20 were executed. Eventually, the colony admitted the trials were a mistake and compensated the families of those convicted. Since then, the story of the trials has become synonymous with paranoia and injustice, and it continues to beguile the popular imagination more than 300 years later” (Blumberg). The period in which the Salem Witch Trials took place was a dark period in American history. America was a vast wilderness, unexplored, corrupted by an overzealous society. This group of people is known as the puritans. Their christian based faith was strict but their punishments were even stricter. Their actions and crimes they commited impacted generations after generations to come. A good example of this can be seen through Nathaniel Hawthorne's writings especially his best selling novel “The Scarlet Letter”. His novel is the tale of a young puritan girl, named Hester Prynne ,who is too harshly judged for her actions. Some might observe that these three things are connected. These observers are right. These three topics are all connected by the idea of women oppression and how the early puritans and the Salem Witch Trials were cancerous to american society. The Puritans beliefs and their involvement in the Salem Witch Trials, as proven by the writings of American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, is seen in the long run

Among the accused were two very influential women in the church, Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse. Another of the accused was the four year old daughter of Sarah Good. After Tituba’s “confession” the Village of Salem went into a state of panic, the new Prime Minister William Phips order that a special Court of Oyer and Terminer(hear and decide) the the witch cases of Salem. Bridget Bishop was the first to be condemned on July 2 and was hung soon thereafter.

After hearing this news, the girls were asked to pick out who they thought caused the fits. They blamed three women for the supernatural effects. The first woman that was blamed was Tituba. Tituba was the Reverend Parris’ Caribbean slave. The second woman blamed was a homeless beggar by the name of Sarah Good. The third and last woman blamed for cursing the children was an elderly and impoverished woman known as Sarah Osborn. After these three woman were accused of being witches, they were brought before the local magistrates and interrogated for several days (Aronson). Sarah Osborn and Sarah good both pleaded that they were innocent, but Tituba spoke differently. Tituba confessed that the Devil had come to her and had asked her to serve him. She then spoke of vivid images of red cats, yellow birds, black dogs, and a strange “black man” who had asked her to sign his book. She then stated that she did sign the book and that there were other witches in the area looking to destroy the Puritans (Blumberg). Some more people that were accused of being witches were Susannah Martin, John Proctor, and Samuel Wardell. Susannah Martin was in her late sixties. She was also a mother of eight and widowed to a blacksmith. Mrs. Martin was accused of witchcraft in the 1670’s, but her then husband had reversed the charges. John Proctor was a successful farmer,