What Is The Cause Of The Salem Witch Trials

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a series of prosecutions of people who were accused of acts of witchcraft or of being a witch in Salem, Massachusetts through the time period of February 1692 through May 1693. This was a dark time in history as more than 200 prosecutions took place and at least 20 people were killed during this time of fear and hysteria. The accusations began as three girls Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne were accused of witchcraft from other young girls in the community. During this time period, fear of the Devil was common as people in Salem were very devoted to their religion and religious practices. As one of the accused girls, Tituba, confessed to working for the Devil and admitting to being a witch, this caused panic and hysteria as a massive witch hunt took place to find more of these witches. This confession was the main reason behind months and months of fear and mass panic as it triggered more accusations.

It all began in 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts, a Puritan town. Ironically, this supposed religious town, put 20 people to death for witchcraft. The invisible crime had made itself prevalent in the town through two girls, Betty Parris, age nine, and her 11 year old cousin Abigail Williams. These two girls, in order to escape punishment for witchcraft, accused two local white women and the slave Tituba (What Caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692?, Background Essay). It was this first accusation, that set forth the next turn of events. From here, the number of accusers grew. Suddenly, everyone’s neighbors became witches and the jails began to overflow. A special court was built to hold trials, however, the judicial system was biased along with the rest of the town. They allowed their set religious beliefs interfere with logical reasoning and evidence. Hence, the bias. The court proved all for not though, when it ordered a mass hanging on September 22, ending the witchcraft epidemic in Salem. To this day, historians still don’t fully understand what caused the hysteria in Salem. Thus, it could only be theorized the causes of such an event. Taking a gander at probability, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were likely rooted in scapegoating, greed, and bias.

I am writing this report today to explain the major reasons behind the horrific witchcraft trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the years 1692 and 1693. For years this event has been ignored. However, after analyzing the evidence in this case, I have some startling news to share. First, I will share with you the various theories that make the most sense. Then I will explain what I believe caused the Salem community to respond in such a cruel and violent way.

In 1692, in the small village of Salem, Massachusetts, 20 people were hanged for offenses they did not commit. But what was the charge against the 20? The answer would be witchcraft. The charges deeply affected the small community. Neighbor turned on neighbor. Every act that a person made would be carefully scrutinized, dissected, and repeated to others. This would lead to the question. What caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692? The 3 main factors that would cause widespread panic in the town of Salem were gender, marital status, and age, actors and attention seekers, and neighbor conflicts within the village of Salem.

Many lives were lost in Salem Village during the summer of 1692. Twenty people, primarily married women, were executed for alleged witchcraft. Many individuals, primarily historians, continue to ponder the causes of the Salem Witch Trial hysteria of 1692. Clearly, there were a few possible causes of the hysteria; however, envious, young women; lying girls; and sexism stand out as the main causes.

The Salem Witch Trials were a series of trials in the 1690s which accused society members of practicing witchcraft, they took place in Salem, Massachusets. What caused this mass hysteria to occur? Some contributing factors could include some socio-economic reasons, an overbearing Puritan society and the influential sense that witchcraft was taking place all over the world.

In 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, hysteria broke out throughout the town in an event that later became known as the Salem Witch Trials. They were the largest account of witch hangings ever in America, as 20 women and men were put to death for being accused of practicing witchcraft. Historians have been debating about how these trials were caused. The frenzy in Salem happened because at first, young girls were afraid of punishment and wanted to avoid it so they blamed older women and accused them of being witches. These accusations began to spiral out of control when the religion of the town supported the allegations, which causes paranoia and panic to spread throughout Salem, which blinded the townspeople from clues revealing that the

In 1692 the Puritans, colonists that believed in the bible, settled in America. They believed in witchcraft, and believed that people who study it should be executed. This led to many people being accused and executed. What made the Salem witch trials of 1692 such a threat and fear to the people of Massachusetts? The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 was caused by the fear of being possessed by the devil, by the fear of being accused and what your consequences would be, and lastly the belief of people being witches which was a crime worthy of death.

The Salem Witch Trials were a series of executions done in colonial Massachusetts, where several people were accused of witchcraft between February 1692 and May 1693. These executions included fourteen women, and six men, all of these executions but one were done by hangings. The government and the population in the 1690’s in Massachusetts consisted of strongly puritans. Puritanism was a religious reform movement in the late 16th and 17th centuries that wanted to “purify” the Church of England from the remnants of the Roman Catholic. Puritans were the more extreme protestants, and they thought that the English Reformation did not purify every single thing they had of the Catholic religion. They believed that every individual was directly responsible to God, instead of a priest, etc. For example, a puritan minister called Richard Sibbes said: “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.”

It only takes one word to ruin a person’s life. In Salem, Massachusetts,1692, there were mass amounts of witch hunts leading to dozens of executions. Social class tensions, intense religious beliefs and political approach led to the production of the Salem Witch Trials.

In the year (1692) witch trials held the Salem area hostage people were terrified. People of

The Salem Witch Trials began when three girls were accused of witchcraft. In Massachusetts in the 17th century many people feared the devil was constantly trying to find ways to destroy people and their community. Salem was a strongly religious community. When Tituba, one of the accused witches, confessed that she and some others were witches and working for the devil, mass panic broke out. There had been previous incidents of witchcraft such as the case of Margaret Johnson who was accused and convicted in 1648 but no one had ever confessed of being a witch or stated that there were other witches working for the devil in their community. Although Tibuta’s confession was the main reason why the trials happened, there were other factors that contributed to the trials. Salem was under stress during this time period. In 1691, the king and queen of England issued a new anti-religious charter instead of reissuing the old charter and they also combined the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony and several other colonies into one. Puritans of this time feared their religion was under attack and they were worried they were losing control of their colony. The threat of their religion left people of the colony feeling uneasy. Other factors that led to the trails were a smallpox outbreak, rivalries between families, and fear of attack from Native American. The events that were taking place during this time were considered to be some of the darkest and most frightful times for the colony. The colonist were in constant had constant, fear, stress, and worry. The colonists believed that the devil was responsible for all the

The Salem Witch Trials in New England comprised the largest outbreak of witchcraft panic in American history. Historians and scientists have contributed the accusations of witchcraft in the early 1690’s to everything, from disease, religious and political agendas, to harsh weather. It is believed that a better understanding of the cause of the atrocities in Salem, and those like it, may prevent such events from reoccurring. Despite many years of study, however, what caused such panic in New England and the subsequent bizarre accusations against over a hundred and fifty people remains largely speculative.

In today's world, no other colonial American event intrigues audiences more than the Salem Witch Trials. Most of this intrigue results from the lack of information regarding the accused witches, the “bewitchment” of the girls, and the judges who controversially sentenced the witches to death without sufficient evidence. The mass paranoia resulting from the accusations of witchcraft is something that has haunted the region ever since the trials ended in 1693. Overall, the three main groups involved in this important colonial event were the accused, the accusers, and the judges.

For decades, opposing perspectives of different people and groups has led to contention in society. In communities around the world, this contention has built up fear and prejudice. However, as conflict is an inevitable part of any society, it can be expected to develop the greatest consequence possible. The Salem Witch Trials are an example of such conflict, as they resulted in many people being falsely accused for crimes, arrested, and killed. But what provoked this mass hysteria? Scholars have attempted to answer this question, but the most common idea is that it was due to a variety of economic, social, and physiological problems within the Salem village.