What Were The Salem Witch Trials

Salem Witch Trials: The witch trials were a series of hearings, and prosecutions of people being accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692, through May 1693. The primary source of the trials is unknown, but it was most recognized when a group of young girls, from the village Salem, started to speak of the devil invading their home and try to take over through his “minions” that he persuaded to write in his book. This group of girls accused over 200 people for working for the devil, or being witches, and

Salem Witch Trials- Salem Witch Trials are a series of persecutions and hearings for people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts in 1692 and 1693. These trials resulted in the execution of 20 people. There was one huge hearing in 1692 in Salem town. This trial resulted in 19 executed, and 8 condemned.

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 Salem witch trials were a difficult time for the citizens of the Massachusetts Colony in the late seventeenth century. They were accused of practicing the Devil’s magic, which many believed to be real; so real that people were being imprisoned and executed for it. Between the years 1692 and 1693 there were over two hundred accusations and about 20 people and two dogs were killed altogether.

“THOU SHALT NOT SUFFER A WITCH TO LIVE.” (Document A, Exodus 22:18 KJV Bible) The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria started on June 10 and lasted until September 22, 1692. During this time 19 men and women were hanged for witchcraft, furthermore, even one man was pressed to death with stones just trying to get him to testify. The hysteria started with two very young girls, Betty Parris, age nine, and her eleven-year-old cousin Abigail Williams. (Stated in Background essay) There were at least three causes of the Salem witch trial hysteria. These reasons were the two young girls mentioned before, Ergotism, and Puritan beliefs.

The witch trials of Salem are often thought to be a hysteria that can be categorized as fake and sometimes “crazy”. The trials started by the belief of the supernatural and the practice of the devil’s ability to grant people the ability to hurt others. Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams are the two young ladies that began the stereotypical beliefs in witchery. Williams and Parris started having hysterical fits and “uncontrollable” tantrums filled with screaming and crazy-like seizures. The result of all the insane opinions and conclusions to society were nineteen hangings, and one pressing. The Salem witch trials were a result of hasty decisions and the fear of God’s anger on the people of society. Today, the trials would be seen as crazy or fictional.

After being interrogated for days, the most educated and trusted woman of the trio, Tibuta, confessed that the devil turned her into a witch. This put all three women in jail and planted the seed to the next reason of why the hysteria spread so far and fast through Salem.

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 Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 when two girls began to exhibit strange behaviors. Hysteria broke out and many believed they had been bewitched. Out of fear, many were accused of practicing witchcraft. One of the fist women to be accused along with Sarah Osburn and Sarah Good was Tituba, a slave to Reverend Samuel Parris. In the past there had been some loose accusations but Tituba’s confession made this time different. She was the first person to ever admit to being a witch. She went on to further explain that she was a witch for the devil and went into detail about her experiences practicing witchcraft. This caused a panic in Salem that led a full on witch-hunt. Around 200 people total were accused of being witches and 20 were killed during the Salem Witch Trials. (Foulds, D. E. p. 161, 168, 194)

On January 20th, before the three women were accused, Abigail Williams and Betty Parris began to have fits, and complained that they were in pain (Source 2). In February, a doctor first examined the girls, ruled out that it was witchcraft, and then examined Tituba, who confessed to him that she was a witch (Source 2). As other girls began to show signs of affliction, the citizens of Salem began to fill with fear, and went to the court to get help. The court began the official trials, and worked alongside the afflicted girls to rule out who was evil, and who was good.

Twenty four people died during the Salem Witchcraft trials of 1692, and at least a hundred more were sent to jail under the accusation of witchcraft. These trials first began when Betty Parris, Ann Putnam, Mercy Lewis, and Mary Walcott were behaving oddly. The girls dashed under furniture, contorted in pain, and hallucinated, among other things. The people of a small Massachusetts colony called Salem panicked, not knowing what was causing the girls to act so oddly. There were three major reasons why this happened: childish behavior, religious beliefs and personal tensions between the two sides of the colony.

Though the Puritans left excellent records, these witch trials are still shrouded in mystery, and to this day historians debate why they happened. One explanation is that the Puritan philosophy of denying oneself any luxury left the young girls who started the Witch Hunt feeling starved for attention, causing them to act out. Whatever the reason is the fact remains that in February of 1692 two young girls began experiencing “fits” and blamed satanic rituals performed by some of the women of Salem. Massive hysteria erupted, and the trials resulted in the death of twenty-two people.

The Salem Witch Trials, which occurred in colonial Massachusetts, were an act of mass hysteria leading to the deaths of twenty citizens. In late 1691 a young group of girls, including Betty Parris and Abigail Williams who lived with Revered Samuel Parris, began asking an African American, or possibly Native American, slave named Tituba about witchcraft. They soon began acting abnormally and were diagnosed as being bewitched. In April of 1692, Ann Putman accused the first three people, Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osburne, as being witches. The next month, Governor William Phips established the Court of Oyer and Terminer to handle any cases involving witchcraft. Bridget Bishop was the first accused witch to be hung in June 1692, followed by

Imagine yourself in the year 1692 when feeling odd with the inability to control your illness was labeled as being bewitched, with unchanging unjust judgements being cast upon you with no evidence to reclaim your status with accusations. That contradict your arguments of being sane and one person admitting to using “fortune telling” otherwise known as “White Magic” at the time and signing a book and witnessing you signing it when the information was false and wrong (Sutter 2000-2003). The Salem Witch Trials were trials that were found to be unjust which destroyed many families and homes because of the reliance on authority, the labeling, resistance to change, Black and White thinking, and Hasty Moral Judgement.

Furthermore, Puritans believed in the Devil as much as they did God, and one who committed a sin was to be punished. In 1692, a group of girls claimed to have been possessed by the devil, accusing local women of witchcraft. Numerous men and women were hanged in Salem, Massachusetts. The hysteria of witchcraft led to the Salem Witch Trials. Abigal Williams, a wicked, confident, and lying girl, is one of the main accusers in the Salem Witch Trials.