Research Paper On The Salem Witch Trials

Suzanne Wylie

Mrs. Hull

American History 1 Honors

10/1/2017

The Mystery of the Salem Witch Trials

Upon arriving 1692, Salem faced trial after trial that had destroyed their community. From having no governor, to not enough resources, to having to follow strict guidelines set by people with higher authority, it was a given something in Salem was bound to go wrong. The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692 and lasted for over six months. A total of two hundred people were accused for witchcraft and 19 people actually got convicted and executed, five of which were men. One man, Giles Corey, even got pressed to death because he refused to cooperate with the court. There’s no exact answer on why people started accusing other people of false accusations,

In 1692, Salem was divided into two parts, Salem Town and Salem Village. Salem Village wanted to separate from being under the rule of Salem Town because they got taxed, and because the town depended on the farmers for food. However, there was also a division between Salem Village into two groups such as the merchants and blacksmiths that lived closer to Salem Town, and the farmers who lived further away that believed their Puritan beliefs were being jeopardized. Reverend Samuel Parris was a major supporter of the Salem Witch Trials and made a huge difference when the village chose him as their new minister. He believed that the ways of the village were supporting the devil. Because of his impact, the two groups in Salem Village were now completely separated from each other. The people that were being accused of witchcraft lived closer to Salem Town than the people who were the accusers, who lived further away from the town. From this evidence, one can see that the bitterness between the village and the town was one major reason for the Salem Witch Trials. (Life in

John Winthrop was a Puritan and one of the leading founders in the Massachusetts Bay Colony who gave the speech “Model of Christian Charity” in 1630 while aboard the Arbella on the way to Salem. In this speech, Winthrop mentions many values and morals he believes people need to follow in order to survive. One value he mentions is that people should “rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together”. Winthrop is really explaining that he wants everyone to be one unit and believe the same things in terms of God. Anne Hutchinson, who was under the rule of Winthrop, held many meetings where she taught false information of the bible. Hutchinson gained a lead and eventually people who went to her meetings stopped attending church. This upset Winthrop because even though he strongly wanted people to follow the views of the Puritan beliefs, he moreso wanted people to view him as a leader. This is seen in the court trail between Anne Hutchinson and John Winthrop. Winthrop shows his need for being in charge when he says to Hutchinson “We see no rule of God for this. We see not that any should have authority to set up any other exercises besides what authority that hath already been set up…” From this quote, it is clear that even without Winthrop’s strong morals in play, his need for authority is evident by the way he addresses Hutchinson’s case. Because of the desire for