An event took place in Massachusetts from February 29 to September 22 in the year of 1692. In those seven months, according to Campbell (2007), 185 people were accused of witchcraft; of those 185 people, 141 were women and 44 were men; of those accused, 52 women and 7 men were tried; of those tried, 26 women and 5 men were convicted; of those convicted, 14 women and all 5 men were executed by way of hanging. Linder (2007) has noted that one man was pressed to death and two dogs were executed. It was believed that the dogs were accomplices of witches. Witchcraft was considered the motive to generate these executions, but evidence shows that social differences may have been the true cause. Those who break the boundaries set up by society run the risk of being persecuted and having their livelihood destroyed, just as that which had been experienced during the time of the Salem Witch Trials.
Many factors led up to the witch hunts in Salem, Massachusetts in the year of 1692. Some of these key factors included feuds, economical differences, teenage boredom, and intolerance. Linder (2007) points out that there were two major families competing for control of the village and its pulpit, the Putnams and the Porters. Salem’s economics were based on agriculture and sea trade. Linder (2007) wrote that Salem Village, a smaller part of Salem, which was agriculture-based, wanted independence from the main part of Salem, which was the center of sea trade. In Salem Village, idle teenagers sought a way to entertain themselves, even though later, that entertainment would be the cost of innocent lives. According to Sutter (2003), it has been suggested that a combination of boredom, financial stress, and experimenting with witchcraft led to the provocation for certain citizens of Salem to be accused of being witches. Linder (2007) shows that the majority of the accused were considered well off, as compared to the accusers, who were less fortunate and stood to gain property from the convictions of those accused of being witches. According to Sutter (2003), many of those accused supported Minister George Burroughs while families that included the accusers supported Minister Samuel Parris and played a major role in charging Burroughs with being a wizard. With such factors playing into Salem’s society and causing such tense emotions, it would take but one suggestion against the norms of that society to put the population into a state of hysteria. When hysteria hits a society, individuals react by choosing a side. In Salem, this action was set in motion with the accusing words of bored teenagers. Whether or not they intended these words to create such hysteria in their society is uncertain, but the harm that their words caused would remain an example of how accusations could destroy the lives of many people. Thus began the change of many lives in the form of the Salem witch trials.
At the beginning of the witch hunts, the first to be accused were persecuted based on their differences, whether it was relative to religion or to their station in life. Later the persecutions would be used to keep outspoken citizens of the town in line. According to Linder (2007), Tituba, a native of Barbados, was a servant of the newcomer Minister Parris’ household. Tituba would teach young teenage girls how to read fortunes and would tell them stories about witches and magic. Unfortunately, Tituba’s own words and teachings would be the tools used in accusing her of being a witch. Her confession of using witchcraft would be her deliverance from hanging. According to Sutter (2003), at the end of the witch trials, Tituba was released and later sold to pay off her debts. Sutter (2003) wrote that Sarah Good was a beggar who would shelter at the benevolence of others. It was said that when she was refused shelter or paid no alms, she would mutter unintelligible words which were believed to have been curses. Linder (2007) also pointed out that Sarah Good’s four year-old daughter, Dorcas, was also accused of being a witch. One of the teenage girls had accused Dorcas of biting her which led to Dorcas’ imprisonment for eight months where she suffered at having to witness her mother being taken to the gallows to be executed. An interesting fact which Sutter (2003) has shown us, is that, at Sarah Good’s hanging, Reverend Nicholas Noyes asked her to confess being a witch, and she responded, “I am no more a witch than you are a wizard and if you take away my life, God will give you blood to drink.” Twenty-five years later, Reverend Nicholas Noyes died of hemorrhage, which had caused him to choke to death on his own blood. According to Sutter (2003), Sarah Osborn was another who was persecuted based on the fact that she was a very quarrelsome old woman who had not attended church in over a year which was considered a sin to the Puritans. Sutter (2003) wrote that Sarah Osborn was arrested and put in jail. She later died of natural causes while still in jail. Many were also persecuted for speaking out against the trials. According to Linder (2007), Martha Corey was accused by Ann Putnam for afflicting her, after the fact that Martha had spoken out loud that she did not believe the young accusers. The fact that Martha did not attend church regularly and had a mulatto child from a previous relationship also caused her to be profiled as a witch. Linder (2007) informs his readers that Martha’s husband, Giles, spoke out against the accusations of his wife, calling the accusers liars, causing him to become the next target in the persecutions. Linder (2007) has written that Giles received the punishment of being pressed by stones for refusing to stand trial. Sutter (2003) has noted that Martha Corey and eight others were executed three days after her husband’s death and were the last of the accused to be executed during this horrific event.
Sutter (2003) points out that it had been suggested that the execution of Giles, which was viewed by the spectators as horrific, and the fact that Minister George Burroughs had been able to recite a prayer word for word, which was believed to have been impossible if he was truly a witch, were two key factors in stopping the witch hunts. When the witch trials ended, there were still hard times awaiting both the accused and the accusers. Many who had been accused of witchcraft remained in jail long after the trials were over. According to Sutter (2003), those in jail were not allowed to be released until either they or their families were able to pay for their debts. Those who had been accused of witchcraft also had their land confiscated by the state, leaving them homeless and having to find a place to start over once more. Sutter (2003) also points out that those who had accused others had spent so much time attending the trials that their land was left unattended. It would be many years to come before the town of Salem would be able to build the abundance of their agriculture back to what it had once been. Sutter (2003) informs his readers that the Essex County Court declared that the Salem Village committee was derelict in its duties; therefore a new election was to take place on January 15, 1693. The fact that the Parris family had played a large role in accusing innocent people of being witches caused the newly elected committee to be anti-Parris. According to Sutter (2003), the minister brought in to replace Reverend Parris was Joseph Green, who worked hard in restoring the community’s faith. He would have the accusers sit next to the accused when in church. This action was believed to have caused a healing among the community and for the accused to be accepted back into the church. Sutter (2003) informs us that in an attempt to atone for the murder of innocent people, the town held a day of fasting and prayer for forgiveness on January 13, 1697.
Society sets up boundaries in a community to unite its members, but what may pass as acceptable in society can go against what life considers a balance of nature. Take the case of Martha Corey. She spoke in defense of those being accused and at that time, society was encouraged to remain silent or take the risk of being accused of being a witch. In her heart, Martha knew what was taking place in her community was wrong, decided to overcome her fear, and spoke out against the accusers. It may have seemed that her words died when she was hung, but it was the actions of the people like her that caused to community members to start questioning what was taking place. We can stand and watch injustices take place or we can survive as nature intended and go against that which unnaturally confines and kills us.
References
Campbell, Donna, 2007. “The Salem witch trials.” Literary movement. Retrieved May
10, 2008, from http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/witch.htm
Linder, Douglas, 2007. The Salem witch trials of 1692. Retrieved April 27, 2008, from
http://www/law.umkc.edu/ faculty/projects/trials/salem/SALEM.HTM
Sutter, Tim, 2000-2003. Salem witchcraft: the events and causes of the Salem witch
trials. Retrieved April 27, 2008, from http://www.salemtrialfacts.com/
salemwitchcraft.html
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