Salem Witch Trials

Beginning in 1621 Puritans moved from England to settle in the American colonies, particularly in the area of New England. Their goal was to create communities centered around the church to support their Christian way of life. Interpreting God's word through the Bible defined life within Puritan communities. By the late 1600s this pious way of life was being affected by outside influences.

The pursuit of witches

In Massachusetts in early 1692, a circle of young girls began to meet in the Salem Village home of a local Puritan pastor, Samuel Parris (1653–1720). Parris had a slave, Tituba. She shared with the girls voodoo-like tales and rituals from her native West Indies. Voodoo was an unwritten religious faith from western Africa that came to the Americas with captured slaves.

Some of the girls began to behave strangely, complaining of physical maladies, visions, and trembling, and babbling without restraint. The girls said their behavior was caused by Tituba and two other village women who practiced witchcraft upon them. Mysterious ailments among the Puritans were normally attributed to the work of the devil, and the incident sparked a determined effort to rid the village of evil influences.

The community's immediate response was to look to the Bible for guidance. Finding a statement that witches should not be allowed to live, their duty became clear. Two assistants of the Massachusetts General Court were called upon to conduct an investigation. Though many villagers

were skeptical of the girls' claims, Tituba confessed her own connection with the devil, implicating the two other women in the process. The three were sent to prison.

More accusations

More accusations came almost immediately. It seemed to many that the devil was actively destroying their community. The Massachusetts Governor's Council set up a special court of seven judges to handle the problem.

The judges heard testimony that included “spectral evidence,” testimony by accusers that they had seen menacing specters, or spirits, resembling the accused witches. Because only a victim could see such a specter, such testimony had been rejected as evidence in past court cases. Accepting it in the Salem witch trials allowed testimony that could neither be supported nor refuted by investigation.

Over the course of 1692, 156 people were accused of witchcraft. Considering confessions as signs of repentance, the courts were more lenient with those who volunteered stories of dealing with the devil. Knowing that persistent denials were not believed, many confessed and implicated others in the process. Few of the staunch Puritans were willing to betray their morality by lying to save their lives. Twenty were sentenced to death.

By the time the twentieth accused witch was executed, public opinion no longer supported the trials. Many were being accused whom no one could believe guilty. Court procedures seemed to be aggravating the problem rather than alleviating it. Ministers from outside Salem expressed concern about spectral evidence and the continuing trials. Finally the governor dismissed the special court at the end of 1692.

The general court continued to hear cases through early 1693, but without admitting spectral evidence. Forty-nine of the fifty-two trials were immediately dismissed for lack of evidence. The governor soon gave reprieve to the others and all remaining prisoners were discharged.

Lingering effects

Citizens were relieved to return to a more normal life. In the following years many accusers repented, clearing the names of those they had accused of witchcraft. In 1709 and 1711 the Massachusetts General Court restored the good names of the accused and awarded financial compensation to families of those who had been executed. By taking responsibility the accusers and the Massachusetts authorities helped to prevent future hysteria and witchcraft trials.