Salem Witch Trials

Witchcraft in 17 th Century New England Under British law, the basis for Massachusetts Bay Colony legal structure in the 17th century, those who were accused of consorting with the devil were considered felons, having committed a crime against their government. The punishment for such a crime was hanging.

“Afflicted” versus the “accused” The "afflicted" were those supposedly "possessed" and "tormented"; it was they who accused or "cried out" the names of those who were supposedly possessing them.

Role of Tituba Tituba, an Arawak or Carib Indian from Barbados, was Reverend Samuel Parris' slave. Her documented role in the witch trials includes arrest and confession of witchcraft on March 1, Her influence on the afflicted girls' behavior is unclear.

Salem Witch Trials From June through September of 1692, nineteen men and women, all having been convicted of witchcraft, were carted to Gallows Hill, a barren slope near Salem Village, for hanging. Another man of over eighty years was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial on witchcraft charges. By the time the witch-hunt ended, nineteen convicted witches were executed, at least four accused witches had died in prison, and one man, Giles Corey, had been pressed to death. About one to two hundred other persons were arrested and imprisoned on witchcraft charges. Two dogs were executed as suspected accomplices of witches.

Those executed Bridget Bishop George Burroughs Martha Carrier Giles Corey Martha Corey Mary Easty Sarah Good Elizabeth Howe George Jacobs, Sr. Susannah Martin Rebecca Nurse Alice Parker Mary Parker John Proctor Ann Pudeator Wilmott Redd Margaret Scott Samuel Wardwell Sarah Wildes John Willard

Historical outcome A period of atonement began in the colony following the release of the surviving accused witches. Samuel Sewall, one of the judges, issued a public confession of guilt and an apology. Several jurors came forward to say that they were "sadly deluded and mistaken" in their judgments. Reverend Samuel Parris conceded errors of judgment, but mostly shifted blame to others. Twenty years after the last execution, the government awarded compensation to the victims still living, and to the families of the dead. In March of 1712, the congregation rescinded the excommunications of those who had been convicted.

Cause of the girls’ behavior? This is a complex question. There are many theories to explain the "fits" of the young girls who accused so many of practicing witchcraft. Among the theories are adolescent hysteria, ergot poisoning, and adult vendettas and manipulation; however, there is no definite answer.

Historical notes Scholars have noted potentially telling differences between the accused and the accusers in Salem. Most of the accused lived to the south of Salem, and were generally better off financially than most of the accusers. In a number of cases, accusing families stood to gain property from the convictions of accused witches. Also, the accused and the accusers generally took opposite sides in a congregational schism that had split the Salem community before the outbreak of hysteria.

Modern background: The Crucible of the 1950’s McCarthyism House Un-American Activities Committee Mass hysteria over Communism Miller felt that there is a recurrent Puritan tendency in American culture to demand orthodoxy and to seek out those who do not conform, especially during periods of “crisis.”