The Consequences And Effects Of The Salem Witch Trials

The Salem Witch Trials has been argued as one of the most important and controversial topics in American history. The Salem Witch Trials concluded the war between faithful people and evil people, and brought the long awaited justice to Salem village. Different historians presented varying opinions about the consequences and effects of the Salem Witch Trials. Reverend Samuel Parris played a pivotal role in preaching Christianity as well as eradicating evil from Salem village at that time. Religion was enforced among the people of Salem village, which created dispute against church-members and the non-church members. Moreover, religion created social segregation and disunity existed between these two groups of people. When it was revealed that

An Indian slave named Tituba was the first perpetrator of witchcraft, who used to work in Samuel Parris’ house (Ray, “Satan’s War against the Covenant” 82). She was severely tortured and interrogated during her capture. At one stage of interrogation, Samuel Parris brutally assaulted her, which resulted her to confess about her involvement in witchcraft (Ray, “Satan’s War against the Covenant” 82). During her interrogation, she revealed the cause of Parris’ daughter, Betty, and his niece, Abigail Williams’ violent behavior. These accusations by Tituba led to arrests of other suspected witches named Sarah Goodman and Sarah Osborne. She told the magistrates that Goodman and Osborne, along with five other witches from Boston, held regular meetings inside Parris’ house and they were responsible for bewitching Samuel’s daughter and niece, resulting in their derogatory attitudes. She also confessed that she had been shown the devil’s book by the witch leader and furthermore, she was able to observe blood signatures of both Osborne and Goodman along with seven other witches in the book (Ray, “Satan’s War against the Covenant” 83). The confession of Tituba fueled a sudden increase in witchcraft accusations that encompassed Salem village and beyond. It was estimated that, about 65 percent of accusers were part of one or more convent churches. On a

The religious rules were set up for the purpose of strengthening the core Christian beliefs among the Salem villagers. One person who had a prominent contribution in the spread of Christianity throughout Salem village at that period was Reverend Samuel Parris. At that time, church membership was restricted to children whose at least one parents were in full spiritual union (Ray, “Satan’s War against the Covenant” 74). Most of the villagers who were wishing to be baptized did not fall under this constricting criteria, and thus most of them could not become a member of the church. As the church was not legally established between 1672 and 1689, it lacked an ordained minister, and thus most villagers were neither baptized nor communed (Ray, “Satan’s War against the Covenant” 75). Communion was restricted and in order to receive communion one must undergo elaborate procedures. After receiving communion, one was observed for one month, and if for any reasons one exhibited immoral character during that time, he was deprived of the privilege of communion and was permanently excluded from receiving baptism. They were also banned and disgraced from the church (Ray, “Satan’s War against the Covenant” 76). At first, the church did not differentiate between members and non-members and everyone was warmly welcomed to the church. But after the start of the Convent by Parris,