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There were many critics of the witch hunt, such as a local farmer John Proctor, who scoffed at the idea of witchcraft in Salem and called the young girls scam artists. While the Salem of today is a thriving metropolitan area, in 1692 it was a remote settlement on the edge of the frontier. They feared many innocent people were being executed. Related: 10 Scary Churches From Around The World That Will Creep You Out. A. I sincerely cant thank you enough! Thirteen womenand five men from all stations of life followed her to the gallows onthree successive hanging daysbefore the court was disbanded by Governor William Phipps in October of that year. These spirits could inhabit any human or any creature. Hope that helps with your bibliography. The heat was stifling on a July day in 1692, as five dishevelled and bound women are paraded on a wooden cart through the streets of Salem village in the colony of Massachusetts Bay. Thanks! Add in the numerous films and television series that reference Salem, and things get even more distorted. thanks, primary sources of the Salem Witch Trials, View all posts by Rebecca Beatrice Brooks, http://www.zazzle.com/salem_village_map_poster-228789587972988887?rf=238784808055391622, https://historyofmassachusetts.org/best-books-about-salem-witch-trials/. Corey, a woman who, in her own words, had made a profession of Christ and rejoiced to go and hear the word of God, had drawn the attention of the prosecutors by offering the opinion that the accusers were just poor, distracted children. The 17th century Salem has nothing on witch hunts that went down in Europe. Thanks hopefully i get an A :). How Rye Bread May Have Caused the Salem Witch Trials, Order in the Court: 10 Trials of the Century, https://www.britannica.com/facts/Salem-witch-trials. and good job rebbeca! According to Plouffe, Jr., the trials were the largest of . Other victims include two dogs who were shot or killed after being suspected of witchcraft. The charter was revoked because the colonists had violated several of the charters rules, which included basing laws on religious beliefs and discriminating against Anglicans. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. I need to cite this for my reference sheet. He is recorded to have recited a prayer uttered with such composedness from many, so that it seemed to some that the spectators would hinder the execution. Also I was curious to know what the specific compromise was. I find the history interesting and would like to find more information on this matter. A fear-ridden society always finds scapegoats. The puritans, who had left England due to religious persecution, feared their religion was under attack again and worried they were losing control of their colony. Historians and sociologists have examined this most complex episode in our history so that we may understand the issues of that era and view subsequent events with heightened awareness. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a dark time in American history. Learn all about the origin, history, and significance of the Salem witch trials. All rights reserved, National Geographic book Witches! Another notable person who was accused of witchcraft was Captain John Alden Jr., the son of the Mayflower crew member John Alden. When asked who it was that had afflicted them, they named Good a homeless woman who had fallen destitute after denying the inheritance of her wealthy fathers estate as one of the three culprits. "Examination and Evidence of Some Accused Witches in Salem, 1692. Although spectral evidence, evidence based on dreams and visions, wasnt the only evidence used in court during the Salem Witch Trails, it was the most common evidence and the easiest evidence for accusers to fake. In Germany alone, thousands of women died horrible deaths. Salem Village was populated mostly by poor farmers, and Salem Town was a prosperous port full of middle-class and wealthy merchants. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed during the hysteria. And insularity bred paranoia, as Schiff sharply explains. Essex County Court Archives, vol. Women were not the only ones believed to be witchesmen and children were accused too. Salem was ruled by English law at the time, which only allowed death by burning to be used against men who committed high treason and only after they had been hanged, quartered and drawn. The trials were held in the Salem courthouse, which was located in the center of Washington Street about 100 feet south of Lynde Street, opposite of where the Masonic Temple now stands. Another five were executed exactly a month later on 19 August, four of whom were men. Curious to know the Publisher of this article. A prolific pamphleteer railing against the spread of witchcraft (or molestations from the invisible world), Mather was nonetheless keen for due diligence to occur inside the courtroom. A secondary source would be a book, journal or article written long after the event by someone who didnt experience it first hand. Its good to see that the court system has progressed. If you are looking for more info on the victims themselves, you can check out the article I wrote specifically about them titled The Salem Witch Trials Victims: Who Were They? thank u. OMG! It all began in 1692 and 1693 when Salem in the United States . Found Guilty and Executed:Bridget Bishop (June 10, 1692)Sarah Good (July 19, 1692)Elizabeth Howe (July 19, 1692)Susannah Martin (July 19, 1692)Rebecca Nurse (July 19, 1692)Sarah Wildes (July 19, 1692)George Burroughs (August 19, 1692)Martha Carrier (August 19, 1692)John Willard (August 19, 1692)George Jacobs, Sr (August 19, 1692)John Proctor (August 19, 1692)Alice Parker (September 22, 1692)Mary Parker (September 22, 1692)Ann Pudeator (September 22, 1692)Wilmot Redd (September 22, 1692)Margaret Scott (September 22, 1692)Samuel Wardwell (September 22, 1692)Martha Corey (September 22, 1692)Mary Easty (September 22, 1692), Refused to enter a plea and tortured to death:Giles Corey (September 19th, 1692), Found Guilty and Pardoned:Elizabeth ProctorAbigail Faulkner SrMary PostSarah WardwellElizabeth Johnson JrDorcas Hoar, Pled Guilty and Pardoned:Rebecca EamesAbigail HobbsMary Lacy SrMary Osgood, Died in Prison:Sarah OsburnRoger ToothakerAnn FosterLydia Dustin, Escaped from Prison:John Alden Jr.Edward Bishop Jr.Sarah BishopMary BradburyWilliam Barker Sr.Andrew CarrierKatherine CaryPhillip EnglishMary EnglishEdward Farrington, Never Indicted:Sarah BassettMary BlackBethiah Carter, JrBethiah Carter, SrSarah CloyceElizabeth HartWilliam HobbsThomas Farrer, SrWilliam ProctorSarah ProctorSusannah RootsAnn SearsTituba, Evaded Arrest:George Jacobs JrDaniel Andrews. Afflicted Girls:Elizabeth BoothElizabeth HubbardMercy LewisBetty ParrisAnn Putnam, Jr.Susannah SheldonAbigail WilliamsMary WalcottMary Warren. As sleet and snow heaped higher outside their door, Betty Parris and her cousin Abigail began to twitch and twist their bodies into strange shapes, speaking in words that made no sense. The Salem witch trials marked a seven-month period of mass hysteria in 1692 Colonial America. When Nurse was first arrested, many members of the community signed a petition asking for her release. This helped me a lot with an assignment i had to do for school, but i cant find the publisher sadly. George Burroughs, a minister, was one of the few men accused of witchcraft during the trials. These women were Sarah Good, Sarah Osburn and a slave named Tituba who worked for Reverend Samuel Parris. The parallels between the Salem Witch Trials and more modem examples ofwitch huntinglike the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, are remarkable. I find the Salem Witch trails to be the most interesting event in the colonization of whats now US. Salem Witchcraft and Cotton Mather. Was there some sort of compromise at the end? Salem Village was populated mostly by poor farmers, and Salem Town was a prosperous port full of middle-class and wealthy merchants. All would await trial for a crime punishable by death in17th-century New England the practice of witchcraft. On October 29, Phips dismissed the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The other two accused and arrested at the same time were Sarah Osborne and Tituba, the Parriss black slave. ", What does that mean, in laymans terms? I mean the whole cause was a wheat bacteria/fungi called ergot. 136, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Susannah Martin was my 10th great grandmother and John Proctor was my 11th great uncle. Is there any credence to this theory? Ultimately, eight women and two men were tried and found guilty of attending the gathering. Has their been any further studies into the ergot theory besides the collage student in the early 70s? We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. I thought witchcraft only existed in Africa. Did you know they executed 2 dogs?! You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Psychosomatic disorders have been suggested as the root of the hysteria, most notably the societal strains placed on them in a strict, deeply religious adult world that made no contingency for the developmental needs of children. The Salem witch trials began because a group of girls claimed they were possessed by the devil. The Salem witch trials, which resulted in several deaths in 1692 in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts, have never been adequately explained. In early July, Sarah Good and her four co-accused were tried and found guilty of bewitchment, making that journey to the gallows on that wooden cart a few days later. Thank you for this amazing article! Warrants were issued by the dozen, sometimes for the arrest of the most unlikely suspects. Massachusetts State Archives. Indeed, as Stacy Schiff explains in The Witches, her history of the witch trials, It would have been difficult to find more than a few souls to whom the supernatural was not eminently real, part and parcel of the culture, as was the devil himself. I am the author and publisher of this blog. Smithsonia, 8 Sept. 2013. Over 150 people were arrested for allegedly using witchcraft to inflict harm on their fellow townspeople, resulting in the executions of 20 people and the prison deaths of five more. King William's War (war in the America colonies against the French) ended with many people having to be relocated so there were many strangers moving into town. The other most notorious case of witchcraft in England came during the British Civil Wars when Matthew Hopkins the son of a Puritan clergyman and the self-styled Witch Finder General scoured East Anglia in search those suspected of making covenants with the Devil. Three Salem Women: The Stories of Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator and Bridget Bishop, Salem Witch Trials Weekly, produced by the Salem Witch Museum, Bewitchment in Salem, produced by the Salem Witch Museum in conjunction with SATV, The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siegeby Marilynne K. Roach (Jul 22, 2004), Cry Innocent: The People vs. Bridget Bishop, The Salem Witch Trials: Reckoning and Reclaiming at the Peabody Essex Museum. Planting, cultivating, the care of houses, barns, roads, fences, were all forgotten. It has so many details that I need. When was this last edited? Getting the right to vote didn't come easy for women. Despite its power as a cautionary tale, Salem remains an enigma that continues to fascinate and beguile more than three centuries later. Its a common myth that the Salem Witch Trials victims were burned at the stake. The trials only lasted three months, but they managed to leave a perpetual dark mark on the town's history. The Salem witch trials of the late 17th century were a formative episode in America's early history, and have remained at the forefront of the national consciousness ever since. They were said to have helped witches and were referred to as their familiars. This was so helpful for my project! Did the Salem Witch Trials have any affect on the way that the American court systems were designed once the United States became a country? As in complaints upon witchcrafts, there may be matters of inquiry which do not amount unto matters of presumption, and there may be matters of presumption which yet may not be matters of conviction, so it is necessary, that all proceedings thereabout be managed with an exceeding tenderness towards those that may be complained of, especially if they have been persons formerly of an unblemished reputation. I am looking forward to the challenge of uncovering a multitude of analysis on this matter. Patti Wigington is a pagan author, educator, and licensed clergy. I was wondering if there was a written document or agreement signed that ended the trials. In April, more women were accused, as well as a number of men:Sarah CloyceElizabeth ProctorJohn ProctorGiles CoreyAbigail HobbsDeliverance HobbsWilliam HobbsMary WarrenBridget BishopSarah WildesNehemiah Abbott Jr.Mary EastyEdward BishopSarah BishopMary EnglishPhillip EnglishReverend George BurroughsLydia DustinSusannah MartinDorcas HoarSarah Morey. The Salem Witch Trials. Device reportedly admitted an act of bewitchment, as well as accusing another woman of undertaking similar practices. It was viewed as a sin against God, the church, and the Crown, and thus was treated as a crime. By the way, thank you so much for this wonderful website; its really thorough and cool. A witness testifies against an accused witch during one of the many witchcraft trials of the 1690s. That same month, four more women were accused and arrested:Rebecca NurseMartha CoreyDorothy GoodRachel Clinton (from Ipswich). Unlike some of the more notorious cases in Europe and England, such as that of the Pendle witch trial, there was no one among Salems accused who was known as a local witch or healer, with one exception. A week later, the jury changed their minds and declared Nurse guilty. 126. Since the accused witches were considered dangerous prisoners, they were kept in the dungeon and were chained to the walls because jail officials believed this would prevent their spirits from fleeing the jail and tormenting their victims. No more restricting property ownership and voting rights to only church members. This was a special type of court in English law established specifically to hear cases that are extraordinary and serious in nature. What is the legacy of the Salem witch trials? To understand the events of theSalem Witch Trials, it is necessary to examine the times in which accusations of witchcraft occurred. One freezing day in January of 1692, something strange happened inside the Parris household of Salem Village, Massachusetts. The Story of the Salem Witch Trials - Bryan F. Le Beau 2016-05-23 Between June 10 and September 22, 1692, nineteen people were hanged for practicing witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. Everything we know now about the trials comes from just a handful of primary sources of the Salem Witch Trials. A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials. Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Institute, 23 Oct. 2007, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/. Other medical explanations have included encephalitis lethargica, a disease carried by birds and animals, and Lyme disease, an infection that produces skin rashes similar to those believed to have been administered by the Salem witches. Questions VII & XI. Europe, on the other hand, was super into dramatic flames. i need it for my bibliography, do you have any websites that could help me to find the secondary source? It tells of a period of time where religious extremest of a good and pure faith massacred several of their own kind in demented and mad ways. "Maleus Maleficarum Part I.". The Salem witch trials began because a group of girls claimed they were possessed by the devil. At the time, Salem Village was a small New England town populated mostly by Puritans, or religious individuals with a belief in the devil. In May, as the number of cases grew, Governor William Phips set up a special court, known as the Court of Oyer and Terminer (which translate to hear and determine) to hear the cases. Although many of the other accused women were unpopular social outcasts, Nurse was a pious, well-respected and well-loved member of the community. In Salem, they actually didn't do any burning at all. The Examination of Sarah Good, March 1, 1692. I need to do a bibliography, and I have this page on it. During Titubas examination, she made a shocking confession that she had been approached by Satan, along with Sarah Good and Sarah Osburn, and they had all agreed to do his bidding as witches. Salem Village began that slow decay which eventually erased its houses and walls, but never its name and memory.. Im glad it was helpful. The clergy later held a meeting, on August 1, to discuss the trials but were not able to help Proctor before his execution. If you want to learn more about the Salem Witch Trials, check out this article on the best Salem Witch Trials books. They basically played the trump card of the times. Does anyone know who was the last one to be accused of witchcraft and died , all she did was healing and someone who she knew turned her in. Wiggin and Lunt, 1867.Crewe, Sabrina and Michael V. Uschan. At the same time, the accused would be denied legal representation. I think that maybe they thought they were bewitched. As a travel enthusiast, she makes sure she visits at least two new destinations each year and loves to share her knowledge with the readers of TheTravel. This legal tactic was known as peine forte et dure which means strong and harsh punishment.. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. They all died on the same day so its hard to pinpoint who you are talking about. See, the concept of fake news is nothing new. The primary sources of the Salem Witch Trials offer a wealth of information on these infamous trials. InJanuary of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village became ill.William Griggs, the village doctor, was called in when they failed to improve. The punishment was hanging. Hemmed in by the ocean to the east and by an untamed wilderness to the west, settlers were completely disconnected from both the mother country on the other side of the Atlantic and the remainder of the American continent. Many people lived in a constant state of fear, tension, and paranoia. At the center of the Salem witch trials were a core group of accusers, all girls and young women ranging in age from nine to 20, who screamed, writhed, barked and displayed other horrifying. How twisted is that? In the 300 years since the Salem Witch Trials, experts have gone to great lengths to offer explanations for the young Salem girls afflictions of a somewhat more rational nature than the witchcraft diagnosed at the time. Is the tv show Salem based on the Salem Witch Trials? Learn Religions. The accused was thrown into a river and if they made it out alive, it was because they were a witch. http://www.easybib.com/cite/view. It's unlikely that anyone in Salem was actually practicing witchcraftmost of the community consisted of devout and pious Christians. Nige Tassell explains how hysteria in the village of Salem, Massachusets, gave rise to a horror that bedazzled the world. In effect, theSalem Witch Trialswere over. During that time, 19 people were hanged and one person was pressed to death. Went to the library to look for my family history but came across my friends families name. Fresh witchcraft cases continued to come before the new Superior Court of Judicature that, while again presided over by William Stoughton, was ordered not to accept spectral evidence. Also, when was his last updated? Even poor animals were not safe and they could actually get accused and executed as well. Second, everyone got their food from the same place, so symptoms would have occurred in every household, not just a select few. As if the lonely and misunderstood didn't have a hard enough life on its own, they seemed the most suspicious to the crowds. The people had been so determined upon hunting out and destroying witches that they had neglected everything else. This belief in the power of the accused to use their invisible shapes or spectres to torture their victims had sealed the fates of those tried by the Court of Oyer and Terminer. Im just going to use Smithsonian, ARe you the editor/author of this site @Rebecca Beatrice Brooks, Hi Gigi, yes Im the editor/author of this site, thanks so much I needed that for my homework, Where can I get a copy of the Salem 1692 map that you posted? This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We also have kept good records of everything. hope you in joy it was really helpful to my students and i, Thankyou this helpedme a lot for my 3 page essay in english 11 class. There is no documentation of where she may have gone after the trials. This really helped me on my essay, thank you so much. Instead, in 1692, hanging was the preferred form of punishment. The Salem witch trials resulted in the arrest of over 150 people, 19 of whom were ultimately convicted and executed. They did so in order to gather the observations of the colonys most senior ministers, to hear their reflections upon the state of things as they then stood. Many modern theories suggest the girls were suffering from epilepsy, boredom, child abuse, mental illness or even a disease brought on by eating rye infected with fungus. They hanged the poor souls instead. The first to be tried wasBridget Bishopof Salem who was found guilty and was hanged on June 10. Corbis/VCG via Getty Images / Getty Images. This was no more notable than when playwright Arthur Miller chose to dramatise the trials in his 1953 play The Crucible. Chapter 145 of the resolves of 1957, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Now I know it is not only there that it existed. The bibliography at the bottom of this article list a number of secondary sources. Ergot contains lysergic acid, a precursor for synthesis of LSD; certainly the visions of shape-shifting devils reported by the afflicted might be consistent with the experiences of an acid trip. 15 Dark Truths You Didn't Know About The Salem Witch Trials. No way to fight its power. The infamous Salem witch trials lasted for approximately one year. Good had been among the first local women to be arrested, after several young girls from the village had experienced mysterious afflictions the previous February. Bad weather isn't the only reason why the witch hype began. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. I am as innocent as the child unborn. (Eds.). By the end of the trials in 1693, 24 people had died, some in jail but most by hanging. "The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Legal History". Text adapted from the National Geographic book Witches! In addition to official court records there are also several books written by the ministers and other people involved in the trials: A Brief and True Narrative of Some Remarkable Passages Relating to Sundry Persons Afflicted by Witchcraft, at Salem Village: Which happened from the Nineteenth of March, to the Fifth of April, 1692 by Deodat Lawson circa 1692 The Wonders of the Invisible World: Being an Account of the Tryals of Several Witches Lately Executed in New-England by Cotton Mather circa 1692 More Wonders of the Invisible World by Robert Calef circa 1700 A Modest Enquiry Into the Nature of Witchcraft by John Hale circa 1702. For years, Salem Village tried to separate itself politically from Salem Town. The two communities were three hours apart, by foot, which was the most common method of transportation at the time. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Samuel Parris of Salem Village. The new court released those awaiting trial and pardoned those awaiting execution. . Soon, prisons were filled with more than 150 men and women from towns surrounding Salem; their names had been cried out by tormented young girls as the cause of their pain. 14 (in the history 201 course-pack compiled by S. McSheffrey & T. McCormick), Trans. it was extremely helpful thank you so much! Random House, 1956Fowler, Samuel Page. Most of the accused really had nowhere else to go and many of them didnt have the money to leave even if they wanted to. Salem witch trial started as feud between Porters n putnums cuz putnums felt Porters gave too much freedom to their black servants. The English laws against witchcraft were repealed in 1736, after which incidents of suspected bewitchment, by now very isolated, were dealt with by mob rule rather than by a clear legal framework. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom were executed by hanging (14 women and five men). what was the ratio of men to women. Salem was . First, there are a number of ergot poisoning symptoms which were not reported by those who claimed to be afflicted by witchcraft. Did the Putnams purchase any of the land from those who were accused and killed? I A man of God literally planned out a witch genocide. in journalism. These sources include official court records as well as several books, diaries and letters written by the various people involved in the trials. This was a dark time but it is good to see the court system advance. The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. He was later exonerated. 135, p. 112, No. Nevertheless, we cannot but humbly recommend unto the government, the speedy and vigorous prosecution of such as have rendered themselves obnoxious, according to the direction given in the laws of God, and the wholesome statutes of the English nation, for the detection of witchcrafts. Secondary sources would be Charles Uphams book Salem Witchcraft which was published in 1867, Emerson Bakers book A Storm of Witchcraft which was published in 2014 and etc. I also have an ancestor, Mary Parsons, who was accused of witchcraft but she was allowed to live. A strong belief in the devil, factions amongSalem Village familiesand rivalry with nearby Salem Town combined with a recent small pox epidemic and the threat of attack by warring tribes created a fertile ground for fear and suspicion. Crown Publishers Inc., 1959. Often, that conversation shifts over towardsSalem, Massachusetts, and the famous trial in 1692that resulted in twenty executions. This court consisted of eight judges. This is basically what got me an A on my history fair assignment, I appreciate all the time and effort put into writing this! European Witch trials started at a similar time as Protestantism. Oh and sorry for talking a lot but if you need a website for your bibliographys heres an awesome sight I use it for school a lot and its supper easy use. This site is not a part of the Smithsonian website. How did this conflict impact the trials? Get 6 issues for 19.99 and receive a 10 gift card* PLUS free access to HistoryExtra.com, Save 70% on the shop price when you subscribe today - Get 13 issues for just $49.99 + FREE access to HistoryExtra.com. TDR / The Drama Review, 2018, Vol. No one was burned at the stake in the Salem witch trials. The torture consisted of laying the prisoner on the ground, naked, with a board placed on top of him. Also i seems like a smarter thing to do at the moment if you had a rival with one of the families in town. Arrest warrants were issued for George Jacobs Jr. and Daniel Andrews but they evaded arrest. In mid-September, Corey was tortured this way for three days in a field near Howard Street until he finally died on September 19.