The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. It was a dark and tumultuous period in American history, marked by widespread fear and hysteria. The events began in the town of Salem Village, now known as Danvers, when a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by witches. They exhibited bizarre behavior, such as uncontrollable fits and violent outbursts. These accusations quickly spread, and soon dozens of people in the community were accused of witchcraft. The trials were conducted by a special court, known as the Court of Oyer and Terminer, which was established to handle the growing number of witchcraft cases.
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There was a social divide between the leading families as well as a split between factions that were for and against the village s new pastor, Samuel Parris. Martha Corey Goodwife Corey was a member of the congregation at the time, when the group of girls that were supposedly tormented, tried to reveal her as a witch.
The trials were conducted by a special court, known as the Court of Oyer and Terminer, which was established to handle the growing number of witchcraft cases. The court operated on the assumption that witchcraft was a crime punishable by death, and as a result, many innocent people were falsely accused and convicted. The trials themselves were characterized by a lack of due process and an absence of solid evidence.
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In 1692, during the summer, almost 200 people were the targets of accusations of practicing witchcraft. The witch-craze was started once a group of young women were believed to be possessed after having convulsions and claimed to be tormented by ghostly visions. Many of the accused were pronounced guilty of witchcraft; twenty were executed, nineteen others were hanged, and some became prisoners.
It has been said that the Salem Witch Trials were simply a result of personal political and religious differences, that most of these individuals were outcasts, or enemies. The rivalry of the between two families, the Putnams and Porters, were thought to be a contribution to the cause of the witch hunts. The witchcraft accusations started in the household of Reverend Samuel Parris, who came home several times to behold his daughter and others participating in fortune-telling and attempting to conjure demonic spirits. (“The Salem Witch Trials”)
During this, it is described that the girls were hysterical with violent convulsions that twisted their bodies. After the episodes, the girls claimed to have been harassed and reportedly were ‘under an evil hand’. “Nearly 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft in Salem during the summer of 1692. Twenty accused witches were executed (15 women and 5 men). Nineteen were hanged following conviction, and one was pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea. Four prisoners (three women and a man) died in jail. The trials began in June and continued for four months, the final executions taking place on September 22.” (“Salem Witch Trials”)
During this time in Massachusetts, there weren’t many regulations or justice in the government and most decisions were from the church. Because of this, majority were found guilty with no explanation or evidence. There wasn’t but a few legal protections for the defendants against the allegations. During the trials, preliminary examinations and the ensuing, the accused witches were typically asked questions that were “, designed to elicit answers that would disclose whom the defendants had bewitched and how, instead of more neutral and impartial questions aimed at ascertaining whether they had actually bewitched anyone at all.” (“Salem Witch Trials”)
The trials didn’t come to an end until Reverend Increase Mather questioned the reliability of the evidence. It didn’t reflect the affiliations from the accused, and the trials ended in May of 1693, and around 50 more people confessed to being witches. “Historians have had great difficulty explaining this puzzling episode, which was one of the last two witch-hunts in the English-speaking world. It does seem, however, to have been generated in part by divisions within Salem Village that were magnified because local institutions were unable to resolve the conflicts satisfactorily. Still, current interpretations have not yet adequately accounted for women’s prominent role in the crisis.” There wasn’t much justice or redemption for those who were not guilty, and a lot of studies conclude that it was strictly an unreasonable social issue that caused the last witch hunts in English history. (“The Salem Witchcraft Trials”)
Martha Corey (Goodwife Corey) was a member of the congregation at the time, when the group of girls that were supposedly tormented, tried to reveal her as a witch. Her arrest was immediate once hearing of this. During her trial, the group of girls mimicked her every move in agony to convince that the witch had a hold on them. “The worshipful Mr. Hathorne asked her why she afflicted those children. She said she did not afflict them. He asked her, ‘Who did then?’ She said, ‘I do not know; how should I know?” She denied all the fingers that pointed to her and the girl’s stories of her. However, her actions of biting her own lip or pinching showed up on the girls. They taunted and interrogated her, and she was blamed for the most typical issues that the people experienced. They threw objects and shoes at her, and if she moved at all, the girls’ movements matched. She still denied and concluded that they couldn’t prove that she was a witch, but she was later committed to the Salem prison and the girls were no longer affected by her. (“The Salem Witch Trials, 1692”)
The injustice of the Salem Witch Trials created controversy and raised hateful intolerance of different individuality and the feel of power. It was ideally spawned from religious and political rivalry, and historians have different theories as to what is fact or fiction. It’s curious how they were solely outcasts or enemies of certain powerful families in Salem. To this day, those people were given an unlawful, torturous death with no closure. Majorities to this day, don’t even know or are aware of the event of the Salem Witch Trials. They could have been rightly or wrongly accused, but it is still considered an intolerance of early American history.
“Salem Witch Trials.” Gale Encyclopedia of American Law. Ed. Donna Batten. 3rd ed. Vol. 8. Detroit: Gale, 2010. 473-477. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.
Lawson, Deodat, A Brief and True Narrative of Some Remarkable Passages Relating to Sundry Persons Afflicted by Witchcraft at Salem Village(1692) [reprinted in Commager, Henry Steele, The Heritage of America (1949)]; Starkey, Marion, The Devil in Massachusetts (1989); Trask, Richard, “The Devil Hath Been Risen” (1997).
Mankiller, Wilma, and others. “Salem Witchcraft Trials.” The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History. Dec. 1 1998: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Sep. 2014.
Stewart, Gail B. The Salem Witch Trials. (Understanding American history)San Diego, CA: ReferencePoint, Inc., 2013. Print.
There were two Salems in the late 17th century: a bustling commerce-oriented port community on Massachusetts Bay known as Salem Town, which would evolve into modern Salem, and, roughly 10 miles (16 km) inland from it, a smaller, poorer farming community of some 500 persons known as Salem Village. The village itself had a noticeable social divide that was exacerbated by a rivalry between its two leading families—the well-heeled Porters, who had strong connections with Salem Town’s wealthy merchants, and the Putnams, who sought greater autonomy for the village and were the standard-bearers for the less-prosperous farm families. Squabbles over property were commonplace, and litigiousness was rampant.
Testimony was often based on hearsay and spectral evidence, which was the supposed ability of the accused to harm the afflicted girls by means of their invisible spirits. This reliance on spectral evidence opened the door for wild accusations and further fueled the hysteria. Over the course of the trials, twenty people were executed, while several others died in jail awaiting trial. The majority of the accused were women, with the belief that witches were in league with the devil and used their powers to harm others. However, even a few men, including several respected members of the community, were also accused and executed. The trials finally came to an end when Governor William Phips disbanded the Court of Oyer and Terminer in October 1692. He cited concerns of wrongful convictions and the lack of reliable evidence. The remaining cases were brought before a new court, which was more skeptical of spectral evidence. As a result, most of the remaining accused were acquitted or pardoned. In the years after the trials, there was a growing sense of shame and remorse over the events in Salem. The trials were seen as a gross miscarriage of justice, fueled by superstition and fear. Efforts were made to compensate the families of the victims and restore their honor. The Salem witch trials serve as a cautionary tale, reminding us of the dangers of prejudice and hysteria. They highlight the importance of fair and impartial justice, and the need to carefully examine evidence before passing judgment. The events in Salem have since become an enduring symbol of the dark side of human nature and the consequences of unchecked fear. The trials continue to captivate the public's imagination and serve as a reminder of the power of mass hysteria..
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