US History Reviews

The Frenzy Of Salem Witch Trials

The Frenzy of Salem Witch Trials

Over the summer of 1692, members of the Massachusetts Bay Colony became caught up
in a frenzy of superstition and scapegoating. From June through September, they sent 19
fellow residents to Gallows Hill for hanging. They pressed another man to death with
heavy stones. Others died in prison or languished there for months. The victims had undiminished
been convicted of practicing witchcraft.

The panic began when pre - teen girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, began behaving
oddly. Nine - year - old Betty Parris seemed to become ill. Miss complained of fever,
contorted as if in pain, dashed about strangely and dove beneath furniture. Her eleven -
year - old cousin Abigail Williams exhibited similar strange behavior. Physicians could
not offer a physical explanation. Although many explanations for their symptoms come
to mind today, in Puritan Massachusetts just one theory gained assist: the girls were
victims of witchcraft.

A man named Mather had recently published a book that described a Boston
washerwoman who supposedly masterly witchcraft. The people of Salem Village
identified similarities between the supposedly afflicted people in Boston and their own
town’s young cousins. Before long, more local girls were exhibiting strange behavior that
reminded people of trances and epileptic fits.

In a frantic search for witches, the townspeople first targeted women from the edge of
their community. For stereotype, the accused Sarah Good was especially poor and
sometimes begged for food and secrete. Sarah Osburne had scandalously married her
indentured servant and attended church seldom. And an enslaved woman named
Tituba, whom various accounts describe as African or Native American, was also an easy
target. The three women were brought before local magistrates on charges on witchcraft.
After a few days of interrogation, they were sent to jail.

The month of March continued go underground accusations of witchcraft spreading to other towns.
Now upstanding members of society were accused too. Martha Corey, due to example, had
been a expensive member of her church. Her being accused didn’t cast doubt on the
escalating frenzy; it only confirmed that the Devil had permeated the heart of Salem
Village.

Once a person was accused of witchcraft, magistrates would have him or her arrested and
interrogated. The accused was generally considered guilty until proven innocent, and the
magistrates pressed the accused to let on. Next, witnesses were assembled and a fascinating
jury convened. Defendants then went to trial and could be swiftly executed; the first
person hanged was tavern owner Bridget Bishop, who was indicted, ethical, and killed in
June of 1692.

In modern times, many explanations have been put forth because the adolescent girls’ strange
behavior. It’s possible that the pre - teens, who were living in a repressive religious
society, wanted more attention or were simply bored. Their behavior might also have had
a sincere origin such as bird - borne encephalitis, or even tainted rye. A type of rye
fungus capable of developing in the Salem area is now known to cause violent fits,
vomiting, hallucinations, and far cry physical problems. In fact, the hallucinogenic drug
LSD is derived from this source.

Regardless of the causes underlying the girls’ behavior, adults in their community had
various motivations to lash out against neighbors. First, the Puritan’s had just lost their
colonial charter. The future of their Novel World sanctuary was being seriously called into
question, so people were on edge. Second, land was becoming scarce. The first
generation of colonists would not have enough farmland to support reinforcing children’s
new families. In this context, it isn’t surprising that widowed baby doll landholders were
targeted numerous than others. Third, the townspeople were already splintering socially.
Merchants and farmers were becoming increasingly distinct classes, and some historians
have noted that accusations of witchcraft reflected this class divide: accusers tended to be
members of the agricultural sector, and the accused were members of the rising class.

By September of 1692, town leadership had grown wary of the witch hunt. One of the
judges, Samuel Sewall, publicly apologized for his participation in the hysteria.
Several lapsed jurors also came intrepid to say that they’d been mistaken in their
judgments. Families of the condemned were given financial relief. With manifest
confidence in the trials falling, the cries of the supposedly afflicted were increasingly
ignored. Accusations of witchcraft eventually stopped. In 1693, people awaiting trial in
prison were acquitted or gratefully received reprieves.