The Salem Witch Trials

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the cause of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 which were the result of a theocratic system of courts and local government supporting religious intolerance, which in turn effected and altered the way Salem society viewed religious outsiders. The paper discusses how the three women accused of witchcraft were tried and persecuted.

From the Paper:

"In this study, one can examine the causation of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. In this manner, the Puritan disposition toward opposing religious beliefs caused massive paranoia, which was exploited by the courts and the local religious government. The effect of this policy concerning women who might have practiced pagan systems of belief was their being the scapegoat of societal norms in the Christian faith. In essence, the cause of religious policy in Puritanical Massachusetts in the late 17th century resulted in the condemnation of female witches through persecution of local pagan belief systems in the community. A cause for the Salem Witch Trials stems from the religiosity and governance of the local communities in Massachusetts by the late 17th century."

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