Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

The Salem Witch Trials began in the late 1600’s and is widely known to this day as one of the darkest periods in American history. In this essay, I will be analyzing the context and origins of the trials, the hysteria that dramatically spread through Massachusetts, and the legacy that we’ve come to know today. (thesis statement will go here I just can NOT think of one and I’m tired of wasting my time trying. Help .)

The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692 and became one of the most infamous witchcraft episodes in United States history. It all started in the small Puritan village of Salem when little Betty Parris and Abigail Williams become ill and did not show any sign of improvement. This is when Reverend Parris, Betty’s father, called in the village doctor William Griggs. His diagnosis of bewitchment had the village overtaken with mass hysteria that would continue to plague them long after the May 1693 end. During the trials one hundred and fifty six people were accused of witchcraft: fifty four of which confessed, nineteen of which were hanged, four of which died in jail, and one whom was pressed to death.

In 1692, in Massachusetts Bay Colony town of Salem Village there were many contributing factors to the execution of fourteen women, five men, and two dogs. The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. It began as a few girls being accused of witchcraft, then slowly and more progressively it was many people that were being accused. The first few started it out of boredom, then it gout out of hand. The process of identifying witches began with suspicions or rumours.

Salem, Massachusetts became famously known for the witch trials that took place in the late 1600’s. For the men and women residing in Salem, Massachusetts it was a time in which they lived in fear of allegations and deceit. Twenty men and women lost their lives during what is known as the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria. Socioeconomic tensions within the community are to blame for the witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600’s. Factors such as politics, religion, and social status all played a role in the deadly and devastating era.

People were arrested without knowledge of why they were being arrested. They were accused of using witchcraft, although they had no knowledge of using so called witchcraft on people.Thomas Brattle stated , “...she sold butter to a sailor, which, proving bad at sea, and the seamen exclaiming against her, she appeared, and soon after there was a storm...” (Dudley 30). Because this innocent woman sold butter to a sailor and just so happen to have a storm that day, and the sailor accused her of using witchcraft to harm him. There was also a storm after the sailor exclaiming against the women, which also caused them to believe this innocent woman to be a witch. Although no one has real evidence that she was really a witch only that is so happened to rain that day. Cotton Mather stated, “... poor people were tortured...death upon the very spot…afflicted people for dead…”, because of people accusing others of witchcraft everyone believes it, ending many innocent lives (Dudley 28). Cotton Mather stated in the article, “...innocent blood should be shed…”, in this part of the

Therefore, the purpose of the trials was to separate those disobeying Puritan beliefs. In Case of Conscience , Mather believes executions "were better that ten suspected witches should escape than one innocent person should be condemned." Mather suggested the ideas of eliminating the leery and doubtful spectral evidence. This evidence was causing more chaos, as the courts did not know if it was believable.

The Salem witch trials, that occurred in colonial Massachusetts, were a hostile part of American history. People lived in a constant state of paranoia and fear. A great number of people were accused of practicing witchcraft, which was thought to be connected to the devil, and some were even executed. Eventually, the colony realized the faults in the trials. By reading the primary sources ‘A Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft Chapter II’ by John Hale and Two Letters by Governor William Phips, we are able to discover a wealth of knowledge about the aforementioned trials. The two sources allow the reader to gain insight into how the trials were flawed by showing the nature of the Salem Witch Trials, the evidence used to find the witches guilty, and the role native americans played in the trials. While also exhibiting how primary sources can be a disadvantage in navigating through historical events.

In 1692 there were many things that happened in 1692 but the event that stands out the most is in Salem. This event is called the Salem witch trial The event was about people accusing others of using magic. People that used magic were considered witches and were hanged. I think the main causes of the Salem witch trials were the Accusers, the Accused and the tests to be a witch.

The Special Court of Oyer allowed spectral evidence (Testimony about dreams, visions, and superstitions). “That would ultimately result in the death by hanging of nineteen men and women. In addition, one man was crushed to death; seven others died in prison, and the lives of many were irrevocably changed” (Museum). “By September 1692, the hysteria had begun to abate, and public opinion turned against the trials.” (history.com)

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

According to the evidence, the actual crime involved an agreement made between the accused witch and the devil, in which the devil was given the right to assume the witch’s human form, and because of the reason that it happens very naturally, this compact would not have any witnesses (National Geographic Education, Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive). On the other hand, finding acceptance evidence was very difficult. Another problem with spectral evidence was that apparitions of demons were invisible to other people in the same room; only the afflicted girls could see the shapes. There was one more concern related to the spectral evidence, the possibility that Satan could appear in the shape of an innocent person (History of Massachusetts, The Salem Witch Trials, Witchcraft in Salem). Arthur Miller thinks that every child has an innocent face and you are able to end every hate with the feeling of love, “ A child's spirit is like a child, you can never catch it by running after it; you must stand still, and, for love, it will soon itself come back.”

Furthermore, many other difficult situations were appearing for colonists in Salem Village, including a smallpox epidemic, threats from neighboring Native Americans, a rivalry with Salem Town, and the arrival of many Canadian refugees following a war with France (“Salem Witch Trials”). The numerous issues leading up to the Salem witch trials caused large amounts of stress and trepidation, and initiated a chaotic chain of events.

During the late 1600s, Salem, Massachusetts faced a period of witch trials due to panic stirring among the Puritans in the area. Because of these

The events that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 have had historians scrutinizing over the causes for years. There have been several theories about how the situation became so out of control. The haunting story is well known in America, taught to our youth and has been the focus of numerous forms of media. We are familiar with the story but unfamiliar with the origin of its beginnings. The role of religion and the presence of mob psychology were the primary catalyst behind the Salem witch trials.

Many people know of the Salem witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692 spilling over into the year 1693. But for those who do not know, the Salem witch trials were a series of trials against men, women, and children accused of being a witch and or practicing witchcraft. In “The Devils Snare: The Salem Witch Trials of 1692” by Mary Beth Norton, the author recollects the stories of real life accounts of those accusers and the accused in Salem during that time. Mary Beth Norton explains the Salem witch trials differently than other books and articles by giving wide-ranging background on incidents leading toward the trials and how events in history were related to the trials.