The Justification of the Salem Witch Trials
In 1692, Salem, Massachusets, was ripped apart. One may reply and ask, “How?” and
another may answer, “The Salem Witch Trials.” The Salem Witch Trials was a very
historic event that displayed the impact of Puritanism in the commuity of the Salem village
and the fear that the residents had of outsiders. Through the events that happened during
the Salem Witch Trials, the accusations of people and the process used to prove that these
people were witches was not justified.
The Salem Witch Trials started after a group of young girls said that they were possessed
by the devil and accused many women of witchcraft. The belief that some people were
given humans power to harm others as they were practicing the “devil’s work” was known
as witchcraft. (History.com Staff)
There were many different causes for the possiblity of an outbreak of witchcraft in Salem.
During this time, there were beliefs that Satan recruited witches and wizards to work for
him. People were believed to also be affected by witchcraft if they displayed certain
symptoms, but during this time, there were many cases of poor events. Smallpox was a
fatal disease that took over Salem, there was congregational disagreement within the
Salem village, and there was tension and wars with the neighboring Indians which caused
the people of Salem to believe that the devil was present. Teenage boredom added to the
causes of the Salem Witch Trials as children were forced to complete a lot of Bible
reading. Another reason to why people thought the devil was active was by the false
descriptions that Tituba provided. (Linder)
Tituba was an Indian slave that was accused of witchcraft. She helped to take care of
Reverend Samuel Parris’s household and his daughter, Betty. Betty suffered from teenage
boredom and the strict and humorless atmosphere that the Parris household held. Tituba
made herself an easy target for being accused of witchcraft when Betty was falsifying
strange behavior and participated in a “witchcake” that would reveal the identity of
someone that was hurting Betty. Once Parris found out about this cake and Betty’s
behavior, he beat Tituba until she falsely confessed that she was a witch. During an
examination of Tituba, Tituba made up a story about how the devil was telling her what to
do and named other witches as well. She said that she saw four women hurt the children,
