Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

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.

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.

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.

Salem Massachusetts is known around the world for the Salem witch trials. The Salem witch trail begin in January of 1692, in colonial Massachusetts in a village called Salem. A group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused serval other locals of being witches and doing witchcraft. This went on for a few months. Hysteria spreads throughout the village.

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

An infamous episode in American history, Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, and lasted through April, 1693 (Home of the National History Education Clearinghouse). It started after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. These trials are widely known as one of the most infamous cases of mass hysteria in American history (Home of the National History Education Clearinghouse). The case has been used as an example throughout popular literature to portray the potential dangers of false accusations, isolationism, McCarthyism, and religious extremism. Thus meaning these trials have been highly influential in past American history (US

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.

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 .)

Our project, The Salem Witch Trials: The Rise and Fall of Witchcraft, is about the Salem Witch Trials and the introduction of spectral evidence in the courts. Accusations of witches drove Salem, Massachusetts into a state of hysteria causing the Salem Witch Trials to commence in 1692 and end with the governor requiring spectral evidence to illustrate people as guilty.

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.

The conflict of the trials continued for months with no compromise in sight. The people of Salem needed to find more witches, so they used spectral evidence. If someone had a dream or vision of a certain person it was enough, and that person was accused as a witch (Fasting; Mather 74 80). Many people started to oppose these trials, and didn’t believe in spectral evidence, people opposed the witch trials, but they would say nothing because they may be the next one accused (Latson; Brooks). No one wanted to be accused, so they would do things to convince people that they were not witches. For example, people would put on a show at the trials of the witches (Kinchlow). Afflicted girls would have fits, and people would scream and yell at the accused. The trials were very strange, the judge and jury would act strange just like the people of Salem. The jury consisted of 12 men who decided the fate of the “witches” (Magoon 56; Roach 16). The judges were very lenient toward the people and didn’t really care what the accused had to say, if they listened to the accused they themselves may be accused. Five judges would hear the

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.