The Salem Witchcraft Trials

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the history of the Salem Witch Trials and how in the months of June to September 1692, nineteen men and women were hung near Salem Village, Massachusetts, for the crime of witchcraft. It looks at how the rumors and accusations started and Salem's easy acceptance of the idea of witchcraft which turned into hysteria. It evaluates some of the different stories of convictions and the testimonies and the aftermath of the trials. The paper includes a timeline of events in the New English colonies.

From the Paper:

"Salem's hysteria over witchcraft sparked with the strange illness of Betty Parris, the daughter of the Salem minister. She exhibited a strange variety of symptoms, including contorting in pain, ducking under furniture, and complaints of fever. Talk of witchcraft increased as several of Betty's playmates, including Ann Putnam and Mary Walcott began to show similar symptoms.

Salem's easy acceptance of the idea of witchcraft came partially from the ideas espoused in Cotton Mather's book, Memorable Providences. This book, popular just before the trial, described the suspected witchcraft of an Irish servant in Boston. The behavior of the woman in the book was eerily similar to that of young Betty Parris, who ultimately claimed that her afflictions were the result of witchcraft."

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