Salem Witch Trial Summary

Most historians understand the Salem Witch Trials as an outbreak of hysteria starting from the utmost belief of the devil in Salem in the late seventeenth century, which led to the conclusion of witchcraft. Starting from two young girls and their teacher Tituba, the facts overlooked are biases behind the convictions and allegations of the witches; the many innocent people who could not escape the ubiquitous belief of witchcraft in seventeenth century Salem. What may have started as hysteria by Tituba led to accusations and convictions of innocent people, who were simply unaccepted either socially, religiously or personally, by the people of Salem.
The Salem Witch Trials were almost nothing compared to the witch hunts beginning

in Europe, but never failed to keep an extremely large interest in the minds of historians and scholars. It all began with two young girls, one of which was Betty, Reverend Samuel Parris’s daughter, and the other was Abigail Williams, his niece. They would listen to the teachings of Tituba, the slave in the Parris household. But soon, more and more girls in Salem village, Ann Putnam for example, would join in. The people in Salem during this time believed in witches, and that they sold their souls to the devil. This, tied with their Puritan beliefs and seclusion to the New World, would later allow them to prosecute the alleged witches. Betty Parris was the first to begin showing abnormalities; she would be absent minded and distracted, especially in prayer, and would weep and twitch and writhe in pain. Soon, Abigail would follow with these actions.
Samuel Parris began bringing in ministers for help, and most confirmed that the actions were indeed the cause of witchcraft. When asked by Parris, Betty and Abigail confirmed that their fits were due to Tituba, and two other women in the village, Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourn. After this confession, many other people began to have ‘fits’, and more people were accused of being witches. People were being accused by family members and friends, and there was a feeling of mistrust and deception in the air. By the end of the Salem Witch Trials, 19 women were hanged, one man was pressed to death, while others were on trial or died in prison.
As expected, the theories for what might have been the cause for an event so undetermined range tremendously. One may believe that the children fabricated this lie, like Julian Franklyn, and the situation soon intensified beyond the point of return. Another may believe that witchcraft was actually practiced in Salem, like Chadwick Hansen and Cotton Mather; but another may believe that Mather fabricated this all, to drive people back to the church, like Robert Calef. (Detweiler, 599)
Roger Thompson suggests a study by I. M. Lewis, which was in the field of possession, and held many similarities to the events in Salem. The symptoms of possession that Lewis lists are very similar to the symptoms the afflicted experienced, and there was a similarity as to the type of people that were likely to be affected; women. Thompson makes the point that along with these similarities, we cannot ignore the fact that women began to have a sort of dominance during the trials, and this was their disguised attempt to gain power (Thompson,327). Along with this, he says that “witchcraft accusations are made against equals or inferiors, not, as in the case of possession, against superiors”. This shows that there was something going on, whether it was subconsciously gradual or completely on purpose, that targeted a specific group of people, not based on witchcraft at all. (Thompson, 328)
Benjamin C. Ray has a different approach, suggesting that there is a relationship between the hectic communal crisis over Reverend Samuel Parris, and the fact that two girls in his household were afflicted. This was almost the perfect time to place blame on the devil for everything happening in the town, including the conflict over his ministry. He quotes Richard Latner, who says there was “an environment of divisive religious contention”, suggesting that this allowed the rising of witchcraft in Salem (Ray, 70). This too, shows that there was an ulterior motive to bringing the devil into the picture; and it wasn’t that the ‘afflicted’ really believed that the people were guilty. Starting from Samuel Parris and the situation in his home, people began to realize that witchcraft was an easy way to get rid of their problems, and even people they had tensions with.
Boyer and Nissenbaum have an entirely new approach to the trials. They put the blame on the social and political differences in Salem, specifically between the Putnams and the Boyers. There was a pre-existing social conflict in Salem, which led up to the problems that surfaced in 1692. Boyer and Nissenbaum begin by stating that it wasn’t the children who brought up witchcraft, it was the adults. The adults, including the ministers who had examined the girls, had all the control in deciding that the devil played a role during this time. Even more so, they suggest that the situation would not have developed as it did if witchcraft wasn’t brought up in the first place.
“Only in response to urgent questioning- “Who is it that afflicts you?”- did the girls at last begin to point their fingers at others in the Village.” (Boyer and Nissenbaum, 24). A factor to consider is the validity of the accusations, and the people who said it was witchcraft or the work of the devil from the beginning. The girls began experiencing hysteria several weeks before Pariss called anyone to come and examine them. In the church records, it says, “... the affliction was several weeks before such hellish operations as witchcraft was suspected” (Samuel Pariss, Church Records, 1692). It was only when the girls were asked who had afflicted them, when they started pointing fingers and accusing people. This not only shows that the trials began because of a convenient liability, but that the adults had all the control in surfacing the suggestion in the first place. It is true, that they believed and feared the devil, but they took witchcraft farther than a diagnosis.
Being raised in a Puritan society with expectations and lack of freedom, the girls had an inferior status as unmarried women. If witchcraft was really the fault to their hysteria, they would have pointed a finger at Tituba, or wouldn’t have been able to point fingers at all. But instead, when the idea of having power and superiority was introduced to them, they took their opportunity and began pointing fingers at more people, and others began to follow.
Boyer and Nissenbaum continue to explore the trials, paying close attention to the splitting up of Salem into different towns. Salem started out as an agricultural area, and was starting to become more mercantile. In fear of breaking away from their original state, regions began to break away from the village, and this sprang a conflict between the Townsmen and Farmers, that would endure up until the trials (Boyer and Nissenbaum, 40). Tensions that would later arise allowed both sides to lead claims and arguments that would catch the attention of everyone, specifically the hand of the devil (Boyer and Nissenbaum, 52).
Marion Starkey is a historian who believes that the Salem Witch Trials stemmed from the social problems at the the time, the Puritan religion forced onto the girls, and the emotion negligence they faced. She uses the lack of psychiatric knowledge to try and prove that witchcraft- at the extent of the time- was a mere convenience to the girls and to the people around them.
“The girls availed themselves of the opportunity of their illness to rebel against every restriction placed on them by adult society… These poor children needed the prayers of the parish, not its derision.” (Starkey, 43)
We see that Starkey highlights the fact that these girls used the accusation of witchcraft to their advantage, which would have allowed them to rebel against a majority that they despised, validating the idea that the people put on trial were, in fact, innocent.

Stacy Schiff is a more recent historian on the Salem Witch trials, who uses social conflicts in Salem and the misogynistic norms to prove that witchcraft was not the cause of hysteria. She dismisses the idea of a demonic role in the trials, and instead puts the blame on the rapidly Puritan-growing society, whose disorderly attempts allowed entrance for witchcraft.
“ Like Good, Osbourne had tenaciously pursued a substantial inheritance, in her case after the 1674 death of her husband… Rumors had circulated about her for years…” (Schiff, 51)
This is an example of a woman, Sarah Osbourne, put on trial for no apparent reason, other than the fact that she had inherited a good amount of money, and people were talking. People still found a way to accuse her for an invalid

reason.
It may be determined that people were vengeful and had reason to spite one another, but what possible situations could have been so bad, as to accuse someone of witchcraft? There were strong reasons that people hated each other, and it was strong enough to have a drive for accusations, knowing they would eventually result in a death sentence.