The Salem Witch Trials

There is no single answer to this question, but there are a few contributing factors that we can observe. The first is that a Puritanical philosophy often involves interpreting the Bible quite...

The suspicion of witchcraft began in 1692. Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, both young girls, began having fits that involved convulsions, contortions, and uncontrollable screaming. A doctor was...

Nonconformity played a major role in who was under suspicion during the Salem Witchcraft Trials. One of the better-known victims of the hysteria was Sarah Good. Sarah was married to a day-laborer...

There is not going to be an immediate and direct impact with the trials and the connection to Native Americans.  The trials were so domestic and inwardly driven, shaking Salem to its very...

The Salem Witch Trials historically led to a heightened sense of paranoia and injustice in colonial America, influencing legal procedures and emphasizing the importance of due process. In modern...

Not only could the kind of mass hysteria that resulted in the Salem Witch Trials occur again, many Americans would argue that it already has.  When playwright Arthur Miller was writing “The...

During the Salem witch trials, it wasn't hard to get accused of witchcraft. Many suspicions centered around people who did not fit into Puritan society in ways that were considered appropriately...

The Salem Witch Trials in 1692–1693 stemmed from prejudice against marginalized groups. A slave from the West Indies, Tituba, was accused first. Another accused was Sarah Good, a beggar who smoked...

I think that you could make several arguments as to why the Salem Witch Trials were important to the democratic emergence in America.  The first would be one of the lessons of the...

What has American society learned from the Salem witch trials of 1692? Answering this question is problematic as it is doubtful that history is well understood by most Americans. And without an...

The title Escaping Salem suggests that Salem was not the only place that persecuted witches during the colonial period.  Godbeer examines another instance of a witch hunt in...

The contemporary significance and continued study of the Salem Witch Trials lie in their lessons about the dangers of mass hysteria, scapegoating, and the importance of due process. They serve as a...

The Puritans were a religious group that emerged from the religious turmoil of the Reformation. King Henry VIII of England led the country out of Catholicism in the sixteenth century, and the...

The significance of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 remain a memorable and highly significant event in American history for what they foretold about the fragility of society in the face of a...

The Salem Witch Trials occurred in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Life in Salem at this time was very peculiar and different for each person involved. First, Salem itself was an odd village compared...

The behavior of the girls accused of witchcraft in Salem was very strange indeed. No one had ever seen anything quite like it. The girls would scream blasphemous insults against God—scandalous to...

Salem and several nearby communities were founded as Puritan settlements by those seeking freedom from religious persecution in Europe. Puritans were a very plain, strict Christian denomination...

It is fair to say that religion played a major role in the Salem Witch Trials. A majority of people in Salem were Puritans and believed in the existence of evil. The Puritan way of life was derived...

The main problem in the Salem Witch Trials was that the crime with which the defendants were charged does not exist. Therefore, it was impossible to hold a fair trial or to prove guilt or innocence.