Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

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The Salem Witch trials began during the spring of 1962, after a group of young girls in Salem village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witch craft. During the time of the trials, the society was heavily dependent on religion. Once the local women were accused of witchcraft – which was against the puritan religion – the community had no choice but to send them to trial, which led to death for many of them. The Salem witch crisis was believed to be caused by the presence of the devil and his book. It was said that the devil stalked New England as a dog, a horse, and a black-skinned man. Although it was said that the devil stalked New England in many ways, his physical book may have influenced the accused. The accused women had all signed their name in the devil’s volume and were desperate for others to join them in damnation. The first reference to the book was March 2, 1962 during a second examination of the first accused woman, Tituba. Tituba confessed to partaking in acts of witchcraft and had made a covenant with the devil. She claimed that a man had appeared to her and told her he was God. In exchange for faith and six years of service, he promised to give her many fine things and one Friday morning he…show more content…
Accusations ranged from local women to people who held high positions within the church, each accused individual was arrested and put through the legal progress of trial. The trails concluded with 20 deaths. Nineteen individuals died by hanging, and one was pressed to death. For the time following the tragedy of the trials the people of Massachusetts were collectively repentant. In December 1696, governor William Stoughton asked the people of the colony to participate in a day of fasting and prayers. In October of 1711 the Massachusetts colonial government decided to compensate the victim’s families with monetary

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