Reasons For The Salem Witch Trials

The Salem Witch trials in Massachusetts, 1692 have intrigued many. One wonder is what even made the witch trials commence at all? I can draw from the evidence provided to me, that several factors and considerations contributed to the trials. They include the blame that was passed from woman to woman, why the blame was passed on, rather than “confess” or proclaim innocence, and the social and economic differences between the east and west of the Salem village. The spread of blame is what seemed to ignite the flame of the Salem Witch trials. The blame seems to have started with three girls. One in particular was Abigail Williams, a young girl of about 12 years of age. She began to throw fits and acted as if she were crazy, attempting to run …show more content…
The only way to escape being hung after accused of witchcraft, was to confess guilt, real or not. Those who proclaimed innocence were most likely killed. If you did falsely proclaim that you were a witch, most people would name others who had “afflicted” them, so that it was not truly ever their fault. In this time of history, religion was very important. The truth was highly valued as one of these Puritanical traits. With these thoughts in mind, the author had to illustrate to the audience, the struggle between telling the truth and facing death, or telling a lie and blaming others in order to live. (Doc 3). However, not ALL were telling a lie. Witchcraft did exist, and was practiced mainly through psychogenic means, rather than the supernatural. Victims of witchcraft were hysterical and mentally ill. Often, their own fear led to their deaths. While puritanical truth was important, many women and men chose to “confess” to witchcraft in order to stay alive. Still, at least 12 people, if not more, could have saved themselves by turning traitorous to puritanical religion, and lied and passed the blame in order to survive. I believe the author 's purpose in writing this document was to show that not all of the Salem Witch Trials were extraterrestrial. Witchcraft did truly exist, and was not a made up story. Contrarily, the author professes that witchcraft was not used for supernatural …show more content…
While all of the Salem village may not have been large, there was a noticeable difference in social and economics between the east and west. The accused those who defended the accused were mainly in the eastern villages, and the accusers were mainly in the west. Through the map provided, it shows that there was no strong geographical division that could have possibly so far separated the two sides of the village. Instead, the author believes that the witchcraft accusations rouse from personal grudges, fights within or between families, and the socialness at work within the circle of girls who became the chief accusers. However, the author admits that due to the generalizations of the mapl it leaves out important details that could support other interpretations. The authors purpose of reading and analyzing Upham’s Map of Salem Massachusetts 1692, was to give the readers a more solid explanation of the Witch Trials. All the other theories and reasonings seem fairly correct, but can not be exactly measured out. By use of this map, it is very plain to see the non-integration of the east and west. Also, the fact that there was no large geographical separation between the two sides lends support to the fact that the blame leading to the trials was most likely based on social and economic differences. With the map and the author’s analysis, it is easier to understand what possibly