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Why Did The Salem Witch Trials Happen

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The accusations of witchcraft first began in Salem Village, a small administrative district outside Salem Town, at the end of February 1692 (Ray). Following Reverend Parris's arrival in 1689, conflicts arose among concerned villagers about the benefits Parris was to obtain (Ray). In January 1692, Parris's daughter, Betty Parris, and niece, Abigail Williams, began to have exhibit erratic behavior and extreme physical contortions. Betty Parris and Abigail Williams friends also exhibited similar behavior. Local ministers, including Reverend Parris, were unable to remedy the girls' behavior through prayer and the suspicion of witchcraft is brought up. The accusations of witchcraft continued and started to spread outside Salem Village, some beginning to fill up the jails in Salem and Boston (Ray). The most active accusers resided in Salem Village and, consequentially, they had the most executions which caused the community to greatly suffer. The people of Andover, a town outside …show more content…

Three writers decided to take some time and provide their insight as to why the trials occurred. Emily Oster looked into the economic side of the trials. She is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, is an American Economist, and received her B.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University. Paul R. McHugh studied the psychiatric anomalies of those involved. he is a Professor of Psychiatry Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and has 2 certifications from the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology / Psychiatry; one in 1968 and one the following year. Austin Cline discusses the religious aspects that surrounded the society. He has a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a M.A from Princeton University; is a guide from About.com; and focuses on agnosticism and atheism

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The Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 ended almost as soon as it began. Why did this happen, and why did it happen in Salem? Between June and September of 1692, over 20 men and women were hanged, an 81 year old man got pressed to death under heavy rocks and hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft. In 1689 Samuel Parris moved to Salem as the village minister.

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618 Words | 3 Pages

Living in Salem in the summer and spring of 1692 would’ve been an extremely hectic experience, especially if you were a married woman with another woman who wanted your man. Many people were put to death in the months between June and September, and had it not been for a mass hanging, it might have continued for who knows how long. The accusers of the Witch Trials were mainly jealous women who were out for the man(or land) of an accused woman, but that was not always the case. Some men(boys, really) accused others of being witches for the reason that a.) they wanted their land, or b.)

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1800 Words | 8 Pages

In 1692, in the Essex County of Massachusetts, particularly in the community of Salem Village, a series of witchcraft afflictions, accusations, trials and executions began to take place. Afflicted with spells of black magic and sorcery, men, women and children were all rapidly involved in the activities of the witchcraft outbreak. As Salem's witchcraft outbreak began to spread throughout the community like a virus, more and more men, women and children were being arrested, tried, hung and executed. The very first incident of the Salem witch outbreak began when a group of young girls in the Salem Village met in their usual small, informal gatherings where they discussed their future.

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1882 Words | 8 Pages

In 1692, A town in Massachusetts by the name of Salem Village became known for one most documented cases of mass hysteria in history. This saga started with three girls: Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Parris, and Ann Putnam a neighborhood friend. Abigail Williams, the niece of the town’s minister, began to display weird and questionable behavior. The town’s physician,William Greggs, was called to determine the cause of this sporadic behavior. The town’s physician determined that the three girls were under “the Devil’s influence” and they had been bewitched.

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1990 Words | 8 Pages

In Salem Village, Massachusetts 1662, two-hundred people became inaccurately accused, hundreds imprisoned, and twenty-four executed. What historical event caused this? In the fall of 1661, nine girls began exhibiting possession like symptoms and the situation seemed to have only one explanation, witchcraft; however, the symptoms they experienced caught the eyes of historians and resembles a disease known today as Ergotism. The start of the accusations began in Autumn of 1661, nearly one year after the Puritans moved to the New World after living in England. They moved to what present day Americans call Massachusetts, in search of religious freedom from the Roman Catholic Church; the Puritans sought to build a holy city, or a city on the

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752 Words | 4 Pages

In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, accusations of witchcraft caused fear and confusion throughout the town. Neighbors were accusing neighbors and everybody feared that they would be the next to be accused. In late February, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams had accused Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne. These three were seen as misfits in the society by many and none of the three were members of the church. On March 11, 1692, under the pressure of Reverend Samuel Parris, the girls accused Goodwife Martha Corey, a god-loving midwife who never would have been taking part in any type of witchcraft.

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1202 Words | 5 Pages

The Salem Witch Trials In March 1692, Rebecca Nurse, an elderly woman and respected member of Salem Village, was arrested on suspicion of witchcraft. She was accused based solely on the testimony of four young girls who claimed that the apparition of Rebecca Nurse had severely harmed them. Many witnesses testified in favor of her, but ultimately the "afflicted girls" prevailed. Nurse was executed on July 19, 1692.

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1045 Words | 5 Pages

The tight-knit community of Salem was rife with suspicion and anxiety. The settlers faced many challenges, including harsh living conditions, disease, and conflicts with Native American tribes. In this environment, any deviation from the norm is met with fear and apprehension. The sudden and unexplained afflictions experienced by Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, the two young girls who started the accusations, fueled panic. Their strange behavior, characterized by fits, convulsions, and hallucinations, baffled the community.

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324 Words | 2 Pages

Just as most persecutions begin, the people of Salem were trapped by an emotion which led to a six-month witch hunt; they were enraptured with fear. Though the whole situation began with a teenage joke, the Puritan society was in a paranoid state by trying to stay pure in their religion. The Puritans were not only afraid of the Devil tainting them, but rather a shattered reputation, and possibly death, by being accused of witchcraft. So, many Salem residents accused their neighbors of being witches to avoid blame on themselves. While fear was a large motivator for the trials, it is also a fact that "most of the accused lived to the south of, and were generally better off financially, than most of the accusers.

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1766 Words | 8 Pages

The Salem Witch Trials: An Unforgettable Hysteria Accusations of neighbors, arrests of friends, and hangings of loved ones. That sums up the frightening event that took place in Salem, Massachusetts, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. It all began when two young girls, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, started experiencing fits of screaming and kicking. These fits spread to others and an outbreak occurred. The witch hunts left everyone feeling scared.

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538 Words | 3 Pages

Salem is the perfect town for these witchcraft accusations to occur. Salem is a rural town that is isolated from the rest of Massachusetts. Since it is isolated the people won’t experience changes in culture like everyone else. The government was Puritanism so the Church had all of the power and Salem didn’t know about enlightenment ideas so they believed it.

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626 Words | 3 Pages

What were the causes of the Salem Witchcraft Trials? One of the causes for the Salem Witchcraft trials is Abigail Williams not telling the truth to her uncle Rev. Parris, after he caught them dancing in the woods around a fire. Also the next morning when her cousin Betty Parris didn’t wake up, then Mrs. Putnam saying that their daughter Ruth is acting strange. Then when the grown ups walked out room Betty wakes up and saying “You drank blood to kill Goody Proctor”(p.837)

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151 Words | 1 Pages

What was the cause and beliefs of the Salem Witch Trials? In the fourteenth century there was a belief that the devils practice were given to certain humans (History.com). Two young girls believed this because of the aftereffects of war, a smallpox epidemic, a fear of native american attacks,and a rivalry with a Salem town (History.com). In 1684 King Charles Ⅱ removed the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s Act because of the fear of the so called witches (“History of Salem Witch Trials”). At this time another belief was developed: that everyone was stressed because of the constant change of leaders (“History of Salem Witch Trials).

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1008 Words | 5 Pages

These refugees were from northern New York, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. The displaced people created a strain on Salem’s resources because they did not have their own resources and they used others. That aggravated existing rivalries between families with ties to the wealth port of Salem. (“Salem Witch Trials”, 1). The first witch case involved Reverend Parris’ daughter Elizabeth, age 9, and his niece Abigail Williams, age 11, in January 1692.

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762 Words | 4 Pages

The Salem Witch Trials were a gruesome part of our history in America. More than two hundred people were accused of witchcraft during years of 1692 through 1693. Historians believe that Ann Putnam Jr. and other accusers were badgered to accuse certain people. The parents (of the afflicted girls), Thomas Putnam and Reverend Samuel Parris told the afflicted girls to accuse others, were thought to be seeking out revenge for the accused. Most of the accused victims were either very wealthy or were social outcasts.

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