The Effects Of The Salem Witch Trials

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Recommended: Historical analysis of the salem witch trials

The Salem Witch Trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed for this. Eventually, the town admitted the trials were a mistake and repayed the families of those killed in this horrible scenario. Since then, the story of the trials has become crazy with Satanism and injustice, and it continues to baffle the imagination of our generation more than 300 years later. Several centuries ago, many practicing Christians, and those of other religions, had a strong belief that the Devil could give certain people known as witches the power to harm others in return for their loyalty. A "witchcraft craze" ran through Europe from the 1300s to the end of the 1600s. Tens of thousands of supposed witches (mostly women) were executed. Though the Salem trials came on just as the craze was winding down, the Salem Witch trials sparked them up again. Social pressure had to have affected the Salem witch trials just because of the citizens of Salem, just most of the characteristics of the people aren’t too good. It is as if because they did not have much to do during their time they turned to lying and treason. There are other possibilities on why the Salem Witch trials happened. In the village of Salem in 1692, Betty Parris, age 9, and her cousin Abigail Williams, age 11, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris, fell victim to what was recorded as fits "beyond the power of Epileptic Fits or natural disease to effect," according to John Hale, minister in Beverly, in his book “A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft”. The girls screamed, threw things about the room, uttered strange sounds, crawled under furniture, and contorted themselves into... ... middle of paper ... ...the consequences. At first she lied to not be accused of being a witch herself and continued to lie to keep people believing her original lie. If she had told the truth eventually she would most likely be severely punished. As it is shown most of the things that happened in Salem was because of social pressure. Abigail had to lie because she was scared of society and she began to bring other girls into this craze and got her and them into deep lies they could not get out of. It would be a reasonable statement to say that the girls were pressured into doing it by Abigail and once they were in it there was no getting out of this lie. Society had a big say on who was accused as witches, like the people who did not go to church were to be seen as people that could work with the devil. This was my interpretation on social pressure in society (Salem Witch Trials Edition).

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