Research Paper On The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692

One of the most notorious periods of American history, the Salem witch trials of 1692 resulted in the execution by hanging of fourteen women and five men who were accused of being witches during a period of mass hysteria. In addition, one man was pressed to death by giant stones for refusing to even plea innocent. At least eight people died in prison, including infants and children alike. Additionally, nearly two hundred people were jailed for months awaiting a trial that never came. Due to the survival of a large multitude of records, including notes and official rulings, the true facts of accusations, trials, and even the executions are known by the public. The survival of these records directly displays how inhumane and unnecessary the Salem

Parris eventually called in the local physician, William Griggs, who found the girls convulsing on the floor and barking like dogs. The doctor was perplexed and unable to offer a specific medical explanation, but suggested that it might be the work of evil. Parris consulted with other local ministers, who recommended he wait to see what happened. As the word of these inexplicable fits spread around town, a man named Thomas Putnam, Jr. came forward and admitted that his girls were also behaving out of the ordinary. The women of Salem were scared and under pressure, so they named three women who were also behaving strangely “witches” to make themselves seem normal. Warrants of arrest for the women were issued on February 29, and the next day, the Salem Town magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin examined the women in the Village meeting house. Presumed witched named Good and Osborne declared that they were innocent and knew nothing of witchcraft, but a woman by the name of Tituba ultimately confessed, claiming that witchcraft was practiced by dozens of women within the city

The chief justice for the Court of as they called each court, Oyer (hearing) and Terminer (determining) was William Stoughton, and the others serving included men named John Hathorne and Samuel Sewall. The court's first official session resulted in the first death sentence for the accused witch Bridget Bishop. Bishop was accused due to her sharp tongue, unorthodox dress style, and strong wit. Bishop was hanged on June 10, 1692, only 8 days after her trial. Socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author, and pamphleteer Cotton Mather of Boston's First Church wrote privately to the court expressing his concerns and questions about the evidence behind Bishop’s execution. On June 15, 1692, a group of ministers including Mather wrote to at the time Governor Phips urging that special caution be taken in the use of evidence in the trials. The court next met on June 29 and heard the cases of five more accused women. When the jury tried to acquit accused witch Rebecca Nurse, William Stoughton sent the jury back to deliberate, and returned with a changed verdict from innocent to guilty. Ultimately, all five of the women were hanged on July 19, 1692; at this time the witchcraft hysteria had spread out of the Salem border to Andover. When the hysteria reached the Corey household for the second time, Martha’s husband Giles