the salem witch trials essay

• History Classics
• Your Profile
• Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
• This Day In History
• History Podcasts
• History Vault

Salem Witch Trials

By: History.com Editors

Updated: September 29, 2023 | Original: November 4, 2011

The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. As a wave of hysteria spread throughout colonial Massachusetts, a special court convened in Salem to hear the cases; the first convicted witch, Bridget Bishop, was hanged that June. Eighteen others followed Bishop to Salem’s Gallows Hill, while some 150 more men, women and children were accused over the next several months. 

By September 1692, the hysteria had begun to abate and public opinion turned against the trials. Though the Massachusetts General Court later annulled guilty verdicts against accused witches and granted indemnities to their families, bitterness lingered in the community, and the painful legacy of the Salem witch trials would endure for centuries.

What Caused the Salem Witch Trials?: Context & Origins

Belief in the supernatural—and specifically in the devil’s practice of giving certain humans (witches) the power to harm others in return for their loyalty—had emerged in Europe as early as the 14th century, and was widespread in colonial New England . In addition, the harsh realities of life in the rural Puritan community of Salem Village (present-day Danvers, Massachusetts ) at the time included the after-effects of a British war with France in the American colonies in 1689, a recent smallpox epidemic, fears of attacks from neighboring Native American tribes and a longstanding rivalry with the more affluent community of Salem Town (present-day Salem). 

Amid these simmering tensions, the Salem witch trials would be fueled by residents’ suspicions of and resentment toward their neighbors, as well as their fear of outsiders.

Did you know? In an effort to explain by scientific means the strange afflictions suffered by those "bewitched" Salem residents in 1692, a study published in Science magazine in 1976 cited the fungus ergot (found in rye, wheat and other cereals), which toxicologists say can cause symptoms such as delusions, vomiting and muscle spasms.

In January 1692, 9-year-old Elizabeth (Betty) Parris and 11-year-old Abigail Williams (the daughter and niece of Samuel Parris, minister of Salem Village) began having fits, including violent contortions and uncontrollable outbursts of screaming. After a local doctor, William Griggs, diagnosed bewitchment, other young girls in the community began to exhibit similar symptoms, including Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Walcott and Mary Warren.

In late February, arrest warrants were issued for the Parris’ Caribbean slave, Tituba, along with two other women—the homeless beggar Sarah Good and the poor, elderly Sarah Osborn—whom the girls accused of bewitching them.

Salem Witch Trial Victims: How the Hysteria Spread

The three accused witches were brought before the magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne and questioned, even as their accusers appeared in the courtroom in a grand display of spasms, contortions, screaming and writhing. Though Good and Osborn denied their guilt, Tituba confessed. Likely seeking to save herself from certain conviction by acting as an informer, she claimed there were other witches acting alongside her in service of the devil against the Puritans.

As hysteria spread through the community and beyond into the rest of Massachusetts, a number of others were accused, including Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse—both regarded as upstanding members of church and community—and the four-year-old daughter of Sarah Good.

Like Tituba, several accused “witches” confessed and named still others, and the trials soon began to overwhelm the local justice system. In May 1692, the newly appointed governor of Massachusetts, William Phips, ordered the establishment of a special Court of Oyer (to hear) and Terminer (to decide) on witchcraft cases for Suffolk, Essex and Middlesex counties.

Presided over by judges including Hathorne, Samuel Sewall and William Stoughton, the court handed down its first conviction, against Bridget Bishop, on June 2; she was hanged eight days later on what would become known as Gallows Hill in Salem Town. Five more people were hanged that July; five in August and eight more in September. In addition, seven other accused witches died in jail, while the elderly Giles Corey (Martha’s husband) was pressed to death by stones after he refused to enter a plea at his arraignment.

Salem Witch Trials: Conclusion and Legacy

Though the respected minister Cotton Mather had warned of the dubious value of spectral evidence (or testimony about dreams and visions), his concerns went largely unheeded during the Salem witch trials. Increase Mather, president of Harvard College (and Cotton’s father) later joined his son in urging that the standards of evidence for witchcraft must be equal to those for any other crime, concluding that “It would better that ten suspected witches may escape than one innocent person be condemned.” 

Amid waning public support for the trials, Governor Phips dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer in October and mandated that its successor disregard spectral evidence. Trials continued with dwindling intensity until early 1693, and by that May Phips had pardoned and released all those in prison on witchcraft charges.

In January 1697, the Massachusetts General Court declared a day of fasting for the tragedy of the Salem witch trials; the court later deemed the trials unlawful, and the leading justice Samuel Sewall publicly apologized for his role in the process. The damage to the community lingered, however, even after Massachusetts Colony passed legislation restoring the good names of the condemned and providing financial restitution to their heirs in 1711. 

Indeed, the vivid and painful legacy of the Salem witch trials endured well into the 20th century, when Arthur Miller dramatized the events of 1692 in his play “The Crucible” (1953), using them as an allegory for the anti-Communist “witch hunts” led by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. A memorial to the victims of the Salem witch trials was dedicated on August 5, 1992 by author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

HISTORY Vault: Salem Witch Trials

Experts dissect the facts—and the enduring mysteries—surrounding the courtroom trials of suspected witches in Salem Village, Massachusetts in 1692.

Sign up for Inside History

Get HISTORY’s most fascinating stories delivered to your inbox three times a week.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Networks. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details : Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | Contact Us

A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials

One town’s strange journey from paranoia to pardon

Jess Blumberg

The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between early 1692 and mid-1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the devil’s magic —and 20 were executed.

In 1711, colonial authorities pardoned some of the accused and compensated their families. But it was only in July 2022 that Elizabeth Johnson Jr. , the last convicted Salem “witch” whose name had yet to be cleared , was officially exonerated .

Since the 17th century, the story of the trials has become synonymous with paranoia and injustice . Fueled by xenophobia , religious extremism and long-brewing social tensions , the witch hunt continues to beguile the popular imagination more than 300 years later.

Tensions in Salem

In the medieval and early modern eras, many religions, including Christianity , taught that the devil could give people known as witches the power to harm others in return for their loyalty. A “ witchcraft craze ” rippled through Europe from the 1300s to the end of the 1600s. Tens of thousands of supposed witches —mostly women—were executed. Though the Salem trials took place just as the European craze was winding down, local circumstances explain their onset.

In 1689, English monarchs William and Mary started a war with France in the American colonies. Known as King William’s War to colonists, the conflict ravaged regions of upstate New York, Nova Scotia and Quebec, sending refugees into the county of Essex—and, specifically, Salem Village—in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (Salem Village is present-day Danvers, Massachusetts; colonial Salem Town became what’s now Salem.)

The displaced people placed a strain on Salem’s resources, aggravating the existing rivalry between families with ties to the wealth of the port of Salem and those who still depended on agriculture. Controversy also brewed over the Reverend Samuel Parris , who became Salem Village’s first ordained minister in 1689 and quickly gained a reputation for his rigid ways and greedy nature. The Puritan villagers believed all the quarreling was the work of the devil.

In January 1692, Parris’ daughter Elizabeth (or Betty), age 9, and niece Abigail Williams, age 11, started having “fits.” They screamed, threw things, uttered peculiar sounds and contorted themselves into strange positions. A local doctor blamed the supernatural . Another girl, 12-year-old Ann Putnam Jr., experienced similar episodes. On February 29, under pressure from magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne, colonial officials who tried local cases, the girls blamed three women for afflicting them: Tituba , a Caribbean woman enslaved by the Parris family; Sarah Good , a homeless beggar; and Sarah Osborne , an elderly impoverished woman.

The witch hunt begins

All three women were brought before the local magistrates and interrogated for several days, starting on March 1, 1692. Osborne claimed innocence, as did Good. But Tituba confessed , “The devil came to me and bid me serve him.” She described elaborate images of black dogs, red cats, yellow birds and a “tall man with white hair” who wanted her to sign his book. She admitted that she’d signed the book and claimed there were several other witches looking to destroy the Puritans.

With the seeds of paranoia planted, a stream of accusations followed over the next few months. Charges against Martha Corey , a loyal member of the church in Salem Village, greatly concerned the community; if she could be a witch, then anyone could. Magistrates even questioned Good’s 4-year-old daughter, Dorothy , whose timid answers were construed as a confession. The questioning got more serious in April, when the colony’s deputy governor, Thomas Danforth, and his assistants attended the hearings. Dozens of people from Salem and other Massachusetts villages were brought in for questioning .

On May 27, 1692, Governor William Phips ordered the establishment of a Special Court of Oyer (to hear) and Terminer (to decide) for Suffolk, Essex and Middlesex counties. The first accused witch brought in front of the special court was Bridget Bishop , an older woman known for her gossipy habits and promiscuity. When asked if she committed witchcraft, Bishop responded , “I am as innocent as the child unborn.” The defense must not have been convincing, because she was found guilty and, on June 10, became the first person hanged on what was later called Gallows Hill .

Just a few days after the court was established, respected minister Cotton Mather wrote a letter imploring the court not to allow spectral evidence —testimony about dreams and visions. The court largely ignored this request, sentencing the hangings of five people in July, five more in August and eight in September. On October 3, following in his son Cotton’s footsteps, Increase Mather , then-president of Harvard, denounced the use of spectral evidence: “It were better that ten suspected witches should escape than one innocent person be condemned.”

Phips, in response to these pleas and his own wife’s questioning as a suspected witch, prohibited further arrests and released many accused witches. He dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer on October 29, replacing it with a Superior Court of Judicature , which disallowed spectral evidence and condemned just 3 out of 56 defendants.

By May 1693, Phips had pardoned all those imprisoned on witchcraft charges. But the damage was already done. Nineteen men and women had been hanged on Gallows Hill. Giles Corey , Martha’s 71-year-old husband, was pressed to death in September 1692 with heavy stones after refusing to submit himself to a trial. At least five of the accused died in jail. Even animals fell victim to the mass hysteria, with colonists in Andover and Salem Village killing two dogs believed to be linked to the devil.

Restoring good names

In the years following the trials and executions, some involved, like judge Samuel Sewall and accuser Ann Putnam , publicly confessed error and guilt. On January 14, 1697, Massachusetts’ General Court ordered a day of fasting and soul-searching over the tragedy of Salem. In 1702, the court declared the trials unlawful. And in 1711, the colony passed a bill restoring the rights and good names of many of the accused, as well as granting a total of £600 in restitution to their heirs. But it wasn’t until 1957—more than 250 years later—that Massachusetts formally apologized for the events of 1692. Johnson, the accused woman exonerated in July 2022, was left out of the 1957 resolution for reasons unknown but received an official pardon after a successful lobbying campaign by a class of eighth-grade civics students.

In the 20th century, artists and scientists alike continued to be fascinated by the Salem witch trials. Playwright Arthur Miller resurrected the tale with his 1953 play The Crucible , using the trials as an allegory for the anti-communist McCarthyism then sweeping the country. Scholars offered up competing explanations for the strange behavior that occurred in Salem, with scientists seeking a medical cause for the accusers’ afflictions and historians more often grounding their theories in the community’s tense sociopolitical environment .

An early hypothesis now viewed as “fringe, especially in historical circles ,” according to Vox , posited that the accusers suffered from ergotism , a condition caused by eating foods contaminated with the fungus ergot. Symptoms include muscle spasms, vomiting, delusions and hallucinations. Other theories emphasize a “combination of church politics, family feuds and hysterical children, all of which unfolded in a vacuum of political authority,” as Encyclopedia Britannica notes. Ultimately, the causes of the witch hunt remain subject to much debate .

In August 1992, to mark the 300th anniversary of the trials, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel dedicated the Witch Trials Memorial in Salem. Also in Salem, the Peabody Essex Museum , which houses the original court documents , mounted an exhibition reckoning with and reclaiming the tragedy in late 2021 and early 2022. Finally, the town’s most-visited attraction, the Salem Witch Museum , attests to the public’s enduring enthrallment with the 17th-century hysteria.

Editor’s Note, October 24, 2022: This article has been updated to reflect the latest research on the Salem witch trials.

Get the latest History stories in your inbox?

Click to visit our Privacy Statement .

Jess Blumberg | READ MORE

What Caused the Salem Witch Trials?

Looking into the underlying causes of the Salem Witch Trials in the 17th century.

In February 1692, the Massachusetts Bay Colony town of Salem Village found itself at the center of a notorious case of mass hysteria: eight young women accused their neighbors of witchcraft. Trials ensued and, when the episode concluded in May 1693, fourteen women, five men, and two dogs had been executed for their supposed supernatural crimes.

The Salem witch trials occupy a unique place in our collective history. The mystery around the hysteria and miscarriage of justice continue to inspire new critiques, most recently with the recent release of The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Pulitzer Prize-winning Stacy Schiff.

But what caused the mass hysteria, false accusations, and lapses in due process? Scholars have attempted to answer these questions with a variety of economic and physiological theories.

The economic theories of the Salem events tend to be two-fold: the first attributes the witchcraft trials to an economic downturn caused by a “little ice age” that lasted from 1550-1800; the second cites socioeconomic issues in Salem itself.

Emily Oster posits that the “little ice age” caused economic deterioration and food shortages that led to anti-witch fervor in communities in both the United States and Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Temperatures began to drop at the beginning of the fourteenth century, with the coldest periods occurring from 1680 to 1730. The economic hardships and slowdown of population growth could have caused widespread scapegoating which, during this period, manifested itself as persecution of so-called witches, due to the widely accepted belief that “witches existed, were capable of causing physical harm to others and could control natural forces.”

Salem Village, where the witchcraft accusations began, was an agrarian, poorer counterpart to the neighboring Salem Town, which was populated by wealthy merchants. According to the oft-cited book  Salem Possessed by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Village was being torn apart by two opposing groups–largely agrarian townsfolk to the west and more business-minded villagers to the east, closer to the Town. “What was going on was not simply a personal quarrel, an economic dispute, or even a struggle for power, but a mortal conflict involving the very nature of the community itself. The fundamental issue was not who was to control the Village, but what its essential character was to be.” In a retrospective look at their book for a 2008 William and Mary Quarterly Forum , Boyer and Nissenbaum explain that as tensions between the two groups unfolded, “they followed deeply etched factional fault lines that, in turn, were influenced by anxieties and by differing levels of engagement with and access to the political and commercial opportunities unfolding in Salem Town.” As a result of increasing hostility, western villagers accused eastern neighbors of witchcraft.

But some critics including Benjamin C. Ray have called Boyer and Nissenbaum’s socio-economic theory into question . For one thing –the map they were using has been called into question. He writes: “A review of the court records shows that the Boyer and Nissenbaum map is, in fact, highly interpretive and considerably incomplete.” Ray goes on:

Contrary to Boyer and Nissenbaum’s conclusions in Salem Possessed, geo graphic analysis of the accusations in the village shows there was no significant villagewide east-west division between accusers and accused in 1692. Nor was there an east-west divide between households of different economic status.

On the other hand, the physiological theories for the mass hysteria and witchcraft accusations include both fungus poisoning and undiagnosed encephalitis.

Linnda Caporael argues that the girls suffered from convulsive ergotism, a condition caused by ergot, a type of fungus, found in rye and other grains. It produces hallucinatory, LSD-like effects in the afflicted and can cause victims to suffer from vertigo, crawling sensations on the skin, extremity tingling, headaches, hallucinations, and seizure-like muscle contractions. Rye was the most prevalent grain grown in the Massachusetts area at the time, and the damp climate and long storage period could have led to an ergot infestation of the grains.

One of the more controversial theories states that the girls suffered from an outbreak of encephalitis lethargica , an inflammation of the brain spread by insects and birds. Symptoms include fever, headaches, lethargy, double vision, abnormal eye movements, neck rigidity, behavioral changes, and tremors.  In her 1999 book, A Fever in Salem , Laurie Winn Carlson argues that in the winter of 1691 and spring of 1692, some of the accusers exhibited these symptoms, and that a doctor had been called in to treat the girls. He couldn’t find an underlying physical cause, and therefore concluded that they suffered from possession by witchcraft, a common diagnoses of unseen conditions at the time.

The controversies surrounding the accusations, trials, and executions in Salem, 1692, continue to fascinate historians and we continue to ask why, in a society that should have known better, did this happen? Economic and physiological causes aside, the Salem witchcraft trials continue to act as a parable of caution against extremism in judicial processes.

Editor’s note: This post was edited to clarify that Salem Village was where the accusations began, not where the trials took place.

JSTOR is a digital library for scholars, researchers, and students. JSTOR Daily readers can access the original research behind our articles for free on JSTOR.

Get Our Newsletter

Get your fix of JSTOR Daily’s best stories in your inbox each Thursday.

Privacy Policy   Contact Us You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the provided link on any marketing message.

More Stories

• The Legal Struggles of the LGBTQIA+ Community in India

The Border Presidents and Civil Rights

Eurasianism: A Primer 

Saffron: The Story of the World’s Most Expensive Spice

Recent posts.

• Watching an Eclipse from Prison
• The Alpaca Racket
• Going “Black to the Future”
• NASA’s Search for Life on Mars

Support JSTOR Daily

Salem Witch Trials — the Witchcraft Hysteria of 1692

February 1692–May 1693

The Salem Witch Trials are a series of well-known investigations, court proceedings, and prosecutions that took place in Salem, Massachusetts over the course of 1692 and 1693.

This illustration by Howard Pyle depicts one of the accusers pointing at the accused and saying, “There is a flock of yellow birds around her head.” It is an example of the spectral evidence that was permitted at the trials. Image Source: New York Public Library Digital Collections .

Salem Witch Trials Summary

The Salem Witch Trials took place in colonial Massachusetts in 1692 and 1693 when people living in and around the town of Salem, Massachusetts were accused of practicing witchcraft or dealing with the Devil. The accusations were initially made by two young girls in the early part of the year.

By May, William Phips had been named Governor of Massachusetts and a new charter had been implemented. Initially, Phips responded to the accusations by setting up a special court — the Court of Oyer and Terminer — to hear the cases and to determine the fate of the accused.

Unfortunately, the court was controversial because they allowed “spectral” evidence — visions of ghosts, demons, and the Devil — to be entered into the proceedings. It seemed to fuel the hysteria, which was likely elevated by King William’s War, which was going on in New England at the same time.

By the fall, 19 men and women had been convicted and hanged, and another was pressed to death . Another man died from having heavy stones placed on him. Somewhere between 150 and 200 were in prison or had spent time in prison.

Governor Phips ended the special court in October after accusations were made against well-respected members of the community. In January 1693, the trials resumed, but under the Supreme Court of Judicature. Spectral evidence was not allowed, and most of the accused were found innocent of the witchcraft charges and released.

A handful of the people accused of witchcraft were convicted, but Governor Phips intervened in May 1693 and agreed to release them as long as they paid a fine. By the time the proceedings ended, it was the largest outbreak of witchcraft in Colonial America .

Salem Witch Trials Facts

Facts about the accusers in the salem witch trials.

Two young girls, Elizabeth Paris and Abigail Williams started to act in a strange manner, which included making strange noises and hiding from their parents and other adults.

Elizabeth Paris, known as Betty, was 9 years old. Her father was the Reverend Samuel Paris.

Abigail Williams was 11 years old. Reverend Paris was her uncle.

More young girls in Salem Village started to show similar symptoms, including 12-year-old Anne Putnam and 17-year-old Elizabeth Hubbard.

Facts About the Accused in the Salem Witch Trials

The first people accused of witchcraft were Tituba, an enslaved woman, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne.

Dorothy Good was the youngest person to be accused of witchcraft. She was 4 years old.

Facts About the Role and Testimony of Tituba in the Salem Witch Trials

Tituba is believed to be an enslaved woman from Central America, possibly from Barbados.

She lived in the home of Reverend Paris and had been taken to Massachusetts by Paris in 1680.

Tituba confessed to using witchcraft.

She testified that four women, including Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good, along with a man, had told her to hurt the children.

Her testimony convinced the people of Salem Village that witchcraft was rampant in the town.

Facts About People Convicted and Executed During the Salem Witch Trials

The first person to be executed was Bridget Bishop.

Over the course of the Salem Witch Trials, 19 people were hanged at Proctor’s Ledge, near Gallows Hill.

Another one of the accused, Giles Corey, refused to enter a plea before the court and was ordered to be pressed to death. He was laid down on the ground and had heavy boards placed on top of him. Then heavy rocks were set on the boards until he was crushed by the weight.

The charges against all victims of the Salem Witch Trials were eventually cleared.

The Special Court

The Court of Oyer and Terminer was the special court ordered to oversee the trials, as ordered by Governor William Phips.

Salem Witch Trials Significance

The Salem Witch Trials were important because they showed how quickly accusations and hysteria could spread through Colonial America. At the time, the Witch Trials also threatened the authority and stability of the new charter and government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, while King William’s War raged across New England and Acadia .

Salem Witch Trials APUSH — Notes and Study Guide

Use the following links and videos to study the Salem Witch Trials, King Willilam’s War, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony for the AP US History Exam. Also, be sure to look at our Guide to the AP US History Exam .

Salem Witch Trials APUSH Definition

The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions that occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. The trials were a dark chapter in American history, characterized by mass hysteria and accusations of witchcraft. Numerous individuals, predominantly women, were accused of practicing witchcraft, leading to the execution of 20 people — 13 women and 7 men. The trials were fueled by social, religious, and political factors, partially driven by King William’s War, resulting in tragic consequences for the victims and their families.

Salem Witch Trials Video for APUSH Notes

This video from the Daily Bellringer provides a detailed look at the Salem Witch Trials.

Salem Witch Trials APUSH Terms and Definitions

William Phips — William Phips was the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Salem Witch Trials. He played a significant role in bringing an end to the trials by dissolving the Court of Oyer and Terminer, which was responsible for the majority of the convictions. Phips was concerned about the growing public skepticism and criticism surrounding the trials, prompting him to take decisive action and promote a more rational approach to handling alleged witches. He was also worried about the public perception the trials had, during a time of war.

Court of Oyer and Terminer — The Court of Oyer and Terminer was a special court established in 1692 to handle the cases of alleged witches in Salem and surrounding areas. The court was led by several judges, including William Stoughton, and it operated under a unique legal process that allowed spectral evidence, or testimonies of dreams and visions, to be admitted as valid evidence. This, along with other factors, contributed to a biased and unjust environment during the trials.

William Stoughton — William Stoughton was a prominent judge and the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. He presided over the Court of Oyer and Terminer during the Salem Witch Trials. He played a pivotal role in the harsh convictions and sentencing of numerous accused individuals. His unwavering support for spectral evidence and his lack of leniency exacerbated the severity of the trials’ outcomes. After Phips dismissed the cases, Stoughton worked to have him removed as Governor.

Samuel Paris — Reverend Samuel Paris was the minister of Salem Village and one of the central figures in the initial events that sparked the witch trials. He was the father of Elizabeth Paris and the uncle of Abigail Williams, two young girls who experienced mysterious fits and claimed to be afflicted by witchcraft. His role as a religious authority and his support for the accusations fueled the hysteria, contributing to the escalation of the trials.

Elizabeth Paris — Elizabeth Paris was the nine-year-old daughter of Samuel Paris and one of the first accusers in the Salem Witch Trials. With her cousin Abigail Williams, she exhibited peculiar behaviors, including seizures and strange utterances, which were attributed to witchcraft. Their accusations against various individuals, especially Tituba, were instrumental in initiating the investigations and subsequent arrests.

Abigail Williams — Abigail Williams, the eleven-year-old cousin of Elizabeth Paris, was another crucial accuser during the Salem Witch Trials. Like her cousin, she displayed symptoms of bewitchment and was among the first to accuse others, leading to a chain reaction of allegations.

Anne Putnam — Anne Putnam was a teenage girl from Salem Village who actively participated in the trials as an accuser. She made numerous accusations against various individuals, contributing to the mounting hysteria. Her motivations for involvement remain a topic of historical debate, with some suggesting that personal grievances and religious fervor influenced her actions.

Tituba — Tituba was an enslaved woman from the Caribbean who worked in the household of Reverend Samuel Paris. She became one of the first individuals accused of practicing witchcraft after Elizabeth and Abigail accused her of bewitching them. Tituba’s origin and cultural differences contributed to her status as an outsider in Salem, making her an easy target for accusations. Under pressure, she confessed to being a witch and provided testimonies that increased the intensity of the trials.

Bridget Bishop — Bridget Bishop was the first person to be tried and executed during the Salem Witch Trials. She was known for her unconventional lifestyle and had been accused of witchcraft once before.

John Proctor — John Proctor was a respected farmer in Salem Village and one of the central figures in Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible,” which was based on the events of the witch trials. Proctor was accused of witchcraft after he spoke out against the proceedings, expressing skepticism about the legitimacy of the trials. His refusal to falsely confess and his unwavering integrity ultimately led to his tragic execution.

Giles Corey — Giles Corey was an elderly farmer who became entangled in the witch trials when his wife, Martha Corey, was accused of witchcraft. In a notable act of protest against the unjust proceedings, Corey refused to enter a plea in court, leading to a brutal form of punishment known as pressing. Corey died during the punishment.

King William’s War — King William’s War was a conflict between England and France that occurred from 1689 to 1697, overlapping with the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The war was part of a larger conflict known as the Nine Years’ War or the War of the Grand Alliance. Its impact on the region, including heightened tensions and security concerns, likely contributed to the climate of fear and paranoia in Salem, potentially influencing the outbreak of the witch trials.

Salem Witch Trials — Primary and Secondary Sources

• The Witchcraft Delusion of 1692 by Thomas Hutchinson , William Frederick Poole, and Richard Frothingham
• The Wonders of the Invisible World : Being an Account of the Tryals of Several Witches Lately Executed in New-England by Cotton Mather
• Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits Personating Men, Witchcrafts, Infallible Proofs of Guilt in Such as are Accused with the Crime  by Increase Mather
• Written by Randal Rust

• Divisions and Offices
• Grants Search
• Manage Your Award
• NEH's Application Review Process
• Professional Development
• Grantee Communications Toolkit
• NEH Virtual Grant Workshops
• Awards & Honors
• American Tapestry
• Humanities Magazine
• NEH Resources for Native Communities
• Search Our Work
• Office of Communications
• Office of Congressional Affairs
• Office of Data and Evaluation
• Budget / Performance
• Contact NEH
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Human Resources
• Information Quality
• National Council on the Humanities
• Office of the Inspector General
• Privacy Program
• State and Jurisdictional Humanities Councils
• Office of the Chair
• NEH-DOI Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Partnership
• NEH Equity Action Plan
• GovDelivery

The Salem Witch Trials According to the Historical Records

New hampshire.

The Scottish Ballet performs Helen Pickett’s ballet version of The Crucibl e, Arthur Miller’s play based on the Salem witch trials of 1692. Miller used historical records and texts to help construct his play.

—© Jane Hobson

On March 23, 1692, a warrant was issued for the arrest of four-year-old Dorothy Good of Salem Village on “suspition of acts of Witchcraft.” She was taken into custody the next day and jailed with her mother, Sarah, who had been accused of the same capital crime three weeks earlier. Since witches were often shackled in jail, something like shackles must have been adapted to fit little Dorothy, the youngest person in Salem accused of practicing the devil’s magic. Over the next year, more than 150 women, men, and children from Salem Village (present-day Danvers) and neighboring communities were formally accused of practicing witchcraft. A third of those arrested confessed but were not necessarily given lighter sentences. In all, 19 were hanged, one pressed to death, and five others died in jail.

Trouble in the tiny Puritan village started in February 1692, when eleven-year-old Abigail Williams and nine-year-old Elizabeth Parris, daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris, began acting strangely. The girls complained of bites, contorted their bodies, threw things, and fell into trances. A doctor’s examination concluded they were suffering from the evil effects of witchcraft. The “afflicted” girls were asked to name names, and they did.

“If you think about what’s going on in New England—threat of attack from warring tribes, unease about a new charter—and suddenly something strange happens in your household and you’re a minister. You know a witch was arrested in Chelmsford and another up in Ipswich. You believe that the devil is against Massachusetts, and you believe the devil is against your church, and you believe the devil is against you as a Protestant Puritan minister. And it’s in your house! There were reasons why it was credible that there could be witches in Salem Village,” says historian Margo Burns, the associate editor of Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt .

Burns examines the witch trials through original-source documents in “The Capital Crime of Witchcraft: What the Primary Sources Tell Us,” a presentation sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities Council.

Three women were taken into custody on March 1. Sarah Good, a beggar and mother, Sarah Osborne, a woman who hadn’t attended church in some time, and Tituba, Parris’s Indian slave, were all charged with witchcraft. Tituba confessed and identified more witches from Salem.

“It didn’t have to go any further than those three,” says Burns, “but they didn’t have a way to defend themselves. Just the usual suspects. All were marked for class and Tituba for race. John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin, the local magistrates, coerced a false confession out of Tituba. If it had been another time, it might just have stopped there. The next two people should not have had their cases go forward. Hathorne and Corwin could have said, ‘Okay, we don’t buy this. No, you didn’t see her, because we know this person. This is not true.’ But they held them over.”

The next two defendants were Rebecca Nurse, an ancestor of Burns, and Martha Cory, both fully covenanted church members and of high social standing. They were accused of witchcraft based on “spectral evidence,” which meant the court accepted testimony that disembodied spirits, or specters, were sent through dreams or visions by the accused with the help of Satan to harm the victims by stabbing, choking, biting, and jabbing them with pins. The accused were interrogated in public. During questioning, the purported victims exhibited dramatic reactions while townspeople watched.

“There were discussions going on between ministers,” says Burns. “It wasn’t so much whether specters existed, it was how you interpret it. The big discussion was whether the devil could impersonate somebody with or without their permission. So that was tantamount to saying Rebecca Nurse gave the devil permission to go out and afflict these girls in her image.”

In May, the new Massachusetts governor, Sir William Phips, established a special court to try the witchcraft cases, presided over by William Stoughton. “The court didn’t convene until June 2, 1692, so over half those accused, around 70, were just piling up in the jail,” says Burns.

Just as the jails were filling up with accused witches, the number of those claiming affliction also ramped up. One of the accusers listed in the court documents of Sarah Good was her daughter, Dorothy, who was coerced during an interrogation.

A number of villagers petitioned the court on Nurse’s behalf. Nurse was found not guilty, but Stoughton sent the jurors to reconsider. They changed their verdict to guilty. She was hanged on July 19, with Sarah Good and three others.

Five more were hanged in August and eight in September. In October, Increase Mather, a prominent minister in Boston, denounced the use of spectral evidence: “It were better that ten suspected witches should escape than one innocent person be condemned.” That same month, Governor Phips terminated the special court. But that wasn’t the end. Cases would continue in a regular court in January. “When pious men and women who were in good standing in their own churches were accused, there was pushback,” says Burns.

The accusations ran their course in Salem Village, but not in Andover, where 48 were accused compared with 23 in Salem Village says Burns. “A lot of people were against spectral evidence, so confessions were now the gold standard to find people guilty. The confessions that came before were from people with no agency whatsoever, like little Dorothy. But when they got to Andover, the magistrates were really good at interrogating people in private. By September, they could coerce people like clockwork. There, a lot who confessed were children as young as six.” In 1693, the new Superior Court of Judicature tried the remaining cases and eventually cleared the jails. Phips pardoned all those sentenced to be executed by Stoughton in January 1693. The cases continued to be tried until mid May, but no one else was convicted. “The grand jury couldn’t even indict Tituba,” says Burns. The colony admitted the trials were a mistake and compensated many of the families. But the damage was done, and it was devastating.

On September 13, 1710, William Good went before the court to receive restitution for the losses he endured years earlier. In his petition he wrote:

To The Honourable Committee The humble representation Will’m. Goodof the Damage sustained by him in the year 1692. by reason of the sufferings of his family upon the account of supposed Witchcraft 1 My wife Sarah Good was In prison about four months & then Executed. 2 a sucking child dyed in prison before the Mothers Execution. 3 a child of 4 or 5 years old was in prison 7 or 8 months and being chain’d in the dungeon was so hardly used and terrifyed that she hath ever since been very chargeable haveing little or no reason to govern herself. And I leave it unto the Honourable Court to Judge what damage I have sustained by such a destruction of my poor family. And so rest Your Honours humble servant *William Good Salem.

Good was issued £30.

Laura Wolff Scanlan is a writer in Wheaton, Illinois.

Republication statement

This article is available for unedited republication, free of charge, using the following credit: “Originally published as “Records of the Salem Witch Trials” in the Winter 2022 issue of  Humanities  magazine, a publication of the National Endowment for the Humanities.” Please notify us at  [email protected]  if you are republishing it or have any questions.

SUBSCRIBE FOR HUMANITIES MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION Browse all issues   Sign up for HUMANITIES Magazine newsletter

The Salem Witch Trials

Written by: Malcolm Gaskill, University of East Anglia

By the end of this section, you will:.

• Explain how and why environmental and other factors shaped the development and expansion of various British colonies that developed and expanded from 1607 to 1754

Suggested Sequencing

This Narrative should accompany the Anne Hutchinson and Religious Dissent Narrative to explore the topic of religious toleration in the New England colonies.

In January 1692, in the village of Salem, Massachusetts, the nine-year-old daughter and eleven-year-old niece of a contentious minister, Reverend Samuel Parris, began having strange fits and seeing apparitions of local women they said were witches. A doctor diagnosed bewitchment, which meant that others were to blame for the girls’ possession, to which Parris responded with prayer. When this failed, Parris pressured the girls to identify the suspected witches. Meanwhile, other girls in Puritan households had supposedly been afflicted. Soon, three women had been accused of witchcraft, including the slave Tituba, who had performed a counter magical spell by baking a witchcraft victim’s urine in a cake and feeding it to a dog. The three women were arrested and jailed. The accusations gathered momentum and a panic set in.

Villagers were emboldened to voice their own suspicions of other witches, which led to more arrests. The accused were brought to the public meetinghouses and urged to confess so they could be brought back into the Christian fold. Most people gave credence to “spectral evidence”, evidence based on visions and dreams, in which the afflicted claimed they could see invisible spirits flying around the room and causing them pain. Even a four-year-old girl, the daughter of one of the accused, Sarah Good, was imprisoned for witchcraft. Before long, the witch hunt had spread to several neighboring communities.

Some people doubted the wild accusations that were tearing apart the communities. For example, Reverend Cotton Mather, a Boston minister, believed in witchcraft but had initial doubts about the outbreak. He questioned the use of spectral evidence, because in English law it was grounds for suspicion but not proof. Mather offered to provide spiritual guidance to the afflicted and cure their ills through prayer and counseling. Unlike the case in most witch hunts, in this one, only those who refused to confess were hanged, for clinging obstinately to Satan.

In May, the governor of Massachusetts, William Phips, set up a special court to deal with the forty-odd people who had been charged. A wealthy merchant, Samuel Sewall, sat on the court, and Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton presided. Many of the accused were perceived to be outsiders in some way, tainted by association with Quakers, American Indians, and non-English European settlers. People living closer to the town were also more likely to be suspects, as kinship groups and sections of town accused other kinship groups and sections of town with whom they were at odds.

The court convened on June 2 for the first trials, and on the basis of unprovable charges and spectral evidence, Bridget Bishop was found guilty and hanged. One of the judges, Nathaniel Saltonstall, was so outraged by the proceedings that he immediately resigned. A few days later, several clergymen published a statement, “The Return of Several Ministers,” expressing their own dissatisfaction with the use of spectral evidence and asking for greater burdens of proof. Nevertheless, the trials continued despite the travesty of justice that was recognized at the time. The conviction rate was unusually high, mainly because more than fifty suspects confessed, presumably to evade the noose. Puritans saw in the large numbers only mass allegiance to Satan, which, in turn, led to more accusations. The psychological pressures were intense, and some confessed “witches” recanted, thus sealing their fates.

With the stamp of this seal, William Stoughton, the chief judge who presided over the Salem witch trials, sent Bridget Bishop to her death.

The court convened again in late June, with more than one hundred accused witches in jail. Five more were tried and executed, followed by another five in August, and eight in September, fourteen women and five men. Elizabeth Proctor was found guilty but received a reprieve because she was pregnant. Giles Corey, who refused to plead, was pressed to death beneath a growing blanket of stones; his wife Martha was hanged. The deaths caused profound unease, including among previously enthusiastic ministers and magistrates. Reverend Increase Mather delivered a sermon in which he asserted, “It were better that ten suspected witches should escape, than that one innocent person should be condemned.”

As in European witch trials (where an estimated sixty thousand accused witches were executed in the preceding centuries), the problem was using spectral evidence as proof, which, it was argued, may have been the Devil’s illusion to foment discord. Perhaps Satan’s goal had been not to recruit witches but to trick the court into executing the innocent. Particular weight had been placed on the girls’ testimony and on the confessions of the accused, both of which were unreliable. In late October, the Massachusetts Court called for a day of fasting and prayer for reflection on the hysteria. A few days later, Governor Phips met with Stoughton to decide the fate of the court and decided to halt the trials. The jailed were released.

In 1855, Thomkins H. Matteson painted Trial of George Jacobs, August 5, 1692. Jacobs was one of the colonists the court convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to death. How has Matteson conveyed the climate of hysteria that overtook the community of Salem and led to the witch trials?

Samuel Sewall, one of the judges, regretted the role he had played in the witchcraft trials and wondered whether the subsequent misfortunes of his own family, and of all New England, might be divine punishment for shedding innocent blood. In January 1697, he stood bare headed in church in Boston while the minister read the following apology:

Samuel Sewall, sensible of the reiterated strokes of God upon himself and family; and being sensible, that as to the guilt contracted upon the opening of the late commission of Oyer and Terminer at Salem (to which the order for this day relates) he is, upon many accounts, more concerned than any that he knows of, desires to take the blame and shame of it, asking pardon of men, and especially desiring prayers that God, who has an unlimited authority, would pardon that sin and all other his sins, personal and relative; and according to his infinite benignity, and sovereignty, not visit the sin of him, or of any other, upon himself or any of his, nor upon the land. But that He would powerfully defend him against all temptations to sin, for the future and vouchsafe him the efficacious, saving conduct of his word and spirit.

The jurors apologized later that same year. They admitted that, because they had not been “capable to understand nor able to withstand the mysterious delusions of the powers of darkness,” they were “sadly deluded and mistaken” in believing weak evidence and had caused the deaths of blameless people.

The factors that led to the 1692 Salem witchcraft outbreak were indeed complex. Much of the conflict fueling the trials originated in tensions between a traditional Puritan lifestyle based on piety and subsistence farming, and an increasingly worldly, capitalist outlook. Some Puritans complained of “declension” – a waning of godly ideals beginning in the 1630s, when Massachusetts Bay was settled. Friction between town and village had also developed over governance: Villagers resented paying taxes to maintain a distant town church and wanted independence.

The accusations may also have reflected tension between neighbors. Some scholars blame them on the fantasies and hysteria of children, and possibly even ergotism (a form of poisoning from a potentially hallucination-causing fungus that grows on rye) and an encephalitis epidemic. Gender also seemed to be significant: Were propertied women the victims of envious men? The Puritans believed witchcraft was God’s punishment for sin, either by allowing the Devil to convert so many witches or by turning fearful people against innocent neighbors. The Puritans believed in the existence of the Devil and his evil minions, who they thought could intervene in human affairs, tricking some into following them by practicing witchcraft.

The witchcraft outbreak was intensified across New England by political uncertainty during the years between the loss of the Massachusetts charter in 1684 and the granting of a new one by the English crown in 1691. The Glorious Revolution of 1689-1690 led to war with France, which, in turn, reignited war with American Indians in New England. These events all contributed to an atmosphere of profound insecurity and danger, spiritual and physical, though perhaps none really adequately explain the Salem witchcraft outbreak of 1692.

Review Questions

1. During the late seventeenth century and the events surrounding the Salem witch trials, what was considered “spectral evidence”?

• Evidence compiled from witnesses not physically present at the crime
• Evidence based on religious beliefs
• Evidence based on visions and dreams
• Evidence not accepted by court magistrates

2. How was the use of “spectral evidence” in trials of those accused as witches different in the New England colonies and in England?

• In English law, spectral evidence was grounds for suspicion, not proof.
• There was no difference in the use of spectral evidence.
• Spectral evidence was not admissible in English courts.
• The issue of spectral evidence never came up in England.

3. What was the fate of those who confessed to being witches in Salem Village?

• They were immediately hanged on the grounds that there was no doubt as to their guilt.
• Only those who refused to confess were hanged for clinging obstinately to Satan.
• Men tended to be acquitted whether or not they confessed.
• Regardless of whether they confessed, some were burned and some hanged.

4. Why was the conviction rate of accused witches in Salem so high?

• People were not hanged if they confessed, so many confessed to save their own lives.
• Many people genuinely believed they were witches.
• Many people were actually engaging in various witch rituals.
• Salem Village had an unusually large population.

5. What event launched the beginning of witchcraft accusations in Salem?

• A slave woman named Tituba confessed to witchcraft.
• Farm animals started disappearing.
• A young girl began having strange fits.
• A large comet appeared in the sky.

Free Response Questions

• Analyze potential causes of the witch trials in Salem and the surrounding area of Massachusetts. Which is the best explanation? Justify your answer.
• Explain why the accusations of witchcraft were acceptable to Puritans in seventeenth-century Massachusetts.

AP Practice Questions

“The humble petition of Mary Easty unto his excellencies Sir William Phipps to the honoured Judge and Bench now sitting In Judicature in Salem and the Reverend ministers humbly sheweth that whereas your poor and humble petitioner being condemned to die do humbly beg of you to take it into your judicious and pious. . . . I would humbly beg of you that your honors would be pleased to examine this afflicted persons strictly and keep them apart some time and like-wise to try some of these confessing witches. I being confident there is several of them has belied themselves and others as will appear if not in this world I am sure in the world to come whither I am now agoing and I question not but you’ll see an alteration of these things they say myself and others having made a league with the devil we cannot confess I know and the Lord knows as will shortly appear they belie me and so I question not but they do others the Lord above who is the searcher of all hearts knows that as I shall answer it at the tribunal seat that I know not the least thing of witchcraft therefore I cannot I dare not belie my own soul I beg your honers not to deny this my humble petition from a poor dying innocent person and I question not but the Lord will give a blessing to your endeavors.”

Petition of Mary Easty to the Court, 1692

1. The view expressed in the excerpt provided reflects the request made by Mary Easty to

• consider that although she is innocent, most of the others accused were really witches
• keep the accused and “confessing witches” apart
• stop the trials altogether because they are morally and spiritually wrong
• question the authority of the judges to pass sentence on so many people

2. Which of the following most likely led to the events described in the excerpt provided?

• The introduction of Slave Codes in Massachusetts society
• The strict nature of gender roles in the late seventeenth century
• The English legal system
• The strict religious practices in seventeenth-century colonial New England

Primary Sources

Cotton Mather’s Account of the Salem Witch Trials: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-now/cotton-mather%E2%80%99s-account-salem-witch-trials-1693

Suggested Resources

Boyer, Paul, and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft . Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974.

Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England . New York: Norton, 1998.

Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 . New York: Knopf, 2002.

Ray, Benjamin C. Satan and Salem: The Witch-Hunt Crisis of 1692 . Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015.

Related Content

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

In our resource history is presented through a series of narratives, primary sources, and point-counterpoint debates that invites students to participate in the ongoing conversation about the American experiment.

Home — Essay Samples — History — Salem Witch Trials — The Salem Witch Trials

The Salem Witch Trials

• Categories: Salem Witch Trials

About this sample

Words: 600 |

Published: Mar 14, 2024

Words: 600 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr. Karlyna PhD

Verified writer

• Expert in: History

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 785 words

1 pages / 437 words

2 pages / 790 words

2 pages / 961 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Salem Witch Trials

The Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th century and the McCarthyism era of the mid-20th century were two dark periods in American history marked by hysteria, paranoia, and the persecution of individuals based on unfounded [...]

In conclusion, The Crucible vividly portrays the destructive power of superstition in a society gripped by fear and paranoia. The characters' belief in spectral evidence, the supernatural, and the misinterpretation of religious [...]

In conclusion, the Salem Witch Trials were a gross miscarriage of justice and a dark chapter in American history. The lack of due process, the influence of religion, the socioeconomic and political dynamics, and the reliance on [...]

Imagine a small, tight-knit community in colonial America, where gossip spreads like wildfire and the fear of the unknown permeates every conversation. This is the setting of Arthur Miller's timeless play, The Crucible, a [...]

Back in colonial Massachusetts, regular people were accused of being involved in witchcraft or linked to the devil. The Salem Witch Trials lasted in the period between 1692 and 1693, where over 200 people were accused. However, [...]

Throughout history Mass Hysteria is something that has been destructive within a community and still is. In Aruthur Miller’s play, The Crucible it is based on events that actually happens in Salem Massachusetts witch trials in [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

• Books & Letters

Search the Salem Witchcraft Papers

Loading search index ....

Through Women’s Eyes: Salem Witch Trial Essay

Seventeenth century Salem, Massachusetts saw the popularization of witch trials where three hundred forty four (344) people were accused of being witches (DuBois & Dumenil, 2012). The accusation which became known as witchcraft hysteria in history stunned the whole town. It was first initiated by three (3) young girls who were relatives of the town reverend, Reverend Samuel Parris (Brett, 2009).

The reverend’s daughter Elizabeth together with two (2) other girls played a game where they asked Tibuba, the Caribe Indian slave, to tell them their fortunes. What started out as something for fun became horrifying as the girls started to act unusual, throwing bizarre fits and “distempers” (Brett, 2009). Although no one really knew the real cause of these fits and bizarre behaviors, it was clear that the victims were suffering from physical and mental difficulties.

The victims experienced physical and mental pains such as vomiting and temporary blindness and hallucination. The girls would scream from the pain they are undergoing. They would hallucinate of seeing the Devil. They would claim that the Devil was telling them to sign his book and join him to be his loyal followers. These strange behaviors made the townspeople of Salem panic. One local physician, William Griggs, was unable to determine the cause of the girls’ sickness.

He suggested to Reverend Parris that the source of these victims’ uncanny conditions might be the result of witchcraft (Brett, 2009). Though such claim had no concrete basis, the townspeople truly believed that the town of Salem was indeed haunted by witches. The people also believed that it was their God given right to eliminate such supernatural beings for the betterment of mankind. The girls were brought into intense questioning which resulted to the naming of three (3) women as witches.

The identified accused were Sarah Good, an elder beggar, Sarah Osborne, a woman known for having an adulterous affair and the slave Tituba. The last woman accused admitted that she was a witch when she was interrogated and pointed out others as being witches. This begun the witch hunt of 1692 (Brett, 2009). As the three (3) women were arrested the girls still sustained their peculiar behaviors and continued to accuse other people. The prison cells of Salem overflew with accused witches.

Eighty percent (80%) of them were found guilty based on heresy. No clear evidences were presented. Analyzing the cases of Anne Hutchinson (DuBois & Dumenil, 2012), Bridget Bishop (Ray, 2003), and Lady Phips (Brett, 2009), I can therefore conclude that the accusers, which are mostly powerful men running the society, are pushing the blame onto supernatural beliefs for the turmoil the town of Salem was experiencing.

In the year 1692 Salem had been experiencing bad weather which reduced harvests, an epidemic of small pox had swept the town where many were affected of the sickness and the Indians renewed their attacks on the frontier settlements (Brett, 2009). There was also an internal conflict as Salem was divided into two (2) groups, Salem Town and Salem Village.

Salem Town was a popular place for trade where merchants and businessmen dwell while Salem Village was a place for farmers to plant their crops. For many years Salem Village wanted to be a separate township. Salem Village even had their own separate ministry (Brett, 2009). It was later found out that most of the accused, namely Hutchinson, Bishop and Phips were members of the anti-Parris faction. They belonged to a group where they did not approved of the separation of Salem Village from Salem Town.

It all seemed like a dramatic plot for Parris and his clan to blame the political and social conditions of Salem on witchcraft. As time passed by, women were becoming more empowered. Notice that most accused were women who were unpopular in society. They are those who have very strong personalities and who have tendencies to go against the male dominated society of Salem.

Women were becoming more assertive in the seventeenth century thus it seems to me that one of the solutions of the Parris movement was to punish those who are threats so they can still continue the male dominated society (DuBois & Dumenil, 2012). Anne Hutchinson was accused of being a witch because she acted a male role of being a religious teacher and ministering to men and women in her home (DuBois & Dumenil, 2012).

Bridget Bishop was married three (3) times thus she was accused of being a witch by using her sexual prowess to seduce men although at the time of her trial she was about sixty (60) years old (Ray, 2003). Lastly Lady Phips, the wife of politician William Phips was also accused of being a witch. My suspect is her husband was disliked by the Parris faction thus she was named a witch.

After thorough research, I think that both the accused and accusers were all influenced by hearsay. The logical judgments of the accusers were clouded by their fear of political and social change thus resulting to them pushing the blame on witchcraft which cannot explain logical facts. The accusers took advantage of the ignorance of the people to make them believe that it was indeed supernatural causes which made the town of Salem suffer.

They used their positions in society to influence the public in punishing those who are delinquent in society. It is sad for the accused because they suffer the injustice brought upon them by false accusations and hearsays with no concrete proof.

The accused were brought to court for trial and questioning but before they could defend themselves the judges and jurors already found them guilty. They were just attacked on the stand. The people in the court room would just find faults on the accused to further prove they were guilty. It seemed a hopeless case for the accused because no one seemed to believe them.

The “victims” acted out in pain when the accused would refer to them. The people witnessing court trials would sympathize with the victims even if there were no logical reasons or evidences supporting the claims of the latter. In the case of Bridget Bishop, when she was questioned during her trial at first she opted to go for denial but when all her claims were ignored and the judge continued to attack her stance she grew weary and angry.

Her behavior was seen as a sign of guilt thus she was proclaimed guilty and was executed (Ray, 2003). People’s social behaviors were the basis of determining whether or not they practiced witchcraft. Women were primary victims because in seventeenth century society, they are only seen as someone who tends the household and children. If they would practice roles of men they were seen as socially unacceptable.

This was the case for Anne Hutchinson who assumed the role of a man as a religious teacher (DuBois & Dumenil, 2012). Hutchinson’s actions alone displayed unacceptable social behavior in a male dominated society. She became a threat because she was seen as someone who had a voice thus power. Her innocence became difficult to prove when most of her jurors were conservative men who believed that women should only bear and rear children and take care of the household.

Hutchinson was also giving religious advice to men and women thus she was a threat because she knew how to lead and she had followers to back her up. Though the accusers cannot prove her guilt through these given facts they resulted to witchcraft, claiming that Hutchinson was possessed by the Devil that’s why she held weekly meetings in discussing religion (DuBois & Dumenil, 2012).

Social behaviors were important in seventeenth century Salem especially during the witch hunt hysteria. Anyone can be suspected of being a witch if they act socially unacceptable. For the protection of the people it would always be best to act according to what society dictates but by doing so the political and social leaders controlled the people. The leaders would always have the power to dictate the people.

If they do not wish to follow they would be accused and oppressed. In this scenario the people will never have the freedom of speech and expression. Sarah Osborne (Brett, 2009) and Bridget Bishop (Ray, 2003) were both accused of being witches because of their inappropriate social behaviors. They were both considered adulterous women by the Bible. Osborne was known to have an adulterous affair and Bishop was married three (3) times.

In order to punish them for their personal affairs they were both accused of being witches and thus executed. Salem as a town is popular for being a place of witches in myths and novels. Before researching and studying the topic, I was familiar with Salem as a place where witches dwell but after doing my homework I found out that the whole event was a big injustice to the poor and helpless who were merely expressing themselves.

The witch hysteria was all brought out by greedy political leaders who wanted to place blame on the innocent for the problematic conditions of the town. It was not surprising that the officials would push the blame on the helpless but what was surprising was how the people got carried away and lost their logical sense of judgments to the idea of witchcraft.

Reference List

Brett, L. (2009). Salem Witch Trials. Master File Premier , 1 – 2. Web.

DuBois, E. & Dumenil, L. (2012). Through Women’s Eyes: An American History with Documents . Los Angeles, California: Bedford/ St. Martin’s.

Ray, B. (2003). Salem Witch Trials. OAH Magazine of History , 32-36.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2019, May 31). Through Women’s Eyes: Salem Witch Trial. https://ivypanda.com/essays/salem-witch-trial/

"Through Women’s Eyes: Salem Witch Trial." IvyPanda , 31 May 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/salem-witch-trial/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Through Women’s Eyes: Salem Witch Trial'. 31 May.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Through Women’s Eyes: Salem Witch Trial." May 31, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/salem-witch-trial/.

1. IvyPanda . "Through Women’s Eyes: Salem Witch Trial." May 31, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/salem-witch-trial/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Through Women’s Eyes: Salem Witch Trial." May 31, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/salem-witch-trial/.

• The Grave Injustices of the Salem Witchcraft Trials
• The Salem Witch Trials: A Time of Fear
• Salem Witch Trials Causes
• The Salem Witch Trials in American History
• A. Miller's "The Crucible" Play: Who Is to Blame?
• The Salem Witch Trials History
• Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials
• Salem Witchcraft Hysteria: Crime Against Women
• Witch Trials. Salem Possessed by Boyer and Nissenbaum
• Who Was Anne Hutchinson?
• The Importance of the Process of Colonization and the Formation of Unique Cultures in America to the Formation of the United States
• What Really Happened at the Alamo?
• The Civil Rights Act as a Milestone Element of American Legislation
• Industrial Revolution in Big Industries Across the US
• The United States from 1920-1945

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Maryse Condé, ‘Grande Dame’ of Francophone Literature, Dies at 90

She explored the history and culture of Africa, the West Indies and Europe in work that made her a perennial favorite for the Nobel Prize.

By Clay Risen

Maryse Condé, a writer from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe whose explorations of race, gender and colonialism across the Francophone world made her a perennial favorite for the Nobel Prize in Literature, died on Tuesday in Apt, a town in southern France. She was 90.

Her death, at a hospital, was confirmed by her husband, Richard Philcox, who translated many of her works into English.

Ms. Condé’s work, beginning with her first novel, “Hérémakhonon” (1976), came at a pivotal time, as the notion of French literature, centered on the canonical works of French writers, began to give way to the multifarious notion of Francophone literature, drawing from all parts of the French-speaking world.

Having lived in Guadeloupe, France, West Africa and the United States, Ms. Condé was able to imbue her work with a kaleidoscopic cosmopolitanism; she was equally at home with memoirs, novels set in 18th-century Mali and 17th-century Massachusetts, and even a book of food writing . Her sure-handedness won her acclaim as the “grande dame” of Francophone literature.

She was twice shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, given to novelists writing in languages other than English. After the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature was canceled in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal among the award committee, she received the New Academy Prize , created by a group of Swedish cultural figures as a temporary replacement — the first and last person to receive the award.

Like other writers grappling with the legacy of colonialism, Ms. Condé centered her work on broadly political themes, examining the formation of different individual and collective identities. But she stood apart in her adamant nonconformity.

She supported African independence, but she was critical of the leaders who came after it, accusing them of corruption and empty promises. She was proud to call herself a Black writer, but she lashed out at movements like Negritude and Pan-Africanism, which she said replicated white racism by reducing all Black people to a single identity.

Much of her work was historical. Her breakout novel, “Segu” (1984), which sold more than 200,000 copies in France, traces the life of a royal adviser in the Bambara Empire of West Africa, which flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries but collapsed under pressure from European and Islamic forces.

Among her favorite books as a child was “Wuthering Heights,” and in 1995 she offered a retelling of Emily Brontë’s classic tale of obsession and revenge with “Windward Heights,” set in Cuba and Guadeloupe.

She had already done something similar with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel “The Scarlet Letter” and Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible,” drawing on elements of both works to tell the story of an enslaved woman caught up in the Salem witch trials in “I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem” (1986), which won the Grand Prix Littéraire de la Femme.

Since then she was said to be a frequent contender for the Nobel Prize, though she professed a lack of interest in the results — or in the trappings of success generally.

“I am drawn to people ready to disobey the law and who refuse to accept orders from anybody — people who, like me, don’t believe in material wealth, for whom money is nothing, owning a home is nothing, a car is nothing,” she said in a 1989 interview with the journal Callaloo. “Those kinds of people tend to be my friends.”

Maryse Boucolon was born on Feb. 11, 1934, in Pointe-à-Pitre, a city in Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. Her parents were both affluent educators: Her mother, Jeanne Quidal, ran a girls’ school, and her father, Auguste Boucolon, taught school before founding a bank.

The youngest of eight siblings, Maryse grew up protected, and isolated, by her parents’ relative wealth. Her parents did not allow her to attend the island’s ubiquitous street festivals or mix with people they considered beneath them socially, which she said also kept her ignorant of the worst impacts of colonialism and racism.

She began writing at an early age. When she was about 12 she wrote a one-act play as a gift for her mother on her birthday. But her political awakening came more gradually.

As a teenager she read “Black Shack Alley” (1950), a semi-autobiographical novel by Joseph Zobel about a poor Black boy in Martinique, another French Caribbean department. That book revealed to her the sort of experiences that most Black Caribbean people endured under colonialism.

When she was 16, her parents sent her to Paris to complete her education. They had told her the city was the center of reason and justice, but instead she found herself the object of racism and sexism.

She went on to study at the Sorbonne, and to mix with Paris’s Black intellectual circles. In 1959 she met a Guinean actor, Mamadou Condé, and they married a year later. But the relationship soon soured, and in 1960 she moved to Africa to teach.

Over the next 13 years she lived for long stints in Guinea, Ghana and Senegal. The region was in the throes of independence and decolonization, and it attracted thinkers and activists from around the Black diaspora.

As she moved among them, Ms. Condé imbibed their heady mix of Marxism and Black Power, and she began to put those ideas into writing, first as a playwright and then, in 1976, in “Hérémakhonon,” which means “Waiting for Happiness” in the West African language Malinke.

Though she insisted it was not autobiographical, “Hérémakhonon” tells the story of a Black woman from Guadeloupe who lives for a time in Paris before going to Africa in hopes of finding herself — only to realize, in the end, that geography does not hold the key to one’s identity.

By then she had returned to Paris, where in 1975 she received a doctorate in literature from the Sorbonne. Long estranged from her husband, she had begun a relationship with Mr. Philcox. She finally divorced Mr. Condé in 1981, and she and Mr. Philcox married a year later.

Along with her husband, Ms. Condé is survived by three daughters from her first marriage, Sylvie, Aïcha and Leïla Condé; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

She held a professorship at Columbia University, and she also taught at the University of Virginia, the University of Maryland and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ms. Condé and Mr. Philcox returned to Guadeloupe in 1986 and lived there until a few years ago, when they returned to France so she could be closer to treatment for a neurological disease.

The disease left her unable to see. She wrote her last three books, all published since 2020, by dictating them, chapter by chapter, to her husband.

She was first shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2015 for the body of her work. She was shortlisted again in 2023, when she was 89, for her final book , “The Gospel According to the New World,” about a dark-skinned boy in Martinique who may or may not be the son of God.

Though she did not win the prize — it went to Georgi Gospodinov for his book “Time Shelter” — she did achieve the distinction of being the oldest person ever shortlisted for a Booker.

Clay Risen is a Times reporter on the Obituaries desk. More about Clay Risen