The Salem Witch Trials: An Important Historical Conflict

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The Salem Witch Trials was an important historical conflict. It pitted Puritans against
those they feared and otherwise disagreed with, oftentimes based on false accusations. They
began in 1692 and lasted until 1693. Over the course of one year, 141 people were imprisoned,
19 executed, and 2 killed. The Trials shook the foundations of families and Salem Village itself.
There are many modern day cases of “witch hunts” that can trace their origins to the Salem
Witch Trials. Thus, while the Salem Witch Trials ended with financial compensation, amnesty,
and apologies to the survivors, preventing further conflict there, it will not prevent all conflict
when certain elements of society disagree with or fear others.
A contributing factor to the start …show more content…

That meant that Puritan New England had to let Quakers and Anglicans 1
and other people they did not like worship freely. Prior to this act only people of specific
denominations got to vote in elections in most of the colonies, so the Toleration Act was a
political and religious issue. Essentially, there were a lot of Puritans in Massachusetts being
forced to accept the political rights of people they had previously rejected and the crown exerted
more influence over the colony.
In 1692, a witch was defined as anyone who performed “witchcraft.” Witchcraft ranged
from causing sickness and seizures to outright control over someone else and any other behavior
or act that was not liked or scared people. Many, if not all, accusations were completely false.
The most popular reason why someone was accused or convicted was because they were not

1
“Toleration Act” 2016

well liked or jealousy came into play. One person was even accused of witchcraft by another
because they were sarcastic. Clearly, ignorance influenced accusations. 2
As stated earlier, Salem Village was largely led by the Puritans. Salem Village was a very
religious place. Puritan children could not run, shout, or enjoy themselves, according to the …show more content…

He was told that the justices were
very fair minded.17

Judges also thought that the Salem Witch Trials were improving Salem
Village by flushing out the unclean and the unholy. Corey and his wife attended the pre-trial
examinations, but his wife started to see how unfair the trials were. She tried to keep Corey home
by “hiding his riding saddle so he could not attend. ” Rumors began circulating that Corey’s 18
wife was a witch. Giles Corey even testified against her, saying that their ox spontaneously 19
contracted an illness and she knelt in front of the fireplace late at night and did not say a word for
hours. These two statements prove how absurd and ridiculous most of the “evidence” was at the 20
time. Corey was then also accused of witchcraft. He refused to enter a plea of guilty or not 21
guilty. To get the truth out of him, large rock plates were laid on his chest to press the story out
of him. (According to Samuel Sewall’s diary entry on the 19th of September.) He died after three
days of torture. This shows that no one was safe from accusations of witchcraft, not even the
most prominent judges.
Another prominent man in these times was a minister named Cotton Mather. He was

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