Salem Witch Trials Dbq Analysis

The fairness of the Salem Witch Trials was anything but what you would think. The trials, held in Salem, Massachusetts, were a tragedy in the 1600s where dozens of innocent people were accused and hung for supposedly using witchcraft. The very young (mostly 9 year old) girls accused witch after witch across the town of Salem. The book, Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem, by Rosalyn Schanzer, gives a historical account of the trials and of those accused. The unfairness of the Salem Witch Trials is revealed through the use of spectral evidence, false evidence, and the underlying reasons some were accused.
First of all, accusers stating spectral evidence is one example of the unfairness of the trials. Spectral evidence is evidence accusing someone’s apparition while their human body was some other place. For instance, one

accuser claims, “they told me I must kill Thomas Putnam’s child with a knife” (Schanzer 37). Spectral evidence is not necessarily false; however, more truthful, hands-down evidence should have been required when someone’s life depended on it. Another accuser states, “The creature that looked like a man came to me just as I was going to sleep. He said he would kill the children and they would never get well if I would not serve him” (Shanzer 36). Because of spectral evidence, a person’s life relied on another person’s lips. Lastly, “Hardly a scrap of evidence had come from the Natural World of real things…” and since spectral evidence involves evidence from the invisible world, a place they believe have seraphs and imps roaming throughout, no one can see it (Shanzer 76). Spectral evidence should be taken into account of being somewhat unfair to the accused.
The unfairness of the trials also factors in the use of false evidence. “They went after innocent suspects ‘for sport, we needed some sport’” (Shanzer 113). Sport in this context is used to mean fun, so they admit that they made up the evidence just to see people go to the gallows. Also, “...eager to put blame for their blunders during the Indian War at the feet of witches and devils to avoid responsibility themselves?”(Schanzer 114). If this is true, the embittered judges wouldn't care that the evidence seemed far fetched or unrealistic, and given the accusers already admitted to lying, they would likely pass the whole event off as a mistake. Lastly, “Fear combined with a ‘trigger,’ a traumatic or stressful event, is what often leads to scapegoating” (Brooks 1). Scapegoating, or passing the blame, probably caused accusers to use false evidence. In the end, the accusers used false evidence to condemn others as witches.
The last main factor of the unfairness of the witch trials is the accused and why they were accused.

“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” was the Puritan leaders’ standpoint, as they fervently trusted the Bible and this perspective comes straight out of the Bible (The DBQ Project Document 1). So by this standpoint, they thought it was better that if there was a chance that someone was a horrid witch, then they should be killed. This encouraged the leaders to abolish all possible witches, which eventually took the lives of dozens. Also, “...the minister George Burroughs as their scapegoat because they disapproved of his unusual religious views” clearly shows that the people accused could have a strong part in personal disagreement or controversy(Shanzer 114). Finally, “ if the Putnam family, Reverend Parris, and Lewis were out for revenge, they were about to get it” reveals that the accusers were clearly out for revenge on Nurse’s mother, and took it out on Nurse herself over a family controversy (Shanzer 51). Clearly, the reasons of why people were accused should be considered when discussing the fairness of these

trials.
In conclusion, some might say that these accusations were fair and that these people accused were guilty as charged. However, due to spectral evidence, false evidence, and the underlying reasons why some were accused, the accusations seem very disorganized and unfair. Since no one could see spectral evidence, the accusers could make all of it up. As the accusers started to confess to lying, it seems the accusations used false evidence in order to provide the accusers with fun and blame to others. Lastly, for all the people accused, it seemed to be out of a family or personal dispute or disagreement. However, this event in history has now helped us establish a better government, so at least one good thing came out of the trials. In the end, nothing about the trials were in the least bit on the side of the accused, as they were left recant and without any say in the matter. That is why the Salem Witch Trials were not fair.