Salem, Massachusetts

1
Salem Witch Trials

• Salem, Massachusetts
• 1692

2
Why Salem Still Haunts Us

• Fascination with Witches
• A Stain on American History
• How Could an Entire Community Engage in Such
  Horrific Acts?
• 140 people accused of practicing witchcraft
• Twenty accused witches executed.

3
Salemthe Village History

• 1630 John Winthrop is elected the first
  governor.
• A Model of Christian Charity
• City of a Hill
• 1641 English law makes witchcraft a capital
  crime.
• November, 1689 Samuel Parris is named the new
  minister of Salem, and Salem Village Church is
  formed.

4
In Times of Hardship Can we watch each other
without judging each other?

• In times of hardship, in tight knit communities,
  people began to look for people to blame for
  their problems. People believed that witches had
  a secret pact with the devil
• Hardships Blamed on Witches
• Failed crops
• The death of livestock
• People becoming ill
• Sudden accidental death

5
Puritan Life
Society centered around the church. The younger
generation did not share the same strict
religious views.
6
Strange Behavior

• In January of 1692, a group of girls in Salem
  Village, MA began to exhibit strange behavior
• blasphemous screaming
• convulsive seizures
• trance-like states
• mysterious spells.
• Physicians concluded that only the influence of
  Satan could be responsible for the girls
  afflictions.
• Pressured to identify the source of their
  affliction, the girls named three women as
  witches.

7
Causes for the Girls Actions

• Witchcraft
• Jealousy
• Repression
• Hysteria
• Guilt
• Boredom

8
Map of Salem
Can any deductions be made from this map?
9
Characteristics of Witch Trials

• Pressure of Social Forces
• Stigmatization of the Accused
• Climate of Fear
• Resemblance to a Fair Trial
• Simulated Evidence/Expert Testimony

10
Why the hysteria ended

• Doubts grow when respected citizens are convicted
  and executed.
• Accusations of witchcraft include the powerful
  and well-connected.
• The educated elite of Boston pressure Gov. to
  exclude spectral evidence

11
(No Transcript)
12
What Would You Do?

1. Flee Salem
2. Accuse someone else.
3. Confess, even though you are innocent.
4. Plead innocent and stand for trial.
5. Refuse to stand trial and face the consequences.