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What Is The Salem Witch Trial Of 1692

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The terror of the infamous 1692 witch hunts in Salem Massachusetts ravenously assaulted the peaceful existence of innocent men and women accused of consorting with the devil. A portion of the mayhem was contributed to fear which readily bred among puritan settlements struggling to survive America’s arduous environment. In a Salem witch trial documentary presented by the History Channel, Thaddeus Russell explains “They were afraid of death by starvation, death by exposure, they were afraid of death by savages” (History Channel, Russell). Additionally, the puritan’s strict religious beliefs added excessive distress among settlers where austere restrictions, mostly shaped by unsound doctrine, maintained the belief that almost every incident was …show more content…

After a doctor examined the girls he suggested that witchcraft could be the source of their torment since he could find no natural cause. Tituba had prepared a “witchcake” which was to reveal the identity of the afflicter. However this action supported her involvement with witchcraft. Reverend Parris found out and became furious. The girls accused Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne as bewitching them. Reverend Parris was said to have beat a confession out of Tituba. Judges John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin examined the three women. Good and Osborne plead innocent. But Tituba confessed to the charge in order to save her own life and surprised observers by testifying that Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne were accomplices. She concocted an elaborate story which the judges readily accepted. “She claimed there were other witches acting alongside her in service of the devil against the Puritans” (History.com). This admission created a panic within Salem village; people were terrified that the devil was loose in their community. Ann Putnam’s daughter and other Salem girls began to experience similar symptoms and accusations rapidly flourished. The Putnam’s became influential accusers in the Salem Witch Trials, testifying against over one-hundred people. Neighbor accused neighbor. For instance, a farmer accused his neighbor Carrie of witchcraft after they had an argument and his cattle died. Later, when a young girl was suffering with stomach pains, she claimed to have heard Carrie’s voice telling her she was poisoned. Even her own children testified against her. But the most damaging testimony came from several young girls who screamed from pain when they saw her in the courtroom. They claimed they could see the devil whispering

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With In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692, Mary Beth Norton becomes another participant in the search for the rationale behind what remains perhaps the most irrational collective failure of discretion that America has ever seen. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings held in Massachusetts. As Norton writes, the unrest began in February 1692, when two young girls in Salem Village had sudden, severe fits of hysteria which doctors could not explain with any earthly diagnosis. As more young girls in the village began to experience similar quasi-epileptic fits, the girls and their relatives began to accuse others in the village of bringing about the fits through "witchcraft." The ensuing sequence of events was

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Lastly, Tituba went into the stand. During questioning, she claimed that she did not hurt the children, but the Devil who resided in her, made her do so. Tituba then admitted to pinching Abagail and Betty in their sleep so they would fall under the evil hand. Tituba then claimed she met a man, the Devil himself, and he made her sign his book in her blood. She also proclaimed that the Devil himself came to Salem Village disguised as a black dog, a man, and a hog.

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Then they are seen dancing and chanting to Tituba performing voodoo over the fire in attempt to kill Elizabeth Proctor. She was asked to cast this charm by Abigail. Then Reverend Parris' daughter, Elizabeth, and niece, Abigail Williams, began having "fits." A local doctor blamed the supernatural. Then more and more girls started having similar episodes.

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Many colonists were convinced that Native Americans worshiped the devil and practiced witchcraft. (INSERT EXAMPLE OF TESTIMONY INVOLVING NATIVE

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Parris named Tituba. Tituba came to America in search of a better life but, the girls in Salem heard of her background in Barbados and tricked her into believing that witch craft would help them. Abigail had the idea of meeting that night and conjuring spirts to kill Elizabeth. She even drank chicken blood after Tituba told her it was a bad idea. When rev.

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Tituba was accused of witchcraft by the girls and sent to jail (Loiselle). Tituba reported that the devil had come to her and five others, including Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, and declared they aid him in hurting children. Sarah Good’s husband and their four-year-old daughter, Dorcas, both vouched that Sarah was more than likely a witch (Currie 12-14). Other girls who were accused of witchcraft brought up the chance of Dorcas Good being a witch.

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By Tituba confessing this as well, Abigail Williams also proves without Tituba no witchcraft would have been able to be acted upon. With this evidence we can safely assume that Tituba was the first person causing the witchcraft in Salem. Although Tituba may have been the only witch in Salem she releases more names to Parris and Hail by accusing specific person. One of the people Tituba acsussed were Goody Osborne by replying "aye sir, and Goody Osborne" (Miller 189). By Tituba accusing Goody Osborne of being involved in the witchcraft in Salem, this made the court prone to accuse more people worsening the situation.

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The Massachusetts Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were unfortunate, unforgettable tragedies that resulted in the slaughtering of innocents, tests and punishments against accused witches, and ultimately regret that tore a community apart. Puritans were wary of witchcraft so by the end of May 1692 prisons were full of people who were believed to have sold their soul to the devil (Wilson 103). However, the accused citizens had much to say about that outrageous claim. Sarah Good, a woman executed in July of 1692 due to the Salem Witch Trials yelled this as she was being convicted; “You are a liar. I am no more a witch than you are a wizard, and if you take away my life God will give you my blood to drink” (Brandt 34).

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“The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft.” Along with many citizens falling ill and failing to improve, village doctor, William Griggs, diagnosed these women and men as possessed

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Likewise, Tituba, who is Parris' black slave, blames Sarah Good and Goody Osbourne for witchcraft after Hale cross examines her and constrains her to let him know who she has seen undermining the implementation of the Devil influence. : "...Tituba, you are chosen to help cleanse our village. So speak utterly, Tituba, turn your back on him [the Devil] and face God..."(44). Hale tries to put pressure on Tituba to give him names, so that he could initiate hysteria accusations in Salem. (he had additionally debilitated to whip her to death).

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The Salem Witch Trials of 1692, a dark period in American history, resulted in the death of "two-hundred Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony" and the persecution of many more (Loock 528). This witchcraft crisis was sparked by religious intolerance and these wrongful actions were justified by the fact that they were purging the town of anything that went against their belief system. Frederick Douglass, a self-educated slave, could point out that people tend to fall back on religious belief in order to justify their cruel actions. The Salem Witch Trials prove that Douglass's assertion that men use religion to justify cruelty was not a new theory brought about by slavery. There becomes a point where people's morals become distorted and they

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The doctor suggested that the girls were bewitched. Some modern theories of what the girls were dealing with are epilepsy, boredom, child abuse, mental illness, and/or disease from a fungus that was on their bread. These girls accused three women who were social outcasts. (Brooks) The women were Sarah Good (a beggar), Tituba (a slave) and Sarah Osborne (an elderly woman).

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Their father was quite worried and had a doctor to come and assess the situation. The doctor told them that they were being bewitched and the girls immediately took the chance to accuse the first three “witches” of

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To begin, it is a popular belief that Tituba, a slave in the story, was justified in her confession to witchcraft in order to save her own life. After the girls of Salem peg Tituba as the culprit for corrupting their souls and torturing them, she is interrogated and accused by characters such as the esteemed Reverend Hale and town’s Reverend, Mr. Parris. Finally, Parris exclaims, “ You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to your death, Tituba!” (1.941-942). Tituba instantly confesses, and saves herself from a terrible death.

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REVIEW OF LITRATURE A.) SUMMARY SOURCE A Although the whole book had information on the Salem witch trials. The introduction, chapter 1 and 2 and the conclusion had information regarding the research needed • Introduction: states what the Salem witch trials where and who they accused.

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