Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

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The Salem Witchcraft trials in late 17th century New England was an event where many accused people were killed or imprisoned. This outbreak of witches occurred very quick and rapidly affected the Salem area. Many people began to question each other and their religious values. The town that was built in Gods liking has slowly strayed away from him and acts of Satan are seen more frequently which witchcraft was considered. As this newly found area began to grow, many factors occurred caused the trials and the massive accusation of witches in New England. One of the first obvious causes of the Salem Witch trials was the girls of the Parris household, who first began accusing other villagers as witches, may have been acting in the court room. As Puritan children, the girls who made the accusations had no childhood. The girls spent their days studying the Bible and doing house work. The girls started acting as if they were being victimized…show more content…
As accusations of Salem villagers began to increase, the accused would be placed in trial in front of a council of judges. The accused hands were on those of the judges. They have the power to execute any person who was seen as a witch. Depending on evidence these men would sentence people however was necessary for their witchcraft crime. At the beginning of the trials many people were executed and weren’t given a chance to live. This began to be questioned frequently by the people of Salem. In every case, evidence is all that is needed for any person to be found guilty as a witch. In Godbeer’s book he states “To convict someone on charges of witchcraft, the accusers had to produce clear evidence of guilt that corresponded with the law’s definintion of witchcraft”. But they also worked tirelessly to get the accused witches to tell of other witches and what the source of their witchcraft

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