Salem Witch Trial Essay

Over a hundred men and women were questioned and accused in the Salem Witch Trials on March 1, 1692. People were accused of practicing witchcraft, which in some religions is a common practice. Throughout United States history many events have changed the way people view the government and question those in charge. Why did the officials in Salem let people say and do horrid things to the ones accused? Why wasn’t there anything done to stop that treatment? March first, 1692, Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, who was an enslaved woman, were interrogated to see if they practiced witchcraft. This date in history affected the way people viewed religious beliefs and how others viewed women. This day marked the start of the Salem witch Trials.

When with the doctor, he couldn’t figure out the cause of the “fits”, it led to people believing that there was a supernatural cause. More women started to suffer from the “fits” after the first case was brought to the villages attention. The article, Witchcraft in Salem, stated that on March first, 1692, the young women accused Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba with causing the girls to suffer from the “fits”. Tituba was an enslaved woman who later admitted to working for the devil; her confession led to the village to panic, causing more accusations to come forth. The Governor, William Phips, made a special court called Oyer and Terminer, which meant “to hear” and “to decide”, to go through the cases related to witchcraft. The first case and person to be tried was Bridget Bishop, she was found guilty and was hanged at Gallows Hill. Giles Corey refused to plead guilty or not guilty, that caused him to be crushed to death by stones, his wife was also accused. Four year old Dorothy Good, who is the daughter of Sarah Good, was accused and taken into custody. These cases show that anyone at any age could be tried and accused. Minister Cotton Mather criticized the practice because the evidence was against the

Since the beginning of the trials there have been many injustices as well as an increase in paranoia. For every person tried there was little to no evidence besides trust of words from another human being. Many women and some men were convicted based on what others think, if someone thinks that another person is acting suspicious, they will be tried and most likely hanged or imprisoned. Remembering the Salem Witch Trials is remembering victims being killed, tortured, and imprisoned because of what they may believe in or because of spectral evidence. The court, Oyer and Terminer, was the main suspect for the killings of nineteen individuals, the court was put in place specifically for cases of witchcraft but the court allowed spectral evidence as a reason for the person tried to be hanged. They also allowed the person to be charged without any proof, stated from the article, Legends of America. The religious beliefs of many were affected because the court did nothing to stop the false