Salem’s Scapegoat: An Examination of the Trial and Execution of George Burroughs. Ru Moland HNRS2133: Early American History November 8, 2024. Introduction In the spring of 1692, the tiny Massachusetts village of Salem became the site of America’s most famous- and most misunderstood- witch hunt. The unfettered paranoia around the potential of witches in Salem’s midst resulted in the deaths of nineteen men and women. But as one looks at the testimonies of the accused and the accusers alike, one name is mentioned again and again- George Burroughs, the former minister of Salem Village. Burroughs was accused of being the head of the witches, and despite overwhelming proof of his innocence, he was hanged alongside the other accused on August 19th, 1692. The Reverend George Burroughs was found guilty not because of any real evidence of witchcraft, but because his unorthodox religious behavior, his personal moral failings, and his prior conflicts with the Putnam family made him an ideal scapegoat for both the accusers and the accused. Despite being the former minister for Salem Village, George Burroughs was suspected of being a witch because of his alleged heterodox …show more content…
In his examination before the court on May 9th, 1692, Burroughs is asked when he last took the Lord’s Supper. Burroughs responds that “it was so long since he could not tell”, though he admits he was present when sacraments were administered. When questioned about his children’s baptisms as infants, Burroughs reveals that only his eldest child had been baptized. To not partake of the sacraments was suspect enough, but to openly admit this as a practicing minister was unheard of. What reason, besides apostasy, did George Burroughs have for refusing to partake? Dr. Bernard Rosenthal, a leading scholar on the Salem Witch Trials, suggests in his book Salem Story that “failure to baptize infants had a very clear connotation in light of an old and lingering controversy