Paste your eThe Salem Witch Trials
For the people of Salem, Massachusetts, witches were always known to be fictional creatures that did not actually exist, until 1692, when strange episodes drove people to believe they were real. It all started with some of the people in the town having uncontrollable fits and lead to a group of women accusing multiple other townspeople of practicing witchcraft and being witches. The people were accused of being involved with the devil and reading Satan books, people referred to them as Satan’s servants. It is still unclear as to what started the Salem Witch Trials, but it is said that it was caused by all of the family feuds in the area. The Putnam family was at war with multiple families in the town including the Porter family and Towne family. The Porter family was the richest family in Salem, they were entrepreneurs and owned commercial interests in New England and the Caribbean. The Putnams were the largest family in Salem, they were farmers and were very dedicated to the Puritan religion. To be a Puritan meant that you wanted to live a simple life. Puritans were very dedicated to their religion and had strong beliefs in God. The Puritans saw everything as a sign from God, so when strange events began to happen in Salem a small group of Puritan girls came to the consensus that the fits were a sign from God and people involved were working with the devil, therefore they were witches. This group of girls accused hundreds of people in Salem of witchcraft. What started with the sickness of a little girl, ended with 20 people executed. The Salem Witch Trials caused chaos throughout the small town and were completely insane and unnecessary.
In 1692, religion was a very important part of people’s lives. The prominent religion was the Puritan religion. At this time religion and church were mandatory, if a person did not show up to church they were were normally frowned upon. At church ministers preached that God had power over everything and that he was in control of both heaven and hell, this way he would punish those who sinned. People thought of everything in their life and the world as a sign from God. For example, when natural disasters such as hurricanes, disease, and war occurred the Puritans thought that it was all a sign from God. Reverend Parris was the minister of the Salem church at the time and he preached about the wrath of God and the power he had. (Schanzer)
The Parris family was one of the most prominent families in Salem along with, the Putnams, Porters and Townes. Most of the families in Salem argued against each other, thus creating ongoing family feuds. The primary family feud was between the Putnams and the Porters. The Putnam family was the largest family in Salem, they were all farmers and lived a very simple life. They were very dedicated to the Puritan religion and thought everyone else should be as well. The Porter family was the wealthiest family in Salem, they were a family of entrepreneurs and owned commercial interests all over New england and the Caribbean. The Porters always had a steady income while the Putnams wealth stagnated and never increased, or moved at all for that matter. The feud started when the a dam and sawmill run by the Porters flooded and destroyed the Putnam’s farm land. The fiasco ended with a lawsuit that the whole town knew about. The feud continued when a few years later when the Putnams petitioned the town in hope that they would obtain political independence for the town, this went on until the Porters opposed them. When the Parris family came to Salem they teamed up with the Putnams and the feud worsened. (Shaw)
The second family feud involved the Putnam family and the Towne family. The feud started in 1939, the Massachusetts General Court allowed Salem to expand further towards the Ipswich River, the same land that was promised to the town of Ipswich six months earlier. The land became known as Topsfield, located directly between Salem and Ipswich. At Topsfield, four important families fought for the land. It came down to the Towne’s and Putnam’s, they went head to head for the land. At one point Jacob Towne cut down one of John Putnam’s trees right in front of Putnam himself and to get even Putnam showed up on Towne’s property with a group of male family members and threatened to cut down every tree on his property, this also added fuel to the fire. (Shaw)
The Towne family included Sarah Cloyce and Rebecca Nurse, both were accused of contributing to the evil in Salem. The conflict started when Sarah Cloyce ran out the church one day, slamming the large church doors behind her. She claimed that she ran because she all of a sudden felt very sick and she did not slam the door rather, the wind pushed it shut. Although, Reverend Parris argued that it was because she was a witch and quickly accused her of worshipping the devil. Some historians believe that Parris had some motivation when accusing Cloyce of being a witch and that was because her sister rebecca Nurse had been convicted a few days prior. The feud lasted over 50 years and worsened during the witch trials when the Putnams targeted the Townes as witches. (Shaw)
The first event that sparked the witch craze originated from the Parris household. One night Reverend Parris came home to find his 9 year old daughter, Elizabeth Parris, his eleven year old niece, Abigail Williams, and their twelve year old friend, Ann Putnam, at the kitchen table with Tituba. Tituba was the Parris family slave who watched over the girls during the day. The girls were gathered around Tituba experimenting with fortune telling by trying to conjure up evil spirits. The girls began to have fits of not being able to hear, see, and speak. They had violent convulsions where their bodies took on impossible positions. When the episodes ended the girls would complain about being bitten, pinched, kicked, and tormented by figures that visited them during the fit. The girls recalled the figures visiting them at night as well. The figures would prick them and move their arms and legs into pretzel like shapes. Witnesses say that the girls bodies were completely abnormal during the episodes. Dr. William Griggs examined the girls and when he could not find a course for the strange things that were occurring, he diagnosed them as being under an evil hand. (Phelps, Lehman)
As others in town began to experience fits similar to the young girls, more people started getting accused of being witchest. The first hearings were for Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn. Tituba confessed to practicing witchcraft because she knew she did not stand a chance with against the evidence of the three young girls who she bewitched. On the other hand, Good and Osborn denied all of the allegations against them. Although, the chief magistrate John Hathorne purposefully invited the three young girls to attend the hearing, When they were asked if Sarah Osborn was afflicted to witchcraft in anyway they were immediately overtaken with dramatic fits in which their tongues became hard and their mouths bled. Based on this reaction Osborn changed her tactic saying that Tituba had haunted her into doing it, ordering that she stop going to church which explained why she was missing services. (Saari, Shaw)
The first hearing set the stage for what was to come for the town of Salem. The Chief Magistrate, John Hathorne made a formal statement declaring that the devil was playing tricks on the town, although he could not take the shape of innocent people. This made it clear that the devil was not possessing the women to practice witchcraft, but it was the women’s choice to do so. He made this statement so that other women could not claim that they were being taken over by the devil. Hathorne also brought up the women in town that were having the same fits that the young girls were having. He said that if the women started having the episodes during the hearing of an accused witch then that was enough proof to summon her to death. Although, this brought up other problems because now more women started to have the episode because they were scared that if they did not then they too would be accused of being a witch. To this day it is still unknown if the fits were real or being faked out of fear of being accused as a witch. Soon the town was sending out warrants for all the people that may be involved in each trial. By the end of the witch craze over 200 people has been accused, many of whom were wrongly accused and had to spend many nights in jail cells. In town there was a group of afflicted girls that claimed to be tortured by the witches of Salem and they accused hundreds of people of practicing witchcraft. These women were Elizabeth Booth, Sarah Churchill, Mercy Lewis, Elizabeth Parris, Susanna Sheldon, Mary Warren, Mary Walcott, Abigail Williams and most importantly Ann Putnam Jr. (Phelps, Lehman)
The whole Putnam family played a big role in accusing people of being witches. Ann Putnam Jr. and Ann Putnam Sr. would accuse people in town and then the men in the family would go hunt them down. The Putnam women worked with a group of other ruthless women that would do awful things to each other. On April 11, the group turned on one of their own, Mary Warren. The girls had outbursts saying that Warren was haunting them and started having the usual fits that they always did, that included convulsions and other abnormal behaviors. Although, Warren unexpectedly also started having the fits. She began having uncontrollable seizures that became very violent. Some thought that she was about to confess to being a witch, but was not able to because of the episode. When Mary was able to to stand and speak again she started to say strange and bizarre things about needing help and being sorry, although she was never able to clarify what happened at that moment because right after she stopped talking the fits started again and she couldn’t talk. Historians still do not have a clear explanation for this event. Warren was then taken to prison where the fits intensified. She ended up implicating herself and John Proctor. By the end it all, Mary Warren was so insane that she could not cross her legs without breaking them. (Sarri, Shaw, Phelps, Lehman)
Two of the most well known trials are Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse. Martha Corey was 82 years old and the third wife of Giles Corey, a wealthy landowner who had property directly between Salem Village and Salem Town. They were both very faithful and dedicated to the church. Martha Corey had strong opinions about every topic in town and people had strong opinions on her as well. She was part of a scandal in which she gave birth to an illegitimate child of mixed race and was caught having an affair. On March 19, Edward Putnam along with Ezekiel Cheever, a court reporter, went to her house and accused her of practicing witchcraft. Although, her main accuser was Ann Putnam Jr.. She made allegations against Corey, saying that Corey bewitched her and made her temporarily blind, therefore, she couldn’t remember small details of the bewitching because her senses were impaired. When they came to her house they presented her with evidence that she had bewitched Ann and the other girls. Corey claimed that she was innocent and denied all of the accusations. She also tried to trick the men into thinking they had the wrong women. Ann Putnam claimed that when Corey had bewitched her, she could not see anything so she would not be able to see Corey so she asks the men if they know what Corey was wearing at the time. The men thought that she was reading their minds and could tell that they could not answer her question. They took this as a sign of witchcraft and had Martha Corey immediately arrested on charges of injury with witchcraft to Ann and the others. Although, Corey had a few days to get her story together because Saturdays and Sundays were considered days of prayer in Salem, no one could be arrested on these days. Corey went to church for the last time on March 20, the sermon was being held by a visiting minister, Deodat Lawson, who had come to Salem to take part in Martha’s trial. Lawson had just recently lost his wife and daughter to illness and thought that witchcraft was to blame for his loss. (Sarri, Shaw)
On the day of Martha Corey’s trial the group of afflicted women were present in the courtroom and began to have their fits again saying that they could see images of Corey all over the walls of the church. Although, the tricks that the girls were playing were convincing enough to persuade the people of the town to act against her. This trial was also one of the first that involved spectral evidence to prove someone guilty. Spectral evidence ruined the lives of many women in the town and it was becoming the main source of evidence to prove people guilty, even though anyone could claim to see another person doing something, it turned into a weapon that could be used against anyone. Even people who were well liked in the community didn’t stand a chance against spectral evidence. Corey was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged, yet even right before death she said one more time that she was innocent. (Sarri, Shaw)
There was a lot of controversy over the proof that could be used against someone during a trial. Many argued that spectral evidence was not enough to accuse someone and sentence them to death. The people in the town came up with tests that they said could prove if someone was a witch or not. One example of these tests is the drowning test or trial by water. During this test the accused witches hands and feet would be tied together and she would be tossed into a body of water to see if she would sink or swim. If a witch could not be drowned it was against human ability and they were then considered a witch and were killed. When a witch did not drown, the people saw it as the devil keeping them afloat. This experiment was considered legal and was never appointed by lawful officials. Another test included pouring burning water down an accused person’s throat. If they did not suffer or seem to be feeling any kind hurt then they were proven guilty. The reason the tests were all so cruel is because it was supernatural to not feel any hurt in these extremely painful situations. (Miller)
The water tests were used for a while, but then people started to question if this was actual proof of the devil. Mr. Perkins, Mr. Bernard, and Mr. John Gaul got involved to clarify the evidence that could be used against witches. Mr. John Gaul wrote a document called, Select Cases of Conscience touching Witches and Witchcrafts, it was printed in London and these books would be given to jurors so they could find some kind of proof to use against those accused. The book included concepts such as, if a person makes a voluntary confession then the trial is over and they are proven guilty, the confession is enough ground to convict someone. Although, sometimes people such as the neighbors of the person who confessed would be shocked, thinking that they knew that person pretty well and would have never suspected them of a crime such as witchcraft. Due to these people who questioned the guilty person, the jury would sometimes look further into the case, but the person would normally still be guilty even though they did not have any real evidence or proof. If two trustworthy people had proof or had seen the accused person practicing witchcraft or speaking words of the devil than that was enough proof to convict someone of being guilty. Even though it did not seem like it, the officials in the town thought it was important not to convict innocent people. (Miller)
The afflicted women tried to get all those accused to confess. There are many methods that were used to get people to confess to witchcraft, one of which was torture. Martha Carrier was found guilty of witchcraft and her two children were subject to torture until they agreed that their mother was a witch. They only confessed when authorities tried the girls necks to their heels. The torture methods were mostly related to this one, they harmed people until they couldn’t take it anymore. Others were forced to stand for days on end and if they sat down they were harshly punished. Another method was being put in jail. Hundreds of people were put in the Salem jail without lights, food, water, and any cleanliness. Since many of the people accused had families at home that depended on them for survival, the young children of the people accused often went starving and died while their parents were in jail waiting for trial. (Saari, Shaw)
Over two hundred people were accused of being a witch during the trials, but only 20 were executed. When the women were sent to be executed they were sent to Gallow Hill, located right outside of Salem. On July 19, 1692, Good, Nurse, Martin, Howes, and Wildes were taken by cart to Gallows Hill. On the way there the women were subject to abusive and harsh treatment from the executioner and the public. Usually a large group of people from the town would come and watch the witches get hanged. On the way they taunted the women by throwing objects and yelling abusive phrases. Once they arrived at the hill they were forced to climb to the top where the hanging tree was located. Many of the women struggled to make it up the hill because they had little to eat and drink during their time in jail, especially Nurse who was older than the others. She was actually too weak to make it up the hill and asked the public for help, but no one would help her because they did not want to be in contact with a witch. (Saari)
One at a time the accused women were forced on to a wooden crate and put their head into the hanging rope. The executioner, Nicholas Noyes, was famous for taunting the women before they were hanged and strangely enough seemed to enjoy his job of. One article described it as,
“When Good was waiting to be hanged she gave a powerful speech to Noyes as he taunted her for being a witch, as related in The Salem Witch Trials, “I am no more a witch than you are a wizard [magician] and if you take away my life, God will give you blood to drink.” (Noyes died years later when he reportedly choked on his own blood.)” (Sarri, Shaw).
Noyes was well aware of the fact that hanging was a slow and agonizing way to die, it involved lots of suffering. The moment that he kicked the crate out from under the women’s feet they would flail around for a few moments and if the woman’s neck was not broken during the fall than she would be conscious while she was suffocating. A few times hanging the women did not kill them and he had to start over again, but didn’t seem to have a problem with it. When each woman got up on the wooden crate they reinstated that they were innocent and the witch craze was insane. After the women were killed they were cut down from the tree and and taken to shallow graves where they were buried without a proper ceremony. The victim’s family was then charged for the transportation to the hill, the executioner’s fee and burial charges. (Shaw, Saari)
The Salem Witch Trials were a time of confusion and chaos for the people of Salem. Over 200 hundred people were tortured and accused of practicing witchcraft and being a servant to the devil. People were put through drowning tests and other methods of accusing witches. At the end of the craze, 20 people were left dead. Nineteen of those were hanged in front of the public and one was killed by being hit with a boulder. The craze left the town a mess with the community working against each other to accuse them of practicing witchcraft. Up until this time period witches were only fictional, but the people of Salem used the term witches to describe the strange things happening to the people of their town. In the end it was all for nothing, nothing came out of the witch trials, nothing was proved or accomplished. Overall, The Salem Witch Trials caused chaos throughout the small town and were completely insane and unnecessary.
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