How Did The Salem Witch Trial Occur In 1692?

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.

According to the text the Puritans believed that the reformed church had to be very different from the catholic church and they centered around the bible. They “believed that faith, not works, was the key to salvation.” That is what the Puritans believed. The girls caused people to be tested to see if they were a witch or not.

The establishment of the colonies was a universe of anxiety and lust for an individual. An atrocious event that took place in Salem, Massachusetts. A town where colonist feared starvation, exposure to disease, and Native Americans. This was only the beginning for Salem and their uprising nightmare. A nightmare that I would desire to experience and travel back in time to 1692-1693.

Suspicion and superstition can lead to many big problems and uncontrollable situations. Personal problems and inner conflict can only fan the flames when this happens. The Salem Witch Trials was a time when all of these four trouble-makers worked together. In 1692, a series of events took place that made the Trials go too far. People were accused, victimized, and killed on wrong accounts.

There were 200 women accused of practicing witchcraft. Of these 200, twenty were put to death (Blumberg 2007). Many Christians thought the devil could control people, especially women. In England, approximately 350 people had been caught allegedly practicing witchcraft between the years 1620 and 1725. Religion in Salem Witch Trial was heavily influenced by the church, and Christian Church was mainly the Puritan Society in the 17th Century (Brooks 2011).

People would accuse others for doing witchcraft just to get revenge, land, or to take the blame off of them (History.com). In the events of this it caused nineteen people to be executed by hanging, burning at the stake, or being crushed by rocks. In total 150 men, women, and children were accused and were awaiting trial before the end of it.(History.com) The Salem Witch Trials came to an end in May of 1693 when William Phips pardoned all and

(history.com Editors. The mass hysteria started to spread, to the point where they accused some that were really good members of the church. On May 27th, 1692, the governor of Massachusetts, Sir William Phillips put up an official court up to hear and to decide on these witch trials.on june 2nd, the first conviction occurred but time later, they were hanged. After the first hanging, 5 more were hanged in that recent month.

In Salem, Massachusetts, Puritans were strong believers in the Bible. The Bible states, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” The Puritans beliefs led to them accusing 20 innocent people of being a witch, this resulted in their deaths in 1692. Even though the Puritans couldn’t see it at the time, their accusations were really based off jealousy, lies, and Salem being divided into two parts. One cause of the Salem witch trial hysteria was jealousy.

The Witch Trials By: Natalie Boggs The Salem Witch Trials were a time between 1692 and 1693. It all started when two young girls who lived in Salem, Massachusetts started having theses fits out of nowhere one minute they would perfectly behaved children then the next they would start having these fits. The girls had claimed somebody had bewitched them and that they were possessed by the Devil. Many historians believed that the strange behaviors could be from the Rye the people in Salem had been eating but what the people of Salem didn't know was that there was a deadly bacteria on the Rye that could have caused the girls fits. I know that from research that the Salem Witch Trials where a time that many people claimed to be possessed by the Devil and they accused innocent people of bewitching them.

Question: 3. According to Reis, why was it better, in Puritan terms, for women to confess to than to deny charges of witchcraft? Puritans' lives could be compared to walking on rocks. They had put all their faith and followed God’s Will with precaution in order to receive God’s full blessing. Whenever they were in a horrific situation, they would often relate the event to God punishing them.

I think it is wrong to live with a lie, than die with the truth. The Salem witch trials of 1692 were filled with lies and truths. Because no one wanted to die they lied so they could live and not have a good name, than the ones telling the truth and dying for that truth. I agree with Increase Mather when he said “It would better that ten suspected witches may escape than one innocent person be condemned.” John Proctor said “Because it is my name!

The Salem Witch Trials were a series of witchcraft cases back in 1692. Innocent “witches” and familiars were assassinated without a firm cause. People do not think this could happen again because now, they have proven how it started. This trials were made out of fear, the fear of becoming possessed. If the trials would not have happened, they would probably be happening now because of modern day beliefs and cultures.

The Salem witch trials started in the spring of 1692, after a group of girls said that they were possessed by the devil and they blamed many of the local women of witchcraft. As people started to hear the word around Massachusetts, a court met in Salem to hear the cases made. The first convicted witch, named Bridget Bishop, was hanged during that June. Eighteen others followed Bishop to Salem’s Gallows Hill and were hanged. Many died in prison awaiting trail and some were even crushed by large stones.

The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 may have been instigated by religious, social, geographic and even biological factors. During these trials, 134 people were condemned as witches and 19 were hanged. These statistics also include 5 more deaths that occurred prior to their execution date. It is interesting to look into the causes of this stain on American History, when as shown in document B, eight citizens were hanged in only one day.

Not many people know much about what actually happened in the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe someone would think that it was just about witchcraft and crazy people being hanged, but it is a lot more than that. The Salem Witch Trials only occurred between 1692 and 1693, but a lot of damage had been done. The idea of the Salem Witch Trials came from Europe during the “witchcraft craze” from the 1300s-1600s. In Europe, many of the accused witches were executed by hanging.