Why Is The Salem Witch Trials An Important Point In History

In 1692, a mass hysteria spread throughout Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials were an important point in history because of historical reasons. During the trials, a total of nineteen people were hanged and one hundred and fifty men and women were accused of witchcraft. Seven died in prison and one man was even crushed to death by stones after refusing to enter a plea at his arraignment. Even two dogs were accused and killed! The famous trials began in the spring of 1692 after a group of young girls, who were residents of Salem, claimed to be possessed by the devil. The girls would cry out the names of the people who were apparently causing their pains.Evidence admitted in such trials was of five types. The first was like a test. Sometimes

There were a number of religious factors that contributed to the Salem witch trials. Among these are the influence of the strict Puritan lifestyle, the believed presence of the devil in the community. On Salem Witchcraft Trials, an internet article, Linda Alchin states, “Puritans practised strictness, simplicity and austerity in their religion, lifestyle and conduct. Puritans were strongly opposed to sensual pleasures and were strong advocates of propriety, modesty and and decorum.” (Alchin). Puritan laws were extremely rigid and the members of society were expected to follow a strict code. Because of this, anything that was believed to go against this code was a sin and whoever did deserved to be punished. The Puritans also believed strongly in the wrath of God and did everything they could to prevent themselves from receiving it. This is why the witch scare was taken so seriously and the accused were punished harshly. They also believed the God would protect his servants and keep them out of harm’s way. So whenever problems began to occur in the colonies, they were easily blamed on the Devil. After the trials, Puritans began to decline in the new colonies. They began to separate into different Protestant groups. The Salem Witch Trials discouraged the connection between religion and government. This helped lead to the idea of separation of church and state that is included in the

In Salem, young girls threw things, uttered strange sounds, vomited, contorted themselves into strange positions and began to have spasms. In the early 1970’s, a scientist named Linda Caporael had been studying the Salem witch trials. Studies of hers linked symptoms and strange behaviors of the afflicted girls to the hallucinogenic effects of drugs like lysergic acid diethylamide. LSD is a derivative of ergot. Ergot is a fungus that grew on the rye grain in Salem during the 1690’s. The ergot poisoned the rye grain, and then the bread was baked from the rye. The whole winter, the poisoned bread was consumed all over Salem. That winter was when the bewitchments started to happen. A similar outbreak happened in Pont-Saint-Esprit, France in 1951. In France, everyone who was experiencing the affects, ate bread from the same bakery. In Salem Witch Trials, an internet article, The Science Magazine says “the fungus ergot (found in rye, wheat and other cereals), which toxicologists say can cause symptoms such as delusions, vomiting and muscle spasms. (History). The Salem Witch Trials were important because of scientific reasons. It shows that something like this could happen again though because of the ergot