What Are The Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials Dbq

In the small town of Salem, the year of 1692, people were being inaccurately accused as witches by people they did not know. The Salem witch trial hysteria of 1692 may have been caused due to a combination of a civil war and the intention to cause a stir. There were at least three causes of the Salem witch trial hysteria. These were economic status, girls acting as if been affected by witchcraft, and a combination of gender and age.
One cause of the witch trial hysteria was economic status. According to historian Paul Boyer, the eastern half of Salem was prosperous and gained political influence, whereas the western half was poorer and lost political power (Doc. E). Many of the accused witches were on the eastern half, while the accusers were

on the western half. The accusers were far away from most accused witches, and the defenders were closer to the accused. This evidence helps explain the hysteria and the hangings because it shows that the accusers may have not even known the accused. Maybe the accusers met up and had a plan to get rid of certain people. They might have been jealous of the accused power and strength.
Moreover, another cause of the witch trial hysteria was that the accusers may have been acting as if they had been affected by witchcraft to execute the accused. Samuel Parris, a father of a family whose slave had been accused of witchcraft, recorded Bridget Bishop’s examination. He may have been biased because his family slave Tituba pleaded guilty for practicing witchcraft, so just because he said that the girls were having abnormal responses to Bishop’s trial, does not mean that it actually happened. Additionally, Charles Upham, a 19th century historian, mayor of Salem, and part of the House of Representatives stated that the girls were acting. “They soon… became intoxicated… by the terrible success of their imposture (acting),” (Doc. D). He believed that because of the blindness of their bewildered community, most of the girls were not caught in the act. “There can be no doubt that they were great actors,” (Doc. D). There might have been a small group of accusers that felt like their society was in a weak position, so they took advantage. This might have become a trend and a couple of other people might have caught on. This evidence helps explain the hysteria and the hangings because Samuel Parris wrote down evidence that made Bridget Bishop look suspicious. Charles W. Upham may have had a broader and unbiased view so his account is more reliable. Upham’s explanation makes more sense because it corroborates with other pieces of evidence such as Document E.
Furthermore, another cause of the witch trial hysteria would be the age group and gender of the accusers and the blamed. The people that were accused were mainly married, female, and were 41-60 years old (Doc. B). Most of the accusers were single women whose age ranged from 16-20 years old. As Upham said, they might have gotten carried away in childish activities. Since most of the targets were older women who were married, they would stay in their homes. The accusers might have seen that staying at home may look suspicious and is a good piece of evidence at court, so older women may have been targeted. The accusers may have seen that everyone was worried about everyone other than themselves being a witch and Salem was economically unstable, so they may have gotten carried away with their plans.
Additionally, there may be other causes to help explain the hysteria such as, hallucinogens like LSD could have been mixed in the grain supply. The hallucinogens may have been triggered by Indian raids (Background Essay). Yet, the fact that Salem was economically diverse and a couple of ladies may have seen the faults in their system, seems more likely to trigger the Salem witch trials.