Dbq Salem Witch Trials Of 1692

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were caused by a number of different reasons. The trials were caused by the fear of witchcraft and the tensions in the town and village. 
 First, lots of respected church members were confident that witchcraft was real, even though you can’t see it. In Evidence A, Cotton Mather, the influential leader of the Puritans, says that witchcraft exists. He says that even if you never witnessed witchcraft, that doesn’t mean that witchcraft doesn’t exist. Cotton Mather says that both the Bible and other people have said that witchcraft exists. In Puritan life, the church was a very important part of life, with required attendance and government based on the church. So, if a respected church leader said something, everyone

would have to agree to it because the church was a major part in their life. Next, during the Salem Witch Trials, many people said that they were witches. In Salem Evidence B, Abigail Hobbs is telling the judge that she is a witch. This piece of evidence shows how much everyone believed that people could experience the horrors of witchcraft and how much everyone feared witchcraft. 
 At the same time, Salem was growing economically. Salem Town was becoming rich from the trade on the sea. Salem Village was still a region of farms. As the town became richer, it expanded into Salem Village, making the average size of a farm smaller. Salem Village even had to pay taxes to Salem Town. This is shown in Salem Evidence C. The villagers were not happy about this, so when the villagers started to accuse others of witchcraft, most of the accused came from the town. In Evidence D, this becomes even more obvious, since all of the accused witches came from the town. 
 With the tensions between the town and the village, and the fear of witchcraft spreading in the village, the Salem Witch Trials soon started.