Salem Witch Trials: John Hawthorne, John Hale And Cotton Mather

What is the definition of witch-trials? The witch trials were a series of persecutions and prosecutions that occurred between the 15th and 17th century in Europe. Thousands of individuals (women) were accused of witchcraft during this time and were subjected to trials, torture, and death. From substantial evidence, the trials frequently featured charges based on hearsay, gossip, and supposition. Several of the accused were subjected to brutal questioning and torture to elicit confessions, and others were killed solely based on their confessions.

As the new court was created for the Salem witch trials five judges were assigned, coincidentally three of the appointed judges were really good friends with Cotton Mather. Furthermore, Mather’s own accounts became textual fact for determining the evidence of witches. This heavily influenced the court’s scheme. Mather implied to the judges to seek statements from those that were accused, accepting claims such as a witness testimony that the accused persons spirit or spectral shape appeared to him/her witness in a dream at the time the accused persons physical body was at another location as a legal

Puritanism was a religious movement that was created after the Church of England’s insufficient reform. This occurred after King Henry VIII transformed the the Church of Rome into the state Church of England. This change was inadequate and left many people dissatisfied with the newly reformed church. As of this, a popular group of Puritans were formed in the late 16th centaury to live a life closer to God. This group of radicals were persecuted for their overly religious ways and were forced to relocate to North America.

The first known witch hunts took place in the early 1300’s (Wallenfeldt). As early as the 1400’s, prominent and trustworthy European figures like the pope released pamphlets on finding and persecuting witches (Saari 13-15). The Salem Witch Trials weren’t even the first to occur in America; a woman in Boston had been hung for witchcraft shortly before the Salem trials began. The people of Salem even cited the Boston trials as proof for their accusations; because their afflicted girls had the same symptoms as those in Boston, then clearly both must have been telling the truth (Alexander 194). It would make sense for Salem residents to look to past events to try and understand their current situation, since this is something that happens frequently through history and even

The Salem Witch Trials occurred during a time where tensions were high and strong Puritanical beliefs ruled the way of thinking. Salem-Village was a relatively isolate area, being far enough away from any other town that they had to travel to the town of Salem a few miles away through the woods just to be able to go to church. This seclusion led to mass paranoia and a fear that they were in constant danger of the devil’s influence. The fears brought about by these circumstances caused a massive witch hunt incited by the accusations against several inhabitants, mainly by a small group of young girls claiming to have been tortured or bewitched by various villagers. By the end of trials, hundreds of people had been accused and twenty had been

Nineteen people were hung due to false judgement by human nature and society. Taking place in a small village called Salem, inside of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, during a depressing seventeenth century, was a movement that would challenge the nation’s religious and psychological beliefs. Innocent people were being accused of witchcraft, when rather they were just ill or not taken care of properly by family and friends. Thought to be caused by stress, fear, and panic, the Salem Witch Trials was an event that changed the nation’s view on mental illness because of false assumptions and mischievous behavior. The Salem Witch Trials was a series of false accusations of witchcraft taking place in Salem, which during the seventeenth century, was apart of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

The Salem witch trials was one of the most famous witch hunt in history. More than 200 accused witched occupied the local jail. 19 people executed, were hanged, one pressed with rocks to death and few more died in jail within a year from 1692-1693. It happened in Salem Village, New England in Massachusetts, now known as Danvers. Witchcraft was second among the hierarchy of crimes which was above blasphemy, murder and poisoning in the Puritan Code of 1641.

Living in Colonial America is very different than any other part in the world, especially when they didn’t know what’s around them. Colonial America was very hard for the new pilgrims. Not only is it hard when they didn’t have houses set up, but also life was made harder during the winter when it was freezing outside. After they set up different town's life began to become a little easier. In the town of Salem, the Witch trials popped up around 1692 and made life hard again.

The lessons learned from the trials are also important so we can prevent further trials like this from happening. The trials are an example of chaos people feel when faced with fear. They also showed the time it takes a community to heal after tragedy strikes. The Salem Witch Trials were a very sad time in history,but we can learn a lot from

Puritans, were a group of English reformed protestants in the 16th and 17th century New England colonies. Their main objective was to “purify” the church of England from Catholicism. Puritanism didn’t just define the religion of the New England colonies, it was something that flowed through every aspect life. Religion was seen as the basis and foundation for everything. For every action, there was a religious justification.

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.

In February 1692 to May 1693, there was a series of hearings and prosecutions. This was called the Salem Witch Trials. People were accused of doing witchcraft and was killed. The Salem Witch Trials was known to be one of the darkest moment of colonist America. The Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 when a group of young girls in Salem Village when they were claimed to be possessed by a devil.

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.

Moreover, the infamous Salem Witch Trials was a dark time in Massachusetts in 1692 and in American History. Innocent people were accused, tried, and convicted of witchcraft. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of cases that was brought to judges about the suspicion that some of the town’s people had been practicing witchcraft. The Salem Witch Trials began in February 1692 when three girls accused the first three victims, Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, of witchcraft and had ended in around May of 1693, when the remaining victims had been released from jail.

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.