The Salem Witch Trials: The Spring Of 1692

The Salem Witch Trials wrongly convicted over one hundred fifty people through unfair court cases in 1692, due to the bias of the people, the unpassable tests used, and the illegal way they were run. The convictions were all done in the Court of Oyer and Terminer, which was created by the current Governor Sir William Phips, and led by Chief Judge William Stoughton, along with 6 other judges (EB 1) (Boraas 24). This court was closed within the year, and a new court was opened, the Superior Court of Judicature, which was less unfair, and made no convictions during the time it was open. This court was then also closed after a few months (EB 1). During the trials, every sort of person was accused, from rich to poor.

In the late 1600’s, in Massachusetts, The Salem Witch Trials began. According to a young group of girls who claimed to be possessed by the devil accused women in the village of witchcraft. “There was series of hearings and prosecutions of innocent people” (Salem Witch Trials). “The hysteria concluded around 150 people thrown in witch jail” (Salem Witch Trials).

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. Many people were accused and many died. There are many theories of what caused the salem witch trials but the main cause of the salem witch trials was caused by mass hysteria. It is important to learn about this today so that the same problem does not repeat in history. In the book, “Witches! by Rosalyn Schanzer the madness began in February 1692 when 9-year-old Betty Parris and 11-year-old Abigail Williams began to twist and turn in the home of the Reverend Samuel Parris there was only one possible reason for it: witchcraft.

However, the reasonings behind this terrible event are still mostly unknown, and historians today, still ask: What caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692? So, this event first started in 1692, The unfortunate 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. After this began to gain popularity, many other people began to accuse each other, until large, monthly executions were being held. The accused “witch” was brought before a priest or a judge, which usually wasn't fair, and was either sentenced as guilty or innocent.

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 have become a prominent event in American culture. A series of the witch trials took place near Salem, part of the Massachusetts colony, in which more than 150 men and women were accused of witchcraft and dozens deteriorated in jail for months without trials. Those who were found guilty were hanged on nearby Gallows Hill. Only a combination of economic conditions, teenage boredom, and personal jealousies can account for the mass hysteria, spiraling accusations, trials, and execution that occurred in Salem Village, Massachusetts.

The Salem Witch Trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts during the end of 1692 and the beginning of 1693. These were a series of trials and prosecutions of suspected witches. Most of these supposed witches were women, but some were men. These people were accused of making local children ill by practicing witchcraft. The children claimed to be possessed by the devil and gave names of witches who did this to them.

In 1692, witchcraft trials in Massachusetts were probably the most famous trials of colonial America. The events surrounding the outbreaks of witchcraft in Salem are probably the best-documented witch trials in American history. In New England, in the 50 years leading up to the Salem trials, dozens of people were executed for witchcraft. Trials continued to crop up, and according to one source, a member of a mob killed a suspected witch outside Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in the late 1781’s. The victims of the witchcraft prosecutions were almost all women that were elderly or perceived as a drain on the community.

Sarah van den Barselaar Review of literature Review of Literature Source A: Wilson, L. L. (1997). The Salem Witch Trials [p 27]. London: Lerner Publishing Group. Summary: Tituba confesses to being a witch. In her confession she makes reference to a lady in the Bible who used the same method to kill, this only further helps the ministers use religion to support the idea of witchcraft and start the salem witch trials.

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 marked a dark history in New England, filled with widespread terror, panic, and death caused by the ignorance of the mass that was blinded by their religious beliefs to clearly see the truth behind the dark charade. Suspicion arose in Salem that the devil was upon the puritan community to wreak havoc and destruction when two girls were supposedly victims of the Devil’s work. As a result, many innocent people who were accused of witchcraft and compacting with the devil were rounded to be put on trial for false claims orchestrated by people in the community with ulterior motives. Nineteen people were hanged and an addition thirteen people died in prison awaiting trial and execution. The trials came to an end

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.

The narrator describes Salem as a new town with strict puritan way of life and its out look on the rest of the world. The town saw itself as persecuted a legacy of persecution puritans faced in the old world because the puritans sought a community they managed to survive. Around 1692 much that was good about the puritans the narrator suggests has been lost. The Salem witch trials were an opportunity for the neighbors to vent against neighbors to publicly air long standing jealousy to accuse those they disliked and all while sounding righteous and religious. The first scene opens as Tituba the Rev Parisis slave enters the bedroom.

Salem, Massachusetts, USA and occurred between February 1692 and May 1693. Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned and even more accused; but not pursued by the authorities. 29 were convicted of witchcraft but only 19 were hanged. The best known trials were in the Court of Oyer and Terminer.

The Salem Witch Trials began in Salem Massachusetts in 1629. Many people were accused of being a witch and many lives were lost. In Author Miller’s The Crucible, Abigail Williams is the most to blame for the events of the Salem Witch Trials.

The Salem Witch Trials The belief of witchcraft can be traced back centuries to as early as the 1300’s. The Salem Witch Trials occurred during 1690’s in which many members of Puritan communities were accused and convicted of witchcraft. These “witch trials” were most famously noted in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Many believe this town to be the starting point for the mass hysteria which spread to many other areas of New England.

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.