What Happened During the Salem Witch Trials?
The Salem Witch Trials is one of the many events in history that is remembered for the deaths of innocent people. From June 10, 1692 to September 22, 1692, the "witchcraft craze" spread throughout the colonial, Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts.
Link to Short Video:
http://www.history.com/shows/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us/videos/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us-salem-witch-trials
The Beginning:
Witchcraft hysteria originally began in Europe in the 1300s. Since most all of Europe was some form of Christian, they were influenced by religion in their everyday lives. The Bible, Christianity's book of God, condemned witches. Witches were considered "one who whispered a spell" and were know to be linked to Satan, who caused them to do harm in return for their loyalty. From the 1300s all the way to the end of the 1600s, trials and executions were performed to get rid of the witches.
The paranoia started to spread in Massachusetts in January of 1692, when Reverend Samuel Parris, Salem's first ordained minister's daughter (9 year old Elizabeth) and niece (11 year old Abigail Williams) began having "fits." They would contort their bodies into strange positions, scream, throw things, and utter peculiar sounds. The local doctor at the time, William Griggs, blamed the supernatural for the girls' peculiar behavior.
After this event, the beliefs of witches and Satan's presence began to spread throughout Salem. The first three accused of witchcraft was Parris' Native American slave, Tituba, a beggar named Sarah Good, and an argumentative, poor woman named Sarah Osborn. Several factors made these women targeted as being a witch. In the end, Tituba confessed that she was practicing witchcraft and that Good and Osborn were co-conspirators, along with two other women. This event sparked the future events of the "afflicted" and the accusations, that later led to the deaths of the 19 accused.
Link to Tituba's Examination:
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASA_TITX.HTM
Link to Sarah Good's Examination:
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASA_GOOX.HTM
Reasons/Explanations for the Accusations:
Behind this event, there were some reasons to why the Witch Trials occurred. Although we don't know the whole story, scholars have come up with explanations to explain why the accusers would blame the accused for being witches.
A major factor that contributed to the paranoia the colonists had during this time is religion. The colonists were dominantly
Puritans, and religion was a big aspect of their lives. They believed that Satan could give certain people-known as "witches"- the power to harm others in return for their loyalty. The Bible also condemned witches and urged for them to be killed.
Other than religion, another reason for the accusations were property disputes and congregational disagreements. In a lot
of cases, the accusing family wanted to gain land from the convictions of the accused. Most of the accused lived in the southern part of Salem and were financially better than the accusers. The accused and the accusers also generally took opposite sides in a congregational divide that split Salem's community before the hysteria outbreak. Scholars concluded that these two factors played a major role in determining who lived and died during this time.
Economic conditions, congregational conflicts, an ongoing frontier war with the Native Americans for land, strict rules mixed with teenage boredom, and personal jealousies were all contributors to the start of the Salem Witch Trials.
The Deaths:
The first person executed on what is now known as Gallows Hill was Bridget Bishop, a promiscuous, gossipy woman. She was found guilty of witchcraft and was hanged on June 10, 1692. On July 19, 1692, five people were hanged, and on August 19, 1692, five more people were hanged. On September 22, the last eight of the 19 total people were hanged.
Although only 19 people were killed during this event, several colonists in Salem at the time were also affected due to the accusations made. Over 200 people were accused of participating in witchcraft and about a dozen or so were taken to
prison and died there. Giles Corey, a man in his 80s, was pressed to death on September 19th under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial of witchcraft charges.
List of the Dead:
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_DE.HTM
Link to Short Video:
http://www.history.com/shows/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us/videos/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us-salem-witch-trials
The Beginning:
Witchcraft hysteria originally began in Europe in the 1300s. Since most all of Europe was some form of Christian, they were influenced by religion in their everyday lives. The Bible, Christianity's book of God, condemned witches. Witches were considered "one who whispered a spell" and were know to be linked to Satan, who caused them to do harm in return for their loyalty. From the 1300s all the way to the end of the 1600s, trials and executions were performed to get rid of the witches.
The paranoia started to spread in Massachusetts in January of 1692, when Reverend Samuel Parris, Salem's first ordained minister's daughter (9 year old Elizabeth) and niece (11 year old Abigail Williams) began having "fits." They would contort their bodies into strange positions, scream, throw things, and utter peculiar sounds. The local doctor at the time, William Griggs, blamed the supernatural for the girls' peculiar behavior.
After this event, the beliefs of witches and Satan's presence began to spread throughout Salem. The first three accused of witchcraft was Parris' Native American slave, Tituba, a beggar named Sarah Good, and an argumentative, poor woman named Sarah Osborn. Several factors made these women targeted as being a witch. In the end, Tituba confessed that she was practicing witchcraft and that Good and Osborn were co-conspirators, along with two other women. This event sparked the future events of the "afflicted" and the accusations, that later led to the deaths of the 19 accused.
Link to Tituba's Examination:
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASA_TITX.HTM
Link to Sarah Good's Examination:
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASA_GOOX.HTM
Reasons/Explanations for the Accusations:
Behind this event, there were some reasons to why the Witch Trials occurred. Although we don't know the whole story, scholars have come up with explanations to explain why the accusers would blame the accused for being witches.
A major factor that contributed to the paranoia the colonists had during this time is religion. The colonists were dominantly
Puritans, and religion was a big aspect of their lives. They believed that Satan could give certain people-known as "witches"- the power to harm others in return for their loyalty. The Bible also condemned witches and urged for them to be killed.
Other than religion, another reason for the accusations were property disputes and congregational disagreements. In a lot
of cases, the accusing family wanted to gain land from the convictions of the accused. Most of the accused lived in the southern part of Salem and were financially better than the accusers. The accused and the accusers also generally took opposite sides in a congregational divide that split Salem's community before the hysteria outbreak. Scholars concluded that these two factors played a major role in determining who lived and died during this time.
Economic conditions, congregational conflicts, an ongoing frontier war with the Native Americans for land, strict rules mixed with teenage boredom, and personal jealousies were all contributors to the start of the Salem Witch Trials.
The Deaths:
The first person executed on what is now known as Gallows Hill was Bridget Bishop, a promiscuous, gossipy woman. She was found guilty of witchcraft and was hanged on June 10, 1692. On July 19, 1692, five people were hanged, and on August 19, 1692, five more people were hanged. On September 22, the last eight of the 19 total people were hanged.
Although only 19 people were killed during this event, several colonists in Salem at the time were also affected due to the accusations made. Over 200 people were accused of participating in witchcraft and about a dozen or so were taken to
prison and died there. Giles Corey, a man in his 80s, was pressed to death on September 19th under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial of witchcraft charges.
List of the Dead:
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_DE.HTM