The Witch Trials
Throughout history millions
of people, eighty-percent of which were women, have been scorned, accused, arrested,
tortured, put to trial and persecuted as witch's. One would think that by the
time the United States was colonized these injustices on humanity would have
come to an end, but that was not so. In 1692, a major tragedy occurred in America,
the Salem Witch Trials.
The Salem Witch Trials weren't based as much on the Puritans and their God versus
Satan and his followers as it was on human greed, the greed of one man in particular.
Many people who opposed Samuel Parris, a Salem minister, were arrested as witches
(Boyer, 61). For Samuel Parris, the witch trials seemed like a convenient way
for him to be rid of his enemies. One of the first people accused of witchcraft
was Rebecca Nurse, "a deaf old woman whose family had for years been contending
with the Puritans (i.e. Parris) in a fight for land" (Levin, xiv). Rebecca
Nurse opposed Samuel Parris, and if she had been convicted of witchery she would
have lost her possessions, and Parris would have gotten the land. The greed
of Parris and his Church cost many people their dignity, possessions and lives.
The Salem Witchcraft incident began when two young girls, 11 year old Elizabeth
Parris, daughter of Samuel Parris, and her cousin Abigail Williams began to
behave oddly (Zeichner 1, 2). "They crawled under tables, uttered strange
sounds, and screamed that they were being tortured" (Boyer, 61). After
the fasting and prayer that had been recommended by Cotton Mather, who had treated
bewitched children in this way before, Samuel Parris and other ministers failed
to exorcise the demons (Levin, xiii), the "suspicion of Witchcraft soon
led to the arrest of three women" (Boyer, 61); women who happened to be
at odds in some way with Paris.
The three women accused of witchcraft were likely suspects. Tituba, a West Indian
woman and conjurer (Levin, xiv) who had been giving palmistry lessons to the
girls (Levin, xiii) and was Paris' slave, immediately confessed she, and the
others, were guilty (Salem, 84). Sarah Good was a "destitute, wizened,
pipe smoking hag" (Levin, xiv) who professed her innocence (Salem, 84).
Sarah Osborne had been suspected of immorality and had not been attending church
(Levin, xiv). She, too, claimed she was innocent (Salem, 84). Of the three women,
only Tituba confessed to being a witch, However, she confessed all three were
guilty.
The witchcraft trials were unfair and corrupt. Sir William Phips, the new England
Governor, established a special seven person jury (Zeichner 2, 31). Seven, the
one digit repeated three times (777) as a supposed counteraction to the devils
'666', and the same number as the Seven Mortal Sins, might have had some God-like
significance to him. "Jurors were drawn from a church membership list"
(Zeichner 2, 31). This no doubt assured their religious character and that they
would uphold morals. The chained defendants had no council (Zeichner 2, 31).
The accused never had a chance to prove they weren't conspiring with Satan.
They could only plead guilty, and be released, or innocent, and hung. "Women
who confessed to witchery were saved form the death penalty; those who claimed
their innocence were marched to the gallows" (Salem, 83).
Too many people were accused, let alone executed, as witches in 1692. The first
trial was scheduled for June second, 1692. Bridget Bishop was convicted and
sentenced to hang (Levin, xv). A brief delay followed Bridget Bishops testimony
because some judges were uneasy about the validity of spectral evidence--testimony
given by the witnesses about voices or apparitions perceived only by them. The
trial was resumed after several leading ministers advised the court that such
evidence might be used but only with 'exquisite caution' (Zeichner 1, 1). Bridget
Bishop, the first to be convicted (Zeichner 2, 31), was hanged, four other 'witches'
were hanged on July nineteenth, five more on August nineteenth, and eight more
on September twenty-second (Levin, xv). By September twenty-second the court
had tried and convicted twenty-seven persons. Nineteen people and two dogs were
hung, and one man, Giles Corey, was crushed to death by stones after refusing
to enter a plea of guilty or innocent to the witchcraft charge (Boyer, 61).
About fifty people had confessed, eleven were in prison awaiting trials, and
accusations had touched another 200 (Zeichner 1, 31). In the English colonies,
between 1650 and 1710 about 40 people were executed for witchcraft (Monter,
1). Half of the executions occurred in the famous Salem Witch Trials.
Finally, in September, 1692, people started wondering if they were doing the
right thing. The Witchcraft Trials of Salem Village have been described as "Americas
most notorious episode of witchcraft hysteria" (Zeichner 1, 1). The Salem
Witch Trials were the last witchcraft executions in America (Boyer, 61). The
trials stopped after Cotton Mather delivered a sermon arguing against the mass
convictions, and some clergy began to openly criticize spectral evidence. Governor
Phips, after several months of hesitation (Monter, 1), freed all those who were
in jail and the executions stopped (Zeichner 1, 1).
After eight months of terror, the Salem Witch Trials ended--but not until after
the loss of twenty-innocent people. Samuel Parris was led by his greed, and
some may feel the wrong people went to the gallows. Those who were different,
who didn't conform to societies incredibly strict standards, were declared witches
instead of being accepted as individuals. The trials scared people into admitting
they were someone they weren't, and were terrifying examples of corruption.
The twenty people (and two dogs) executed were twenty-two lives too many, and
action should have been taken sooner to stop the injustices. The Salem Witch
Trials were a major tragedy, and those killed are still being mourned today.
- Originaly posted at
The Salem Witchcraft Trials
of Salem Village, 1692
to find out more about the trials please visit there.
-Song Cursum Perficio by ENYA
seq. Rex Hermogino
available for download at ENYA
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