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Salem Witch Trial Essay

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Even though the Salem Witch Trials began in Massachusetts in the 1600s, the fear of witches and witchcraft existed long before then. There was a witchcraft craze in Europe, lasting approximately from the 1300s to the end of the 1600s and resulting in the deaths of thousands (Blumberg, 2007). The Salem Witch Trials began in January 1692 when Reverend Samuel Parris’ daughter, Elizabeth, and niece, Abigail, began exhibiting strange behavior. Another girl by the name of Ann Putnam Jr. started exhibiting similar behaviors around the same time. The girls would scream, throw things, utter strange noises, and contort themselves into unnatural positions, and the local doctor blamed the girls’ behavior on the supernatural. Eventually, the girls confessed …show more content…

It was not until May of 1692 that the first individual was executed. Bridget Bishop, an older woman known for being promiscuous and stirring up gossip, was found guilty of witchcraft and hanged on Gallows Hill (Blumberg, 2007). The Salem Witch Trials finally came to an end in October of that year when William Phips, the governor of Salem, released those accused from jail and prohibited further arrests in response to accusations against his wife. By the end, 20 people had been executed, either by pressing or hanging, and over 200 had been accused. Despite the fact that the Salem Witch Trials occurred over 300 years ago, the same accusatory attitudes and behaviors that fueled those atrocities still persist in the US …show more content…

What was once considered a tool for accountability is now a tool used to deflect and lay blame where none is warranted. In the same way that Emmanuel Cafferty was fired from his job based on a single snapshot of a moment in time, many of those accused during the Salem Witch Trials were accused on the basis of spectral evidence, meaning the accused came to the victim and harmed them in a dream or vision. There was no solid proof that either instance truly occurred the way it was said to have occurred. Mob mentality and cancel culture serve as a way to deflect time and energy away from tackling more widespread, systemic issues such as racism and sexism. While many thought at the time that canceling Emmanuel was a step in the right direction, canceling him and having him fired from his job for supposedly making a white power symbol did little to nothing to address the ever-present systemic racism in the US. Rather than fixing such issues, cancel culture only serves to reinforce them by deflecting and ensuring that no meaningful contributions or progress are

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The atrocities committed during the salem witch trials of 1692 are still common knowledge in current day society. Innocent citizens unfairly lost either their lives, families, assets, or all three. Highly respected members of the community were even subject to such trials. Abominations to this degree do not happen by coincidence. Many guilty souls take part in creating a platform of wickedness that demeans the humanity of its victims.

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The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 may have been instigated by religious, social, geographic and even biological factors. During these trials, 134 people were condemned as witches and 19 were hanged. These statistics also include 5 more deaths that occurred prior to their execution date. It is interesting to look into the causes of this stain on American History, when as shown in document B, eight citizens were hanged in only one day.

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The Salem Witch Trials began during the year of 1692, in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. The event that sparked the trials occurred when a group of girls claimed to be enthralled by the devil and accused numerous other women of experimenting with witchcraft. As an upsurge of frenzy trickled throughout the town of Salem, a special group assembled in Salem to put their input in the cases. Based on statistics from an article it states, ”the first convicted witch was hanged. Eighteen others followed, while some 150 more men, women and children were accused over the next several months By September 1692, the hysteria had begun to abate and public opinion turned against the trials.”

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The Salem Witch Trials I. From June to September of the 1692 in the small farming village of Salem, Massachusetts, nineteen people were hanged on Gallows Hill for the crime of witchcraft. But as many as thirty-seven (sources conflict as to the exact number) may have died when one factors in the men and women who were hanged, those who died in prison, and the one man (Giles Corey) who was pressed to death. I am writing about this incident because I believe it to be significant to history for two major reasons. Firstly, this incident did not occur in the time or place where one would have expected it.

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  Our reactions to such misfortunes are commonly motivated by impulses that are understood dimly or not at all, and those impulses commonly lead us, in the name of God, country, or community, to commit acts that seem right and fit at the time, cruel and illogical only in retrospect(TAHPDX). The Salem witch trials remains significant by the way society still reacts to crisis as

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Cotton Mather accounts the witch trial of Martha Carrier through reporting the accusations and crimes prosecuted against her. This trial was unjust because prosecution occurred to explain unnatural events by using unfounded, spectral evidence. All unnatural events affected the witnesses negatively in matters of health or occupation. This led the people of Salem to create a scapegoat for their misfortune and other ‘witches’ to persecute those near to them in the fear of death.

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The Salem Witch Trials of 1692-1693 in colonial Massachusetts were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft. The trials resulted in the execution of twenty individuals, mostly women, and the imprisonment of many others. This dark chapter in American history began with the strange behavior of a group of young girls who claimed to be possessed by the devil. Their accusations quickly spiraled out of control, fueled by a community already steeped in religious fervor and superstition. Local authorities and religious leaders, like Reverend Samuel Parris, exploited the hysteria to solidify their positions and suppress dissent, leading to a community-wide atmosphere of paranoia and fear.

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It all started between the months of June to September of 1692, the witch trials of Salem. Men, women, and even dogs accused of witchcraft, many jailed and executed. There are many theories and beliefs of why this hysteria had spread across salem. Satan, internal problems, religion, revenge and sickness were what the people of Salem had believed what caused this hysteria. What really caused all this to happen ?

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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?

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The Salem Witch Trials The belief of witchcraft can be traced back centuries to as early as the 1300’s. The Salem Witch Trials occurred during 1690’s in which many members of Puritan communities were accused and convicted of witchcraft. These “witch trials” were most famously noted in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Many believe this town to be the starting point for the mass hysteria which spread to many other areas of New England.

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Salem, Massachusetts, USA and occurred between February 1692 and May 1693. Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned and even more accused; but not pursued by the authorities. 29 were convicted of witchcraft but only 19 were hanged. The best known trials were in the Court of Oyer and Terminer.

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The magistrates included Jonathan Lorwin and John Hathorne. While in court, the girls appeared doing spasms, contortions, and screaming outbursts. Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn denied the accusations against them. On the other hand, Tibuta confessed to the accusations intending to save herself from conviction and to act as an informer. Tibuta asserted that she was not alone in her doings and that other witches were acting along with them.

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During the fourteenth to seventeenth century, it was a crime punishable by death to be suspected of practicing witchcraft. In Salem, Massachusetts twenty five people were wrongfully executed and jailed for being suspected of this in February of 1692. “The hysteria around witchcraft began in Europe by Christians during the fourteenth century” (New England Law Boston). It was believed witches existed and practitioners could negatively affect the environment and control people's actions. Thousands of people were executed in Europe for suspicions of witchcraft.

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