Focus Question: What were the causes and consequences of the witchcraft trials in 17th Century Massachusetts?

 Cross-Links

• Anticommunism and McCarthyism in the 1950s

• Influential Literature Page for the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Overview

In January of 1692 two girls, the daughter and niece of Reverend Paul Samuel Parris of Salem Village, became very ill. The village doctored declared that the two girls had been bewitched.

The hysteria that followed as come to be known as the Salem Witch Trials.

• The conditions surrounding the 17th century Massachusetts Bay Colony, including fear of the devil, competition with nearby Salem town and a concern about attack from neighboring Indian tribes, were ideal for this rapid spread of fear of witches.

• One hundred and fifty men and women were thrown into prison when the affected girls cried out their names. Those being accused awaited trail for the crime of witchcraft, which at the time was punishable by death.

• The trials began in June of 1692, presided over by Chief Justice William Stoughton. Bridget Bishop of Salem was the first to be tried and sentence to death by hanging on June 10. Thirteen women and five men were sentenced to death before the court was disbanded in October of the same year.

• The Superior Court of Judicature was formed to replace the "witchcraft" court and did not allow for spectral evidence. Those being accused of witchcraft were released from prison and those awaiting execution were pardoned. The craze of the witchcraft trials were over and apologies were offered to the victims families.

• The Salem Witch Trials are often compared with the "witch hunt" during the McCarthyism period in the United States.

Understanding the Salem Witch Trials

Overview of the Salem Witch Trials

Salem Witch Trials: The Main Accusers

https://historyofmassachusetts.org/timeline-of-the-salem-witch-trials/

https://www.thoughtco.com/salem-witch-trials-timeline-3530778

The Witchcraft Sourcebook, Brian P. Levack, Routledge, 2015

Primary Sources

For background sources, see Salem Witchcraft Trials, 1692

The Salem Witchcraft Papers: Verbatim Transcriptions of Court Records

Cotton Mather's Account of the Witch Trials, 1693

Click here for excerpts of and lists of victims

  Multimedia Resources

Click here to view a brief overview of the Salem witch trials

Click here to view a video which discusses the relation between race and the Salem Witch Trials

Witchcraft Trials in Northampton Massachusetts 

Before Salem, Northampton Woman Accused of Witchcraft

• Includes primary source court documents from the first trial

For more information on an earlier outbreak of witchcraft trials In Northampton, Massachusetts, see Jury Finds Mary Parsons Not Guilty of Witchcraft, May 13, 1675