Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

The harsh realities of life in the rural Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts generated from the aftermath of war with France in 1689. The people of Salem feared attacks from neighboring Native American tribes. Fear of catching the recent small pox epidemic flowed throughout the entire town. During the 14th century in Europe, people began to believe in the supernatural. Practicing the devil’s way was said to give certain humans the power to harm others in return for their loyalty. This wrongful practice began to spread throughout the world. Suspicion and resentment towards fellow neighbors and the fear of outsiders caused an outbreak known as the Salem Witch Trials.
In 1692, Elizabeth Paris and Abagail Williams became ill. Elizabeth

Paris was the daughter of Reverend Samuel Paris. Abagail was the Reverends niece. The two very young girls began having outburst and throwing fits. The outburst turned into throwing things around the room, crawling underneath furniture, and hollering strange words that were not understandable. The doctor of the small Salem Village was called in to examine the girls. The doctor described the girl’s fits as beyond the power of epileptic fits or any known natural diseases. Dr. William Griggs diagnosed the girls with bewitchment. After the diagnoses of Abagail Williams and Elizabeth Paris, other girls from the Salem Village began to experience similar symptoms. People of the village began praying and fasting in order to get the devil’s influence out of Salem. Johnathon Corwin and John Hathorne pressured the girls into telling the truth as to why they were bewitched. The girls confessed that three women had afflicted them.
Sometime towards the end of February, arrest warrants were issued towards the three women who afflicted witchery on Elizabeth Paris and Abagail Williams. The first woman, went by the name of Tituba. Tituba was a slave woman who confessed to seeing the devil. Tituba claimed that the devil appeared to her “sometimes like a hog and others like a dog”. She also confessed that a conspiracy of witches filled the village of Salem. The second woman was Sarah Good who was a homeless beggar and the third was Sarah Osborne, an elderly impoverished woman.
March 1, 1692 all three women were sent in and interrogated for several days.

Both Sarah Good and Osborne claimed their innocence, but Tituba confessed. The women were thrown into jail and for months after, several accusations were made. Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse were both known as an upstanding member of the church and community, until they were accused of witchery. Even Sarah Good’s four-year-old daughter, Dorothy, was questioned and suspected of being a witch. Her answers were given as evidence to the magistracy. By May of 1692, the number of cases grew by the dozens. Governor William Phipps setup a special court and trial system to determine whether the accused were innocent or guilty.
The first person to go trial was Bridget Bishop. The girls accused her of hurting them physically and trying to make them sign a pact with the devil. During her trial, she repeatedly told the judge as defense to herself that she was innocent. Bishop said, “I know nothing of it, I have done no witchcraft…I am as innocent as the child unborn”. By the end of her trail, she was found guilty and convicted of witchery. Bridget Bishop was hung on June 10, 1692 at Gallows Hill. She is known as the first official victim of the Salem Witch

Trials.
After the execution of Bridget Bishop, Rebecca Nurse was next to go to trial.

She was arrested. Following her arrest, many members of the community signed a petition for her to be released. She was looked upon as a well-respected member of the community. The petition failed and on July 19th Rebecca Nurse was found guilty and then executed. After her execution, the people of the community began to question the actual truth behind the trials. A total of five more people were hung in July. John Proctor’s third wife, Elizabeth, was also accused of witchcraft. When John began to defend his beloved wife, the community and authorities began to point fingers. John’s former server, Mary Warran, told the magistrates that Proctor had beaten her for putting up a prayer bill. She then accused him of making her touch the devil’s book. The Proctor’s were sent to trial on August 5, 1962. They were found guilty and sentenced to death. John Proctor was hung on August 19, 1962. Elizabeth was pregnant at the time. She was granted reprieve until after she gave birth to her baby.
Another person who was accused of witchcraft was John Alder Jr. The accusations were made by a child. John Alder Jr. was passing through Salem while on his way to his hometown of Boston. The child spotted John Alder Jr. accused him of witchery. John was arrested and put in jail for 15 weeks. A few of his close friends bailed him out and he escaped to New York where he was later found innocent. By the end of August, five

more people were executed for witchcraft. In September, eight more “witches” were hung as punishment. Seven other accused “witches” died in jail.
In addition to those who were accused of witchcraft, there was the elderly Giles Corey. Giles was arrested, but refused to plea guilty or not guilty. On September 17th, Sheriff George Corwin took Giles to a pit in an open field beside the jail. His plan was to pressure Giles into a confessing. He stripped Giles naked and forced him to lay on the ground. Sheriff George then placed boards on Giles’ chest. The boards did not make Giles confess. Sheriff George then ordered men to place large, heavy stones onto Giles stomach. Stones were placed one by one. Two days later, Giles was asked again if he would like to plead innocent or guilty to witchcraft. Each time he was asked, he replied “more weight”. Giles was fed three mouthfuls of bread and water during the many hours of pressure and pain. Finally, Giles cried out “more weight” a final time and died. Many towns people and witnesses said that Giles cursed Sheriff George Corwim and the entire town of Salem before he died.