Difference between revisions of "Salem Witch Trials" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:SalemWitchcraftTrial.jpg|thumb|300px|1876 illustration of the courtroom; the central figure is usually identified as [[Mary Walcott]]]]
 
  
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The '''Salem witch trials''' (also known as the Salem witch hunt and the Salem witchcraft episode) began in 1692 as a result of the bizarre and inexplicable behavior of two young girls, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village. In looking for a reason to explain the behavior, the doctor concluded that the girls were bewitched. This diagnosis resulted in several convictions and executions of innocent people who were accused of practicing witchcraft. Fourteen women and six men were killed, and between 175-200 were imprisoned during the trials. The convictions and executions reached not only Salem Village (Danvers), but Salem Town and other surounding areas in Massachusettes. The modern town of salem is dedicted to remembering the witch hysteria of 1692, as well as educating the population on the practices of modern withcraft.
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[[Image:SalemWitchcraftTrial.jpg|thumb|300px|1876 illustration of the courtroom; the central figure is usually identified as [[Mary Walcott]].]]
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The '''Salem Witch Trials''' were a notorious episode in [[New England]] colonial history that led to the execution of 14 women and 6 men, in 1692, for charges of [[witchcraft]]. The trials began as a result of the bizarre and inexplicable behavior of two young girls, afflicted by violent convulsions and strange fits that seemingly rendered them unable to hear, speak, or see. After a medical examination and a review by [[Puritanism|Puritan]] clergy, the girls were judged to be victims of witchcraft. In the ensuing hysteria during the summer of 1692, nearly 200 people were accused of witchcraft and imprisoned.  
  
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==Background==
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Although the Salem Witch Trials are conventionally cited as an example of religious zealotry in New England, the trials were exceptional in the American colonies, with charges of witchcraft far more commonplace in [[Europe]]—particularly [[Germany]], [[Switzerland]], and the [[Low Countries]]—during this period. From the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries, some 110,000 people were tried for witchcraft in Europe, and from 40,000 to 60,000 were executed. In contrast, there were only 20 executions in colonial American courts from 1647 to 1691 and the sensational trials at Salem.<ref>Kenneth Silverman, ''Life and Times of Cotton Mather''(New York: Columbia University Press, 1985, ISBN 0231-06125-0), 89</ref>
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To understand how something as unfathomable as the Salem witch trials could have occured, it is neccessary to evaluate the beliefs and customs practice by the [[Puritan]] people at the time. The belief system of Salem in 1692 centered around [[Heaven]] and [[Hell]], with a strong belief in the power of the devil. The devil, the [[Puritan]]s believed, was a fallen angel and a being capable of tempting and influencing the weak and fallible. The lessons taught in church, at school, and around the home consisted of the imcumbent need to be good and to avoid the evils the devil could invoke. If anything unfavorable happened to a person or a family, it was considered evidence of the wrath of God. Things such as loss of crops, livestock, and even children were a direct result of God's punishment for some evil act or another. Far-reaching events such as earthquakes, flooding, and droughts were revelations from God that He was displeased with the town, or with something a person in the town was doing. It became difficult, obviously, for a righteous person to understand why bad things were happening, thus the belief in witches and the power of witchcraft became the explanation. If a child got sick, it was a very common occurance to blame a spell cast by a witch as the reason. Often the town would narrow the blame onto one person and either brand the culprit and cast them from the town, imprison them, or worse, execute them.
 
  
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Other beliefs about gender also played a key role in the condeming of so many innocent women and children. The Puritan community held strong to the fact that a woman was not as important as a man and should be ruled and governed by a man. They also believed the the nature of a woman was different than that of her male counterpart; a woman was more likely to enlist in the Devil's service, and women were naturally more lustful than men. Thus, an unmarried woman, living alone, without the guidance of a man, became the main target for the persecution. It was believed that if a woman didn't have a man in her life to tell her what to do, then she had most likely turned to the devil for instruction.
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Modern analysis of the Salem Witch Trials regards the children's bizarre allegations and the townspeople's credulity as an example of [[mass hysteria]], when mass public near-panic reactions surface around an unexplained phenomenon. Mass hysteria explains the waves of popular medical problems that "everyone gets" in response to news articles. A recent example of mass hysteria with remarkable similarities to the Salem Witch Trials was the rash of allegations of sexual and ritual abuse in day care centers in the 1980s and 1990s, which resulted in numerous convictions that were later overturned. Like the Salem hysteria, these allegations of sexual abuse were fueled by accusations from impressionable children who were coached by figures of authority, and resulted in destroying the lives and reputations of innocent people.
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Finally, the rumors and gossip spread in such small communities made it virtually impossible for anyone to keep secrets, and opinions about certain people were soon turned into facts. Children represented the lowest part of society, and female children the very lowest. There were very few toys or games ever allowed, and any type of play was seen as troublesome and was discouraged. However, while boys were able to go hunting, fishing, exploring the forest, and often became apprentices, girls were allowed to only spin yarn, cook, sew, weave, and to generally be servants.
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The Salem Witch Trials demonstrated the weakness of a judicial system that relied on hearsay testimony and encouraged accusations, while providing no adequate means of rebuttal. Yet, after a time conscientious magistrates did step in to stop the trials, and in subsequent years the reputations, if not the lives, of those falsely accused had been rehabilitated.
  
 
== Origin of trials ==
 
== Origin of trials ==
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[[Image:Samuel Parris.jpeg|thumb|Reverend Samuel Parris]]
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In the village of Salem in 1692, Betty Parris, age nine, and her cousin, Abigail Williams, age 11, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris, fell victim to what was recorded as fits "beyond the power of [[Epilepsy|Epileptic]] Fits or natural disease to effect," according to John Hale, minister in Beverly, in his book, ''A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft'' (1702). The girls screamed, threw things about the room, uttered strange sounds, crawled under furniture, and contorted themselves into peculiar positions. They complained of being pricked with pins or cut with knives, and when Reverend Samuel Parris would preach, the girls would cover their ears, as if dreading to hear the sermons. When a doctor, historically believed to be [[William Griggs]], could not explain what was happening to them, he said that the girls were bewitched. Others in the village began to exhibit the same symptoms.
  
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[[Image:Salem Village - map of - Project Gutenberg eText 17845.jpg|thumb|Map of Salem Village, 1692]]
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Griggs may have been influenced in his diagnosis by [[Cotton Mather]]'s work, ''Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions'' (1689). In the book he describes the strange behavior exhibited by the four children of a Boston mason, John Goodwin, and attributed it to [[witchcraft]] practiced upon them by an [[Ireland|Irish]] washerwoman, Mary Glover. Mather, a minister of [[Boston]]'s North Church (not to be confused with the [[Episcopal|Episcopalian]] Old North Church of [[Paul Revere]]), was a prolific publisher of pamphlets and a firm believer in witchcraft. Three of the five judges appointed to the Court of Oyer and Terminer were friends of his and members of his congregation. He wrote to one of the judges, John Richards, supporting the prosecutions, but cautioning him of the dangers of relying on spectral evidence and advising the court on how to proceed. Mather was present at the execution of [[Reverend George Burroughs]] for witchcraft and intervened after the condemned man had successfully recited the [[Lord's Prayer]] (supposedly a sign of innocence) to remind the crowd that the man had been convicted before a jury. Mather had access to the official records of the Salem trials, upon which his account of the affair, ''Wonders of the Invisible World,'' was based.
  
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During the year os 1692, Samuel Parris was the upstanding Reverend of the close-knit society of Salem, Massachusettes. The event that would cause the witch hysteria was started by two small girls. Betty Parris (age 9), the Reverend's daughter, along with her cousin, Abigail Williams (age 11) began displaying very bizarre behavior. It was recorded as fits "beyond the power of Epileptic Fits or natural disease to effect," as recorded by [[John Hale]], minister in Beverly, in his book ''A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft'' ([[Boston]], 1702). The girls fell victim to convulsive fits, blasphemous screaming, and other uncontrollable behavior. The two threw things about the room and then crawled about on and under the furniture. Oft times they were found in trance-like states, proclaiming that someone was pricking their skin with pins, or cutting it with knives. In sermons delivered by Reverend Parris, the girls would scream and shout and cover their ears like they couldn't hear the religious speakings. A doctor, assumed to be William Griggs, was unable to explain the behavior, he found no natural cause for what they were suffering from, and therefore assumed that the girls were being bewitched. Soon, the hysteria grew when other people in the village began to fall victim to the same symptoms.  
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In February of 1692, frightened by events, the residents of Salem held regular fasts and prayers for the afflicted. Wanting the influence of the devil to be removed from their community they pressured the girls into providing names. The first three people arrested for allegedly afflicting a girl by the name of Ann Putnam, age 12, were [[Sarah Good]], a beggar, [[Sarah Osburne]], a bedridden old woman, and Rev. Parris's slave, [[Tituba]]. Tituba was an easy and obvious target as she was a slave and of a different ethnicity than that of her Puritan neighbors. Many accounts of the history of the hysteria claim that Tituba often told witch stories and spells to the girls while she was working. However, this idea does not have much historical merit. Sarah Good was often seen begging for food. She was quick to anger and often muttered under her breath. Many people believed these mutterings to be curses that she was placing upon them. Sarah Osburne had already been marked as an outcast when she married her indentured servant. These women easily fit the mold of being different in their society, and thus were vulnerable targets. The fact that none of the three attended church also made them more susceptible to the accusations of witchcraft.
  
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In February of 1692, the inhabitants of Salem were frightened. They held regular fasts and prayed often for the afflicted. The townspeople wanted the influence of the devil to be removed from their community and thus pressured the girls into naming an accuser. The first three people arrested for allegedly afflicting a girl by the name of Ann Putnam (age 12) were Sarah Good, a beggar, Sarah Osburne, a bedridden old woman, and Tituba, a slave. Tituba was an easy and obvious target as she was a slave and a different ethnicity than that of her Puritan neighbors. Many accounts of the history of the hysteria claim that Tituba often told witch stories and spells to the girls while she was working, however, this idea doesn't have much historical merit. Sarah Good was often seen begging for food. She was quick to anger, and often muttered under her breath, many people believed these mutterings to be curses that she was placing upon them. Sarah Osburne had already been marked as an outcast when she married her indentured servant. These women easily fit the mold of being different in their society, and thus were vulnerable targets. The fact that none of the three attended church also made them more suseptible to the accustions of witchcraft.
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=== Formal charges and trial ===
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[[Image:Salem Village - map of - Project Gutenberg eText 17845.jpg|thumb|300px|Map of Salem Village, 1692.]]On March 1, 1692, the three accused were held in prison and then brought before the magistrates. The women were accused of witchcraft, and soon many other women and children joined the ranks of the accused. In March, Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Dorothy Good (incorrectly called Dorcas Good on her arrest warrant), and Rachel Clinton were condemned. The most outspoken of the group of women was Martha Corey. Outraged at the unjust accusations she argued that the girls who were accusing her were not to be believed. She scoffed at the trials and only brought unfavorable attention to herself in the process. Dorothy Good, Sarah Good's daughter, was only four years old when she was accused. Easily coerced into saying untrue things about her mother's behavior and her own status as a witch, she was placed in prison with her mother.
  
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On March 1, 1692, the three accused were held in prison and then brought before the magistrates. The women were accused of witchcraft, and soon many other women and children joined the ranks of the accused. In March, Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Dorothy Good <ref>incorrectly called Dorcas Good in her arrest warrant</ref>, and Rachel Clinton were condemned. The most outspoken of the group of women would have been Martha Corey. She was outraged at the unjust accusations and argued that the girls who were accusing her were not to be belived. She scoffed at the trials and only brought unfavorable attention to herself in the process. Dorothy Good, Sarah Good's daughter, was only four years old when she was accused. Being so young and maleable, she was coersed into saying untrue things about her mother's behavior, and then confessed that she, too was a witch, so that she could be placed in prison with her mother.
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When faithful members of the Church like Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse were accused, the community realized that anyone could be guilty of being a witch and, thus, no one was safe from the accusation. This proved true when the arrests continued during the month of April. Many more were arrested: Sarah Cloyce (Nurse's sister), Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor and her husband John Proctor, Giles Corey (Martha's husband, and a covenanted church member in Salem Town), Abigail Hobbs, Bridget Bishop, Mary Warren (a servant in the Proctor household and sometime accuser herself), Deliverance Hobbs (step-mother of Abigail Hobbs), Sarah Wilds, William Hobbs (husband of Deliverance and father of Abigail), Nehemiah Abbott Jr., Mary Esty (sister of Cloyce and Nurse), Edward Bishop Jr. and his wife Sarah Bishop, Mary English, Lydia Dustin, Susannah Martin, Dorcas Hoar, Sarah Morey and Philip English (Mary's husband). Even Rev. George Burroughs was arrested.
  
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When faithful members of the Church like Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse were accused, the community became distraught and worried. How could upstanding people that had long been in association with other be witches in disguise? If they were possible of witchcraft, then anyone could be guilty of being a witch, thus no one was safe from the accusation. This proved true when the arrests continued during the month of April. Many more were arrested: Sarah Cloyce (Nurse's sister), Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor and her husband John Proctor, Giles Corey (Martha's husband, and a covenanted church member in Salem Town), Abigail Hobbs, Bridget Bishop, Mary Warren (a servant in the Proctor household and sometime accuser herself), Deliverance Hobbs (step-mother  of Abigail Hobbs), Sarah Wilds, William Hobbs (husband of Deliverance and father of Abigail), Nehemiah Abbott Jr., Mary Esty (sister of Cloyce and Nurse), Edward Bishop Jr. and his wife Sarah Bishop, and Mary English, and finally on April 30, Rev. George Burroughs, Lydia Dustin, Susannah Martin, Dorcas Hoar, Sarah Morey and Philip English (Mary's husband). The outcome of the many prisoners was varied. One of the men, Neihemiah Abbott Jr. was eventually released when his accusers agreed that it had not been Abbott that had caused their affliction. Mary Esty only served a few days of prison time because the accusers never confirmed her identity. However, they eventually came forward and she was rearrested for crimes.
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The trials rested purely on testimony of those who were afflicted, or "[[Spiritual World|spectral evidence]]." The afflicted claimed to see various apparitions or shapes of the person who was causing their pain. A [[Theology|theological]] dispute arose about the use of this kind of evidence because it was supposed that the [[devil]] could not take the shape of a person without that person's permission. The court finally concluded that the devil needed the permission of the specific person. Thus, when the accusers claimed that they had seen the person, then that person could be charged with consorting with the devil himself. [[Increase Mather]] and other ministers sent a letter to the court, "The Return of Several Ministers Consulted," urging the magistrates not to convict on spectral evidence alone. A copy of this letter was printed in Increase Mather's "Cases of Conscience," published in 1692.<ref>Increase Mather, [http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/speccol/mather Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits.] Retrieved August 7, 2007. </ref>
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[[Image:WilliamStoughton-painting.png|thumb|Chief Magistrate [[William Stoughton (Massachusetts)|William Stoughton]] (1631-1701)]]
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In May, the hysteria continued when warrants were issued for 36 more people: Sarah Dustin (daughter of Lydia Dustin), Ann Sears, Bethiah Carter Sr. and her daughter Bethiah Carter Jr., George Jacobs Sr. and his granddaughter Margaret Jacobs, John Willard, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Abigail Soames, George Jacobs Jr. (son of George Jacobs Sr. and father of Margaret Jacobs), Daniel Andrew, Rebecca Jacobs (wife of George Jacobs Jr. and sister of Daniel Andrew), Sarah Buckley and her daughter Mary Witheridge, Elizabeth Colson, Elizabeth Hart, Thomas Farrar Sr., Roger Toothaker, Sarah Proctor (daughter of John and Elizabeth Proctor), Sarah Bassett (sister-in-law of Elizabeth Proctor), Susannah Roots, Mary DeRich (another sister-in-law of Elizabeth Proctor), Sarah Pease, Elizabeth Cary, Martha Carrier, Elizabeth Fosdick, Wilmot Redd, Sarah Rice, Elizabeth How, John Alden (son of John Alden and Pricilla Mullins of Plymouth Colony), William Proctor (son of John and Elizabeth Proctor), John Flood, Mary Toothaker (wife of Roger Toothaker and sister of Martha Carrier) and her daughter Margaret Toothaker, and Arthur Abbott. When the Court of Oyer and Terminer convened at the end of May 1692, this brought the total number of accused and arrested to 62.<ref>Marilynne K. Roach, ''The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-To-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege'' (Cooper Square Press, 2002).</ref>
  
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The trials rested purely on testimony of those who were afflicted, or "[[spectral evidence]]". This means that the afflicted claimed to see various appartitions or shapes of the person who was causing their pain. A theological dispute arose about the use of this kind of evidence, because there was a debate on whether or not the Devil could take the shape of a person only with that person's permission to do so. One side obviously argued that the Devil had the power to take anyone's shape with or without their permission, and the Devil could use that person's "shape" to cause havoc and affliction. The court finally concluded that the Devil needed the permission of the specific person. Thus, when the accusers claimed that they had seen the person, then that person could be charged with consorting with the Devil himself. [[Increase Mather]] and other ministers sent a letter to the Court, "The Return of Several Ministers Consulted," urging the magistrates not to convict on spectral evidence alone. A copy of this letter was printed in Increase Mather's [[http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/speccol/mather/ "Cases of Conscience"]] published in 1693. See facsimiles of [[http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/speccol/mather/small/MATH73.jpg page 73]] and [[http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/speccol/mather/small/MATH74.jpg page 74]] of this rare book.
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Eventually, Salem, Ipswich, Charlestown, Cambridge, and Boston all had jails filled to capacity. Scholars have attributed the lack of trials for the accused to the fact that there was no legitimate form of government at the time available to try the cases. However, it has been found that other capital cases were tried during this time period. The fact remains that none of the witchcraft cases were tried until late May with the arrival of Governor Sir [[William Phips]]. Upon his arrival, Phips instituted a Court of [[Oyer and Terminer]] (to "hear and determine") and simultaneously appointed [[William Stoughton]] as the Chief Justice of the court. Stoughton was a man with several years of theological training but no legal training. By then tragedies had already occurred, including Sarah Osborne's death before trial of natural causes. She died in jail on May 10. Sarah Good's infant child also died in jail.
  
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In May, the hysteria continued when warrants were issued for 36 more people: Sarah Dustin (daughter of Lydia Dustin), Ann Sears, Bethiah Carter Sr. and her daughter Bethiah Carter Jr., George Jacobs Sr. and his granddaughter Margaret Jacobs, John Willard, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Abigail Soames, George Jacobs Jr. (son of George Jacobs Sr. and father of Margaret Jacobs), Daniel Andrew, Rebecca Jacobs (wife of George Jacobs Jr. and sister of Daniel Andrew), Sarah Buckley and her daughter Mary Witheridge, Elizabeth Colson, Elizabeth Hart, Thomas Farrar Sr., Roger Toothaker, Sarah Proctor (daughter of John and Elilzabeth Proctor), Sarah Bassett (sister-in-law of Elizabeth Proctor), Susannah Roots, Mary DeRich (another sister-in-law of Elizabeth Proctor), Sarah Pease, Elizabeth Cary, Martha Carrier, Elizabeth Fosdick, Wilmot Redd, Sarah Rice, Elizabeth How, John Alden (son of John Alden and Pricilla Mullins of Plymouth Colony), William Proctor (son of John and Elizabeth Proctor), John Flood, Mary Toothaker (wife of Roger Toothaker and sister of Martha Carrier) and her daughter Margaret Toothaker, and Arthur Abbott. When the Court of Oyer and Terminer convened at the end of May, 1692, this brought the total number of accused and arrested to 62.<ref>For information about the family relationships between these people, see Roach, Marilynne K. ''The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-To-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege.'' Cooper Square Press, 2002.</ref>
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==Legal procedures==
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The process of arresting and trying an individual in 1692 began with the accusation that some loss, illness, or even death had been caused by the practice of witchcraft. The accuser entered an official complaint with the town magistrates.<ref> The University of Virginia, [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/ecca/vol1/096.html Salem Witchcraft Project 096.] Retrieved August 7, 2007. </ref>  
  
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Various towns, such as Salem, Ipswich, Charlestown, Cambridge, and Boston all had jailhouses filled to capacity. Scholars have attributed the lack of trials for the accused to the fact that there was no legitimate form of goverment at the time available to try the cases. However, through various research, it has been found that other capital cases were tried during this time period. The fact remains that none of the witchcraft cases were tried until late May with the arrival of Governor Sir [[William Phips]]. Upon his arrival, Phips instituted a Court of [[Oyer and Terminer]] (to "hear and determine") and simultaneoulsy appointed [[William Stoughton (Massachusetts)|William Stoughton]] as the Chief Justice of the court. Stoughton was a man with several years of theological training but no legal training(Boyer 7). By then, tragedies were already occuring, [[Sarah Osborne]] had died of natural causes in jail on May 10 without a trial (Boyer 3), as well as the death of Sarah Good's infant.
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The magistrates would then decide if the complaint had any merit. If it did they would issue an arrest warrant.<ref> The University of Virginia, [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/ecca/vol1/070.html The Salem Witchcraft Project 070.] Retrieved August 7, 2007. </ref> The arrested person would then be brought before the magistrates and receive a public interrogations/examination. It was at this time that many were forced to confess to witchcraft.<ref> The University of Virginia, [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/eia/eia01.html Salem Witchcraft Papers from the Essex Institute 1.] Retrieved August 7, 2007. </ref> If no confession was offered then the accused was turned over to the superior court. In 1692 this meant several months of imprisonment before the new governor arrived and establish a Court of [[Oyer and Terminer]] to handle these cases.
  
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==Legal Procedures==
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With the case appearing before the superior court, it was necessary to summon various witnesses to testify before the grand jury.<ref> The University of Virginia, [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/ecca/vol1/065.html Salem Witchcraft Project 065.] Retrieved August 7, 2007. </ref> There were basically two indictments: That of afflicting witchcraft or that of making an unlawful covenant with the devil.<ref> The University of Virginia, [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/ecca/vol1/003.html Salem Witchcraft Project 003.] Retrieved August 7, 2007.</ref> Once the accused was indicted the case went to trial, sometimes on the same day. An example is the case of Bridget Bishop, the first person indicted and tried, on June 2. She was executed on June 10, 1692.
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The process of arresting and trying an individual began with the accusation that some loss, illness, or even death had been caused by the practice of witchcraft. The accuser ented an official complaint with the town magistrates.<ref>See [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/ecca/vol1/096.html The Complaint v. Elizabeth Procter & Sarah Cloyce] for an example of one of the primary sources of this type.</ref>  
 
  
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The magistrates would decide if the complaint had any merit, and if they found that it did, the would issue the arrest of the accused. <ref>[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/ecca/vol1/070.html The Arrest Warrant of Rebecca Nurse]</ref> The arrested person would be brought before the magistrates in a type of interrogations/public examination. It was at this time that many of the accused met with great force to confess their practice of witchcraft. <ref>[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/eia/eia01.html The Examination of Martha Corey]</ref>  
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The judicial environment offered those charged with witchcraft few protections against fabricated allegations. None of the accused were given the right to legal counsel, the magistrates often asked leading questions that presumed guilt, and only those who confessed were saved from execution upon conviction.<ref>''West's Encyclopedia of American Law,'' [http://www.answers.com/topic/salem-witch-trials Salem Witch Trials from Answers.com.] Retrieved August 1, 2008.</ref>  
  
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If no confession could be met with, then the accused was turned over to the superior court. In 1692, this meant several months of imprisonment before the new governor arrived and establish a Court of [[Oyer and Terminer]] to handle these cases.
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The trials resulted in four execution dates: One person was executed on June 10, 1692, five were executed on July 19, another five were executed on August 19 , and eight on September 22.<ref> The University of Virginia, [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/ecca/vol1/071.html Salem Witchcraft Project 071.] Retrieved August 7, 2007.</ref> Several others, including Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor and Abigail Faulkner were convicted and sentenced to death, but the sentence could not be carried out immediately because the women were pregnant. The women would still be hanged, but not until they had given birth. Five other women were convicted in 1692, but sentences were never carried out: Ann Foster (who later died in prison), her daughter Mary Lacy Sr., Abigail Hobbs, Dorcas Hoar, and Mary Bradbury.
  
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With the case appearing before the superior court, it was necessary to summon various witnesses to testify before the grand jury. ref>For an example: [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/ecca/vol1/065.html Summons for Witnesses v. Rebecca Nurse]</ref> There were basically two indictments: that of afflicting witchcraft<ref>[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/ecca/vol1/003.html Indictment of Sarah Good for Afflicting Sarah Vibber]</ref>,or making an unlawful covenant with the Devil.<ref>[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/eia/eia23.html Indictment of Abigail Hobbs for Covenanting]</ref> Once the accused was indicted, the case went to trial, sometimes on the same day. An example is the case of Bridget Bishop, the first person indicted and tried on June 2. She was executed on June 10, 1692.
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One of the men, Giles Corey, an 80-year-old farmer from Salem Farms, endured a form of torture called ''peine fort et dure'' because he refused to enter a plea. The torture was also called "pressing" and was carried out by resting a board on the man's chest and then piling stones on the board slowly until the man was slowly crushed to death. It took Corey two days to die. It was thought that perhaps Corey did not enter a plea in order to keep his possessions from being taken by the state. Many possessions of those convicted during the trials were confiscated by the state. Many of the dead were not given proper burials, often being placed in shallow graves after the hangings.
  
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The trials resulted in four execution dates, with one person executed on June 10, 1692<ref>[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/essex/ecca/vol1/071.html The Death Warrant of Bridget Bishop]</ref>, five were executed on July 19, 1692<ref> [http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/BPL/B05A.html Death Warrant for Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth How & Sarah Wilds]</ref>, another five executed on August 19, 1692 (Susannah Martin, John Willard, George Burroughs, George Jacobs Sr., and John Proctor), and eight on September 22, 1692 (Mary Esty, Martha Cory, Ann Pudeator, Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, Alice Parker, Wilmot Redd, and Margaret Scott). Several others, including Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor and Abigail Faulkner were convicted and sentenced to death, however, the sentence could not be carried out immediately because the women were pregnant. The women would still be hanged, but not until they had given birth.(Chronology). Five other women were convicted in 1692, but sentence was never carried out: Ann Foster (who later died in prison), her daughter Mary Lacy Sr., Abigail Hobbs, Dorcas Hoar, and Mary Bradbury.
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===Conclusion===
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In early October, prominent  ministers in Boston, including Increase Mather and Samuel Willard, urged Governor Phips to stop the proceedings and disallow the use of spectral evidence. Public opinion was also changing, and without the admission of spectral evidence the trials soon came to an end. The final trials during the witch hysteria took place in May of 1693, after this time, all those still in jail were set free. In a letter of explanation Phips sent to England, Phips said he stopped the trials because "I saw many innocent persons might otherwise perish."
  
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One of the men, Giles Corey, was an 80-year-old farmer from Salem Farms, endured a form of torture called ''peine fort et dure'' because he refused to enter a plea. The torture was also called "pressing" and was carried out by resting a board on the man's chest and then piling stones on the board slowly until the man was slowly crushed to death. It took Giles Corey two days to die(Boyer 8). It was thought that perhaps Giles Corey didn't enter a plea to keep his possessions from being taken by the state. Many possessions of those convicted during the trials were confiscated by the state. Sadly, many of the dead were not given proper burials, often being placed in shallow graves after the hangings.
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In 1697, a Day of Repentance was declared in Boston. On that day, [[Samuel Sewall]], a magistrate on the court, publicly confessed his "blame and shame" in a statement read by Rev. Samuel Willard, and twelve jurors who served in the trials confessed to "the guilt of innocent blood." Years later, in 1706, Ann Putnam, Jr, one of the most active accusers, stood in her pew before the Salem Village church while the Rev. Joseph Green read her confession of "delusion" by the devil.<ref>Documentary Archive and Transcription Project, [http://www.iath.virginia.edu/salem/further.html Salem Witch Trials.] Retrieved August 1, 2008.</ref>
  
−
==Closure==
+
Many of the relatives and descendants of those wrongfully accused sought closure through petitions filed that demanded monetary restitution to those convicted. These petitions were filed up until 1711. Eventually, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill disallowing spectral evidence. However, only those who had initially filed petitions were given reversal of attainder.<ref> The University of Virginia, [http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/MA135/93.html Salem Witchcraft Project 109.] Retrieved August 7, 2007. </ref> This applied to only three people, who had been convicted but not executed: Abigail Faulkner Sr., Elizabeth Proctor, and Sarah Wardwell.<ref>Enders Robinson, ''The Devil Discovered'' (2001, ISBN 1577661761).</ref>
−
*The final trials during the witch hysteria took place in May of 1693, after this time, all those still in jail were set free.  
 
  
−
*Many of the relatives and descendants of those wrongfully accused sought closure of some magnitude. There were petitions filed that demanded monetary restitution to those were convicted. These petitions were filed up until 1711. Eventually, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill disallowing spectral evidence. However, only those who had initally filed petitions were given reversal of attainder.<ref>http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/MA135/93.html</ref> This applied to only three people, who had been convicted but not executed: Abigail Faulkner Sr., Elizabeth Proctor, and Sarah Wardwell. <ref>Enders Robinson, The Devil Discovered, 2001 edition, preface, pp. xvi-xvii</ref>
+
In 1704 and 1709, another petition was filed in hopes of a monetary settlement. In 1711, a compensation of 578 pounds and 12 shillings was divided among the survivors and relatives of those accused. A sum of 150 pounds was given to the Proctor family for John and Elizabeth, by far the largest amount awarded.
  
−
*In 1704 and 1709 another petition was filed in hopes of a monetary settlement. In 1711, a compensation of 578 pounds and 12 shillings was divided among the survivors and relatives of those accused. 150 pounds was given to the Proctor family for John and Elizabeth, by far the most amount of money awarded.
+
In 1706, Ann Putnam, one of the girls responsible for accusing various people of witchcraft issued a written apology. In this apology, Ann stated that she had been deluded by [[Satan]] into the denouncing of several innocent people, in particular, Rebecca Nurse. In 1712, Nurse's [[excommunication]] was canceled by the very [[pastor]] who had cast her out.  
  
−
*In 1706, Ann Putnam, one of the girls responsible for accusing various people of witchcraft issued a written apology. In this apology, Ann stated that she had been deluded by [[Satan]] into the denouncing of several innocent people, in particular, Rebecca Nurse.  
+
By 1957, descendants of the accused were still demanding that the names of their ancestors be cleared. Finally an act was passed that pronounced all the accused as being exonerated. However, the statement only listed Ann Pudeator by name and all others were referred to as "certain other persons."
  
−
*In 1712 Rebecca Nurse's [[excommunication]] was cancelled by the very [[pastor]] who had cast her out.  
+
In 1992, The Danvers Tercentennial Committee persuaded the Massachusetts House of Representatives to issue a resolution honoring those who had died. The resolution was finally signed on October 31, 2001, by [[Governor]] Jane Swift. More than three hundred years after the trials, all the accused were proclaimed innocent.
  
−
*By 1957 descendants of the accused were still demanding that the names of their ancestors be cleared. Finally an act was passed that pronounced all the accused as being exonerated, however, the statement only listed Ann Pudeator by name and all others were referred to as "certain other persons".
+
==Legacy==
 +
The Salem Witch Trials, although a minor incident in the far more extensive persecution of religious and social nonconformists as "witches" in Europe from the [[Middle Ages]], is a vivid, cautionary episode in American history. Remembered largely because of its anomalous character, the trials exemplify the threat to American founding ideals of freedom, justice, and religious tolerance and pluralism. Even in New England, which accepted the reality of the supernatural, the trials at Salem were repudiated by leading Puritans. Among other clerics who expressed concern with the trials, Increase Mather wrote in "Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits" (1692) that "It were better that Ten Suspected Witches should escape, than that the Innocent Person should be Condemned."
  
−
*In 1992, The Danvers Tercentenial Committee persuaded the Massachusetts House of Representatives to issue a resolution honoring those who had died. The resolution was finally signed on October 31, 2001 by [[Governor]] Jane Swift, more than 300 years later, all were finally proclaimed innocent.
+
The term "witch hunt" has entered the American lexicon to describe the search for and harassment of people or members of groups who hold politically unpopular views. It was most notably used to describe and discredit the [[McCarthy Hearings]] in the [[U.S. Senate]] in the 1950s, which sought to identify communists or communist sympathizers in government and other public positions.  
  
−
==Possible Explanations of the "Possessed"==
+
The trials have also provided the background for two of America's great works of [[drama]], the play ''Giles Corey'' in [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]]'s ''New England Tragedies'' and [[Arthur Miller]]'s classic play, ''The Crucible.'' Longfellow's play, which follows the form of a [[Shakespeare]]an tragedy, is a commentary on the attitudes prevalent in nineteenth century New England. Miller's play is a commentary on the McCarthy Hearings.  
−
The idea that the girls were truly afflicted by the Devil is no longer accepted as a reasoning behind the odd behavior. There are several ideas as to the cause of the hysteria, but none have been proven true.
 
  
−
*A few academics believe that the behavior of the girls was all an act that was motivated by jealousy or spite.
+
''Lois the Witch'' by [[Elizabeth Gaskell]] is a novella based on the Salem witch hunts and shows how jealousy and sexual desire can lead to hysteria. She was inspired by the story of [[Rebecca Nurse]] whose accusation, trial, and execution are described in ''Lectures on Witchcraft'' by [[Charles Upham]], the [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] minister in Salem in the 1830s. ''Gallows Hill'' by [[Lois Duncan]] is a young adult fiction book in which the main character Sarah, and many others, turn out to be [[reincarnation]]s of those accused and killed during the Trials. Innumerable other popular depictions, including episodes of ''Star Trek'' and ''the Simpsons,'' have led to the ongoing recognition of the Salem Witch Trials as a notable, iconic incident in American history.
−
*The hysteria was just a form of some type of [[mental illness]].
 
−
*In 1976, graduate student Linnda Caporael published [http://web.utk.edu/~kstclair/221/ergotism.html an article in Science magazine], making the claim that the hallucinations of the afflicted girls could possibly have been the result of ingesting rye bread that had been made with moldy grain. "Ergot of Rye" is a plant disease that is caused by the fungus ''[[Claviceps purpurea]]''. It is the ergot stage of the fungus that contains a similar chemical compounds to the illegal drug, LSD. 
 
−
*In the book''A Fever in Salem'', author Laurie Winn Carlson believes that the girls who claimed to be bewitched, were, in fact, suffereing from [[encephalitis lethargica]], a disease whose symptoms match some of what was reported in Salem and could have been spread by birds and other animals (Aronson). 
 
−
*It has also been suggested that the girls could have had [[Huntington's Chorea]], carriers of which have been traced to be among the colonists that settled in that area [http://www.stanford.edu/group/hopes/sttools/print/p_r_timeline.pdf].
 
−
*It should be noted that no serious historian believes these medical explanations because of the sporadic placement of the victims across the village with no other family members suffering from the illness
 
  
−
==Salem Today==
+
===Salem today===
−
"With one of the highest concentrations of historic sites, museums, cultural activities, fine dining and shopping in Massachusetts, [[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]] is America's Bewitching Seaport with a little history in every step" (Destination Salem). The modern-day Salem seems to exist for the sole purpose of making money. A tourist can visit Salem and see many historical museums, dramatic reinactments of the trials, and even modern witches trying to explain the basis of [[Wicca]]. There is a wax museum for a quick historic look at the trial, the well-preserved cemetery, and a part of the real dungeon the accused were housed in. It is easy to connect to Boston by train and bus.
+
On May 9, 1992, the Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial of Danvers was dedicated before an audience of over three thousand people. It was the first such memorial to honor all of the 1692 witchcraft victims, and is located across the street from the site of the original Salem Village Meeting House where many of the witch examinations took place. The memorial serves as a reminder that each generation must confront intolerance and "witch hunts" with integrity, clear vision, and courage.<ref> Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project, [http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/Commemoration.html Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial of Danvers.] Retrieved August 7, 2007. </ref>
  
−
==Further reading==
+
The city embraces the history of the Salem Witch Trials, both as a source of tourism and culture. Police cars are adorned with witch logos, a local public school is known as the Witchcraft Heights Elementary School, the Salem High School football team is named The Witches, and Gallows Hill, a site of numerous public hangings, is currently used as a playing field for various sports.
  
−
*Aronson, Marc. "Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials." Atheneum: New York. 2003.
+
==Notes==
−
*Boyer, Paul & Nissenbaum, Stephen. "Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft." Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA. 1974.
+
<references/>
−
*Boyer, Paul & Nissenbaum, Stephen, eds.. "Salem-Village Witchcraft: A Documentary Record of Local Conflict in Colonial New England" Northeastern University Press: Boston, MA. 1972.
 
−
*Breslaw, Elaine G.. "Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem: Devilish Indians and Puritan Fantasies." NYU: New York. 1996.
 
−
*Brown, David C.. "A Guide to the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria of 1692." David C. Brown: Washington Crossing, PA. 1984.
 
−
*Godbeer, Richard. "The Devil's Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England." Camridge University Press: New York. 1992.
 
−
*Hansen, Chadwick. "Witchcraft at Salem." Brazillier: New York. 1969.
 
−
*Hoffer, Peter Charles. "The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Legal History." University of Kansas: Lawrence, KS. 1997.
 
−
*Karlsen, Carol F.  ''The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England.''  New York: Vintage, 1987.  [This work provides essential background on other witchcraft accusations in 17th century New England.]
 
−
*[[Arthur Miller|Miller, Arthur]]. "[[The Crucible]] — a play which implicitly compares [[McCarthyism]] to a witch-hunt".
 
−
*Norton, Mary Beth. ''In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692.'' New York: Random House, 2002.
 
−
*Reis, Elizabeth. "Damned Women: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England." Cornell University Press: Ithaca, NY. 1997.
 
−
*Roach, Marilynne K. ''The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-To-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege.'' Cooper Square Press, 2002.
 
−
*Robinson, Enders A.. "Salem Witchcraft and Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables." Heritage Books: Bowie, MD. 1992.
 
−
*Rosenthal, Bernard. "Salem Story: Reading the Witch Trials of 1692." Cambridge University Press: New York. 1993.
 
−
*Sologuk, Sally. "Diseases Can Bewitch Durum Millers". Milling Journal. Second quarter 2005.
 
−
*Starkey, Marion L. ''The Devil in Massachusetts.'' Alfred A. Knopf: 1949.
 
−
*Trask, Richard B.. "`The Devil hath been raised`: A Documentary History of the Salem Village Witchcraft Outbreak of March 1692." Revised edition. Yeoman Press: Danvers, MA. 1997.
 
−
*Upham, Charles W.. "Salem Witchcraft." Reprint from the 1867 edition, in two volumes. Dover Publications: Mineola, NY. 2000.
 
−
*Wilson, Lori Lee. "The Salem Witch Trials." How History Is Invented series. Lerner: Minneapolis. 1997.
 
−
*Woolf, Alex. "Investigating History Mysteries". Heinemann Library: 2004.
 
  
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==See also==
+
==References==
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* ''The Crucible''
+
*Aronson, Marc. ''Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials.'' New York: Atheneum, 2003. ISBN 0689848641.
−
* ''A Break with Charity''
+
*Boyer, Paul, and Stephen Nissenbaum. ''Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft.'' Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1974. ISBN 0674785258
−
* Jury Nullification
+
*Carlson, Laurie M. ''A Fever in Salem: A New Interpretation of the New England Witch Trials.'' Chicago: I.R. Dee, 1999. ISBN 1566632536.
−
* McCarthyism
+
*Godbeer, Richard. ''The Devil's Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England.'' New York: Cambridge University, 1992. ISBN 0521403294.
−
* Red Scare
+
*Hansen, Chadwick. ''Witchcraft at Salem.'' New York: Brazillier, 1969.
−
* Spectral evidence
+
*Hill, Frances. ''A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials.'' New York: Doubleday, 1995. ISBN 0385472552.
−
* Supernatural
+
*Karlsen, Carol F. ''The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England.'' New York: Vintage, 1987. ISBN 0393024784.
−
* Torsåker witch trials
+
*Reis, Elizabeth. ''Damned Women: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England.'' Ithaca: Cornell University, 1997. ISBN 0801428343.
−
* Pendle witches
+
*Robinson, Enders A. ''The Devil Discovered: Salem Witchcraft 1692.'' New York: Hippocrene Books, 1991. ISBN 1577661761.
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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*[http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SALEM.HTM Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692]
+
All links retrieved December 22, 2022.
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*[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/ A documentary archive] including original court papers on the trials, maps, interactive maps, biographies, and internal and external links to more resources.
 
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*[http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/salem/17docs.html University of Virginia: Salem Witch Trials (includes former "Massachusetts Historical Society" link)]
 
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*[http://www.northern-crops.com/technical/durumdisease.pdf "Diseases Can Bewitch Durum Millers"] article about ergot-infected grains, ergotism and how it is prevented today.
 
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*[http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_salem/index.html PBS Secrets of the Dead: "The Witches Curse" (concerning the Salem trials and ergot)]
 
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*[http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17845 Salem Witchcraft, Volumes I and II], by Charles Upham, 1867, fron [[Project Gutenberg]]
 
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*[http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/ Salem Witch Trials:The World Behind the Hysteria]
 
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*[http://www.salemwitchtrials.com SalemWitchTrials.com essays, biographies of the accused and afflicted]
 
  
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{{salem}}
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*Upham, Charles. [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17845 Salem Witchcraft, Volumes I and II.]
  
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[[Category:History and biography]]
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{{Credit|97378626}}
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[[Category:Religion and philosophy ]]
 
  
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{{Credit|97378626}}
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[[Category:History]]
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[[Category:Philosophy and religion]]

Latest revision as of 01:48, 23 December 2022


1876 illustration of the courtroom; the central figure is usually identified as Mary Walcott.

The Salem Witch Trials were a notorious episode in New England colonial history that led to the execution of 14 women and 6 men, in 1692, for charges of witchcraft. The trials began as a result of the bizarre and inexplicable behavior of two young girls, afflicted by violent convulsions and strange fits that seemingly rendered them unable to hear, speak, or see. After a medical examination and a review by Puritan clergy, the girls were judged to be victims of witchcraft. In the ensuing hysteria during the summer of 1692, nearly 200 people were accused of witchcraft and imprisoned.

Although the Salem Witch Trials are conventionally cited as an example of religious zealotry in New England, the trials were exceptional in the American colonies, with charges of witchcraft far more commonplace in Europe—particularly Germany, Switzerland, and the Low Countries—during this period. From the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries, some 110,000 people were tried for witchcraft in Europe, and from 40,000 to 60,000 were executed. In contrast, there were only 20 executions in colonial American courts from 1647 to 1691 and the sensational trials at Salem.[1]

Modern analysis of the Salem Witch Trials regards the children's bizarre allegations and the townspeople's credulity as an example of mass hysteria, when mass public near-panic reactions surface around an unexplained phenomenon. Mass hysteria explains the waves of popular medical problems that "everyone gets" in response to news articles. A recent example of mass hysteria with remarkable similarities to the Salem Witch Trials was the rash of allegations of sexual and ritual abuse in day care centers in the 1980s and 1990s, which resulted in numerous convictions that were later overturned. Like the Salem hysteria, these allegations of sexual abuse were fueled by accusations from impressionable children who were coached by figures of authority, and resulted in destroying the lives and reputations of innocent people.

The Salem Witch Trials demonstrated the weakness of a judicial system that relied on hearsay testimony and encouraged accusations, while providing no adequate means of rebuttal. Yet, after a time conscientious magistrates did step in to stop the trials, and in subsequent years the reputations, if not the lives, of those falsely accused had been rehabilitated.

Origin of trials

Reverend Samuel Parris

In the village of Salem in 1692, Betty Parris, age nine, and her cousin, Abigail Williams, age 11, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris, fell victim to what was recorded as fits "beyond the power of Epileptic Fits or natural disease to effect," according to John Hale, minister in Beverly, in his book, A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft (1702). The girls screamed, threw things about the room, uttered strange sounds, crawled under furniture, and contorted themselves into peculiar positions. They complained of being pricked with pins or cut with knives, and when Reverend Samuel Parris would preach, the girls would cover their ears, as if dreading to hear the sermons. When a doctor, historically believed to be William Griggs, could not explain what was happening to them, he said that the girls were bewitched. Others in the village began to exhibit the same symptoms.

Griggs may have been influenced in his diagnosis by Cotton Mather's work, Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions (1689). In the book he describes the strange behavior exhibited by the four children of a Boston mason, John Goodwin, and attributed it to witchcraft practiced upon them by an Irish washerwoman, Mary Glover. Mather, a minister of Boston's North Church (not to be confused with the Episcopalian Old North Church of Paul Revere), was a prolific publisher of pamphlets and a firm believer in witchcraft. Three of the five judges appointed to the Court of Oyer and Terminer were friends of his and members of his congregation. He wrote to one of the judges, John Richards, supporting the prosecutions, but cautioning him of the dangers of relying on spectral evidence and advising the court on how to proceed. Mather was present at the execution of Reverend George Burroughs for witchcraft and intervened after the condemned man had successfully recited the Lord's Prayer (supposedly a sign of innocence) to remind the crowd that the man had been convicted before a jury. Mather had access to the official records of the Salem trials, upon which his account of the affair, Wonders of the Invisible World, was based.

In February of 1692, frightened by events, the residents of Salem held regular fasts and prayers for the afflicted. Wanting the influence of the devil to be removed from their community they pressured the girls into providing names. The first three people arrested for allegedly afflicting a girl by the name of Ann Putnam, age 12, were Sarah Good, a beggar, Sarah Osburne, a bedridden old woman, and Rev. Parris's slave, Tituba. Tituba was an easy and obvious target as she was a slave and of a different ethnicity than that of her Puritan neighbors. Many accounts of the history of the hysteria claim that Tituba often told witch stories and spells to the girls while she was working. However, this idea does not have much historical merit. Sarah Good was often seen begging for food. She was quick to anger and often muttered under her breath. Many people believed these mutterings to be curses that she was placing upon them. Sarah Osburne had already been marked as an outcast when she married her indentured servant. These women easily fit the mold of being different in their society, and thus were vulnerable targets. The fact that none of the three attended church also made them more susceptible to the accusations of witchcraft.

Formal charges and trial

Map of Salem Village, 1692.

On March 1, 1692, the three accused were held in prison and then brought before the magistrates. The women were accused of witchcraft, and soon many other women and children joined the ranks of the accused. In March, Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Dorothy Good (incorrectly called Dorcas Good on her arrest warrant), and Rachel Clinton were condemned. The most outspoken of the group of women was Martha Corey. Outraged at the unjust accusations she argued that the girls who were accusing her were not to be believed. She scoffed at the trials and only brought unfavorable attention to herself in the process. Dorothy Good, Sarah Good's daughter, was only four years old when she was accused. Easily coerced into saying untrue things about her mother's behavior and her own status as a witch, she was placed in prison with her mother.

When faithful members of the Church like Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse were accused, the community realized that anyone could be guilty of being a witch and, thus, no one was safe from the accusation. This proved true when the arrests continued during the month of April. Many more were arrested: Sarah Cloyce (Nurse's sister), Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor and her husband John Proctor, Giles Corey (Martha's husband, and a covenanted church member in Salem Town), Abigail Hobbs, Bridget Bishop, Mary Warren (a servant in the Proctor household and sometime accuser herself), Deliverance Hobbs (step-mother of Abigail Hobbs), Sarah Wilds, William Hobbs (husband of Deliverance and father of Abigail), Nehemiah Abbott Jr., Mary Esty (sister of Cloyce and Nurse), Edward Bishop Jr. and his wife Sarah Bishop, Mary English, Lydia Dustin, Susannah Martin, Dorcas Hoar, Sarah Morey and Philip English (Mary's husband). Even Rev. George Burroughs was arrested.

The trials rested purely on testimony of those who were afflicted, or "spectral evidence." The afflicted claimed to see various apparitions or shapes of the person who was causing their pain. A theological dispute arose about the use of this kind of evidence because it was supposed that the devil could not take the shape of a person without that person's permission. The court finally concluded that the devil needed the permission of the specific person. Thus, when the accusers claimed that they had seen the person, then that person could be charged with consorting with the devil himself. Increase Mather and other ministers sent a letter to the court, "The Return of Several Ministers Consulted," urging the magistrates not to convict on spectral evidence alone. A copy of this letter was printed in Increase Mather's "Cases of Conscience," published in 1692.[2]

Chief Magistrate William Stoughton (1631-1701)

In May, the hysteria continued when warrants were issued for 36 more people: Sarah Dustin (daughter of Lydia Dustin), Ann Sears, Bethiah Carter Sr. and her daughter Bethiah Carter Jr., George Jacobs Sr. and his granddaughter Margaret Jacobs, John Willard, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Abigail Soames, George Jacobs Jr. (son of George Jacobs Sr. and father of Margaret Jacobs), Daniel Andrew, Rebecca Jacobs (wife of George Jacobs Jr. and sister of Daniel Andrew), Sarah Buckley and her daughter Mary Witheridge, Elizabeth Colson, Elizabeth Hart, Thomas Farrar Sr., Roger Toothaker, Sarah Proctor (daughter of John and Elizabeth Proctor), Sarah Bassett (sister-in-law of Elizabeth Proctor), Susannah Roots, Mary DeRich (another sister-in-law of Elizabeth Proctor), Sarah Pease, Elizabeth Cary, Martha Carrier, Elizabeth Fosdick, Wilmot Redd, Sarah Rice, Elizabeth How, John Alden (son of John Alden and Pricilla Mullins of Plymouth Colony), William Proctor (son of John and Elizabeth Proctor), John Flood, Mary Toothaker (wife of Roger Toothaker and sister of Martha Carrier) and her daughter Margaret Toothaker, and Arthur Abbott. When the Court of Oyer and Terminer convened at the end of May 1692, this brought the total number of accused and arrested to 62.[3]

Eventually, Salem, Ipswich, Charlestown, Cambridge, and Boston all had jails filled to capacity. Scholars have attributed the lack of trials for the accused to the fact that there was no legitimate form of government at the time available to try the cases. However, it has been found that other capital cases were tried during this time period. The fact remains that none of the witchcraft cases were tried until late May with the arrival of Governor Sir William Phips. Upon his arrival, Phips instituted a Court of Oyer and Terminer (to "hear and determine") and simultaneously appointed William Stoughton as the Chief Justice of the court. Stoughton was a man with several years of theological training but no legal training. By then tragedies had already occurred, including Sarah Osborne's death before trial of natural causes. She died in jail on May 10. Sarah Good's infant child also died in jail.

Legal procedures

The process of arresting and trying an individual in 1692 began with the accusation that some loss, illness, or even death had been caused by the practice of witchcraft. The accuser entered an official complaint with the town magistrates.[4]

The magistrates would then decide if the complaint had any merit. If it did they would issue an arrest warrant.[5] The arrested person would then be brought before the magistrates and receive a public interrogations/examination. It was at this time that many were forced to confess to witchcraft.[6] If no confession was offered then the accused was turned over to the superior court. In 1692 this meant several months of imprisonment before the new governor arrived and establish a Court of Oyer and Terminer to handle these cases.

With the case appearing before the superior court, it was necessary to summon various witnesses to testify before the grand jury.[7] There were basically two indictments: That of afflicting witchcraft or that of making an unlawful covenant with the devil.[8] Once the accused was indicted the case went to trial, sometimes on the same day. An example is the case of Bridget Bishop, the first person indicted and tried, on June 2. She was executed on June 10, 1692.

The judicial environment offered those charged with witchcraft few protections against fabricated allegations. None of the accused were given the right to legal counsel, the magistrates often asked leading questions that presumed guilt, and only those who confessed were saved from execution upon conviction.[9]

The trials resulted in four execution dates: One person was executed on June 10, 1692, five were executed on July 19, another five were executed on August 19 , and eight on September 22.[10] Several others, including Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor and Abigail Faulkner were convicted and sentenced to death, but the sentence could not be carried out immediately because the women were pregnant. The women would still be hanged, but not until they had given birth. Five other women were convicted in 1692, but sentences were never carried out: Ann Foster (who later died in prison), her daughter Mary Lacy Sr., Abigail Hobbs, Dorcas Hoar, and Mary Bradbury.

One of the men, Giles Corey, an 80-year-old farmer from Salem Farms, endured a form of torture called peine fort et dure because he refused to enter a plea. The torture was also called "pressing" and was carried out by resting a board on the man's chest and then piling stones on the board slowly until the man was slowly crushed to death. It took Corey two days to die. It was thought that perhaps Corey did not enter a plea in order to keep his possessions from being taken by the state. Many possessions of those convicted during the trials were confiscated by the state. Many of the dead were not given proper burials, often being placed in shallow graves after the hangings.

Conclusion

In early October, prominent ministers in Boston, including Increase Mather and Samuel Willard, urged Governor Phips to stop the proceedings and disallow the use of spectral evidence. Public opinion was also changing, and without the admission of spectral evidence the trials soon came to an end. The final trials during the witch hysteria took place in May of 1693, after this time, all those still in jail were set free. In a letter of explanation Phips sent to England, Phips said he stopped the trials because "I saw many innocent persons might otherwise perish."

In 1697, a Day of Repentance was declared in Boston. On that day, Samuel Sewall, a magistrate on the court, publicly confessed his "blame and shame" in a statement read by Rev. Samuel Willard, and twelve jurors who served in the trials confessed to "the guilt of innocent blood." Years later, in 1706, Ann Putnam, Jr, one of the most active accusers, stood in her pew before the Salem Village church while the Rev. Joseph Green read her confession of "delusion" by the devil.[11]

Many of the relatives and descendants of those wrongfully accused sought closure through petitions filed that demanded monetary restitution to those convicted. These petitions were filed up until 1711. Eventually, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill disallowing spectral evidence. However, only those who had initially filed petitions were given reversal of attainder.[12] This applied to only three people, who had been convicted but not executed: Abigail Faulkner Sr., Elizabeth Proctor, and Sarah Wardwell.[13]

In 1704 and 1709, another petition was filed in hopes of a monetary settlement. In 1711, a compensation of 578 pounds and 12 shillings was divided among the survivors and relatives of those accused. A sum of 150 pounds was given to the Proctor family for John and Elizabeth, by far the largest amount awarded.

In 1706, Ann Putnam, one of the girls responsible for accusing various people of witchcraft issued a written apology. In this apology, Ann stated that she had been deluded by Satan into the denouncing of several innocent people, in particular, Rebecca Nurse. In 1712, Nurse's excommunication was canceled by the very pastor who had cast her out.

By 1957, descendants of the accused were still demanding that the names of their ancestors be cleared. Finally an act was passed that pronounced all the accused as being exonerated. However, the statement only listed Ann Pudeator by name and all others were referred to as "certain other persons."

In 1992, The Danvers Tercentennial Committee persuaded the Massachusetts House of Representatives to issue a resolution honoring those who had died. The resolution was finally signed on October 31, 2001, by Governor Jane Swift. More than three hundred years after the trials, all the accused were proclaimed innocent.

Legacy

The Salem Witch Trials, although a minor incident in the far more extensive persecution of religious and social nonconformists as "witches" in Europe from the Middle Ages, is a vivid, cautionary episode in American history. Remembered largely because of its anomalous character, the trials exemplify the threat to American founding ideals of freedom, justice, and religious tolerance and pluralism. Even in New England, which accepted the reality of the supernatural, the trials at Salem were repudiated by leading Puritans. Among other clerics who expressed concern with the trials, Increase Mather wrote in "Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits" (1692) that "It were better that Ten Suspected Witches should escape, than that the Innocent Person should be Condemned."

The term "witch hunt" has entered the American lexicon to describe the search for and harassment of people or members of groups who hold politically unpopular views. It was most notably used to describe and discredit the McCarthy Hearings in the U.S. Senate in the 1950s, which sought to identify communists or communist sympathizers in government and other public positions.

The trials have also provided the background for two of America's great works of drama, the play Giles Corey in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's New England Tragedies and Arthur Miller's classic play, The Crucible. Longfellow's play, which follows the form of a Shakespearean tragedy, is a commentary on the attitudes prevalent in nineteenth century New England. Miller's play is a commentary on the McCarthy Hearings.

Lois the Witch by Elizabeth Gaskell is a novella based on the Salem witch hunts and shows how jealousy and sexual desire can lead to hysteria. She was inspired by the story of Rebecca Nurse whose accusation, trial, and execution are described in Lectures on Witchcraft by Charles Upham, the Unitarian minister in Salem in the 1830s. Gallows Hill by Lois Duncan is a young adult fiction book in which the main character Sarah, and many others, turn out to be reincarnations of those accused and killed during the Trials. Innumerable other popular depictions, including episodes of Star Trek and the Simpsons, have led to the ongoing recognition of the Salem Witch Trials as a notable, iconic incident in American history.

Salem today

On May 9, 1992, the Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial of Danvers was dedicated before an audience of over three thousand people. It was the first such memorial to honor all of the 1692 witchcraft victims, and is located across the street from the site of the original Salem Village Meeting House where many of the witch examinations took place. The memorial serves as a reminder that each generation must confront intolerance and "witch hunts" with integrity, clear vision, and courage.[14]

The city embraces the history of the Salem Witch Trials, both as a source of tourism and culture. Police cars are adorned with witch logos, a local public school is known as the Witchcraft Heights Elementary School, the Salem High School football team is named The Witches, and Gallows Hill, a site of numerous public hangings, is currently used as a playing field for various sports.

Notes

  1. ↑ Kenneth Silverman, Life and Times of Cotton Mather(New York: Columbia University Press, 1985, ISBN 0231-06125-0), 89
  2. ↑ Increase Mather, Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  3. ↑ Marilynne K. Roach, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-To-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege (Cooper Square Press, 2002).
  4. ↑ The University of Virginia, Salem Witchcraft Project 096. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  5. ↑ The University of Virginia, The Salem Witchcraft Project 070. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  6. ↑ The University of Virginia, Salem Witchcraft Papers from the Essex Institute 1. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  7. ↑ The University of Virginia, Salem Witchcraft Project 065. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  8. ↑ The University of Virginia, Salem Witchcraft Project 003. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  9. ↑ West's Encyclopedia of American Law, Salem Witch Trials from Answers.com. Retrieved August 1, 2008.
  10. ↑ The University of Virginia, Salem Witchcraft Project 071. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  11. ↑ Documentary Archive and Transcription Project, Salem Witch Trials. Retrieved August 1, 2008.
  12. ↑ The University of Virginia, Salem Witchcraft Project 109. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  13. ↑ Enders Robinson, The Devil Discovered (2001, ISBN 1577661761).
  14. ↑ Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project, Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial of Danvers. Retrieved August 7, 2007.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Aronson, Marc. Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials. New York: Atheneum, 2003. ISBN 0689848641.
  • Boyer, Paul, and Stephen Nissenbaum. Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1974. ISBN 0674785258
  • Carlson, Laurie M. A Fever in Salem: A New Interpretation of the New England Witch Trials. Chicago: I.R. Dee, 1999. ISBN 1566632536.
  • Godbeer, Richard. The Devil's Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England. New York: Cambridge University, 1992. ISBN 0521403294.
  • Hansen, Chadwick. Witchcraft at Salem. New York: Brazillier, 1969.
  • Hill, Frances. A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials. New York: Doubleday, 1995. ISBN 0385472552.
  • Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England. New York: Vintage, 1987. ISBN 0393024784.
  • Reis, Elizabeth. Damned Women: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England. Ithaca: Cornell University, 1997. ISBN 0801428343.
  • Robinson, Enders A. The Devil Discovered: Salem Witchcraft 1692. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1991. ISBN 1577661761.

External links

All links retrieved December 22, 2022.

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