The Main Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials

The events that took place in Salem in 1692 are a part of a greater pattern throughout our history to persecute innocent people, especially women, as "witches." According to the history channel there was a story where three young women were accused of witchcraft. They were brought in front of the magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne who questioned them. on the day of the trial the accusers were screaming and withering in pain yet two of the three withes pled not guilty . While the last women pled guilty likely thinking that she would save herself from conviction by ratting out the other people.

Human Flaws in Arthur Miller's The Crucible Many of the characters in Arthur Miller's The Crucible have specific human flaws that cause the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem villagers exhibit failings, including greed, vengeance, and fear, which eventually lead to the downfall of their town. Many villagers, especially Abigail Williams, take advantage of the opportunity to seek vengeance on others through the trials. Greed for power and land often holds precedence when the hysteria takes over. Fear of being arrested or put to death is the key motivation in turning others in as witches.

Not only was this found in this novel, but it is also featured in The Crucible. In Arthur Miller’s play, hysteria is present through to the end. It is very evident that it is “contagious.” When one of the girls saw someone hurting them, the rest of them imagined it as well. When one of them started to call out names of the witches, the rest in excitement would too start calling out names. It served as a way to cover up, as it was concluded at the end of Salem witch trials that there was

Before the Salem Witch Trials even began there were still accusations of witchcraft being made starting with Margaret Jones in 1648 but no one had ever confessed before, giving the town officials/judges nothing no evidence that witchcraft existed ("The Salem Witch Trials: Facts & History"). What the main cause of the Salem Witch Trials was believed to be was Tituba when she confessed to witchcraft. This community was highly religious and had a strong fear of Satan, as mentioned above, therefore when Tituba confessed that she as well as others were witches working for Satan, it caused mass hysteria and caused the massive witch hunt to begin ("The Salem Witch Trials: Facts & History"). Before Tituba confessed there had been no proof that witchcraft existed, however, after she did this led to a witch hunt due to the belief that there could be more “witches” out there causing destruction to the

During the period of the witch trials, it became an opportunistic time for residents of Salem to have revenge on those who they abhor. Many used this opportunity to accuse others of witchcraft whether they were guilty or otherwise, in order to satisfy their own personal interests. Long enduring disputes were finally settled during this hysteric crisis, in which scant evidence was necessary for conviction. Since the institution of the witch trials, "Old scores could be settled on a plane of heavenly combat between Lucifer and the Lord" (Miller 1237). Overall, vengeance fueled the fire of retaliation in Salem during this period of witchcraft trials.

Assumptions were made hysteria had set in fear had begun to rise, blame was being placed, and the blackest most sinful secrets of the accused came alive and posted on the churches door for everybody to see. So, how does an un-yielding container that is able to heat substances to high temperatures relate to the Salem Witch trial? The witch hunt in many people’s opinions is a melting pot in which the lives of those who lived in Salem during the witch hunt started to melt into one large catastrophe because of the horror that was going on around them and the many people that the villagers knew that had been affected or the villagers that had been affected themselves during the hangings.

People who were considered to be their friends or neighbors were turning on them accusing them of witchcraft. This event caused problems with trust and paranoia between many people. Turns out that the Salem Witch Trials were just a hoax after all. The mass hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials began in early 1692. The trials initiated with young girls behaviors being out of the ordinary.

From that point on many people were accused of being a witch and were killed. This occurred for many different reasons; either they were hanged for their crimes, crushed by stones for refusing to stand trial on their cases, or from waiting in the jail for so long before their case came up. As people began to investigate the Salem Witch Trials further they came up with two explanations; either the people of Salem were begin acted through by the devil or

The law system was unfair during the trials, so when or if someone was accused the court would side with the accuser, unless of course, they were a witch themselves. In conclusion, the people who died and who were accused of witchcraft were not really witches, Salem and it’s inhabitants were under the influence of mass hysteria, personal beliefs and grudges that eventually became the chaos of the Salem witch hunts of

Several centuries ago, many practicing Christians, and those of other religions, had a strong belief that the Devil could give certain people known as witches the power to harm others in return for their loyalty. A "witchcraft craze" ran through Europe from the 1300s to the end of the 1600s. Tens of thousands of supposed witches (mostly women) were executed. Though the Salem trials came on just as the craze was winding down, the Salem Witch trials sparked them up again. Social pressure had to have affected the Salem witch trials just because of the citizens of Salem, just most of the characteristics of the people aren’t too good.