What Were The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692

In the book Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem, Rosalyn Schanzer discusses an outbreak of witch accusations in the little town of Salem, Massachusetts in late 1692. People were accusing friends, enemies, and even family members of being witches and plotting evil schemes with the devil. No one was safe anymore. If a person were to be accused, they were stuck in a stinky, grubby jail where they were pelted with never-ending questions.

At the time included the after-effects of a British War with France in the American Colonies in 1689.(Salem Witch Trials) They believe that the devil that possessed would give them powers to harm people, by returning their loyalty to him.(Salem Witch Trials) During that time 150 plus more men, women, and children were accused over the next several months.(Salem Witch Trials) A group of girls claimed that the devil possessed them, and accused several local women of witchcraft.(Salem Witch Trials)

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.

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.

This essay will be describing what events that leads up to the brewing of the events that occurred in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. Also, contemplates the role that superstition, religion, and politics played in the event. Along with the role that gender played in instigating and shaping the event. It is a story of inhumanity and greed.

Many saw this opportunity as a way to gain power in Salem or get rid of people that they despised. However, there was no concrete evidence that supported the conspiracy, yet many were convicted and hang. In Salem, a person’s word was taken at face value and many did not scrutinize whether the claims were legitimate or not because

The Salem Witch Trials was a horrific time in history of mass accusations of friends accusing friends as witches and devil worshippers which led to the deaths of about

In 1692, A town in Massachusetts by the name of Salem Village found itself in 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.

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.

In January 1692 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts a mass hysteria broke out. Eight girls began showing signs of a strange and unknown illness, with symptoms of delirium, impaired speech, convulsions, and screaming. The villagers wanted an explanation, so the doctor diagnosed the girls with bewitchment. Soon, accusations were being thrown out left and right. This lead to over 150 citizens accused of witchcraft, then sent to jail.

In this article, the author, Edmund S. Morgan discussed how witch trials became an issue in the Salem Village which dispersed to other towns. The witch trials were well known in the sixteenth century. In the beginning, Morgan stated “the trials occurred at a time when the people of Massachusetts were passing through a very difficult time.” (Morgan, 47) The author clearly wanted to inform the readers that Massachusetts was already in a rough state to begin with until the witch trials came along.

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. In Salem witchcraft became a very big deal. Twenty people died while over two hundred people were accused and it all happened because of one person. Many people are to blame for the witch trials and deaths of the accused, but Abigail is the most to blame. Before the play started Abigail had an affair with John Proctor and Elizabeth fired her from being their maid.

Salem was a small settlement, every settler knew one another (Miller, Arthur). And when there were whispers of witchcraft, the whispers became loud and public

One cause of the witch trial hysteria was the story of Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, the two were cousins, they decided to visit a fortune teller. This occurred on February 29, 1692, shortly after receiving their fortunes Parris’s father, who was a priest, began to notice that his daughter was acting strange, he eventually found out about the session with the teller and was

Many practicing Christians, at the time, believed that the Devil could persuade people to use the powers that he gave them to harm others. The Salem Witch Trials occurred because of resource struggles, many women were accused and tortured, and in the end the Governor realized that it was a big mistake. (“Salem Witch Trials”, 1). In 1689, English rulers William and Mary started a war with France in the American colonies which sent many refugees into the Essex County and Salem Village.