The Salem Witch Trials: America's Dark Chapter

Introduction: The New World's Old Evil

In 1692, a small Puritan village in Massachusetts became the site of America's most infamous witch hunt. Over nine months, Salem descended into hysteria: 200 people accused, 30 convicted, 19 hanged, 1 pressed to death, and 5 died in prison. The Salem witch trials were brief compared to European persecutions, but they revealed how quickly fear, religious extremism, and social tensions could turn neighbors into executioners.

Salem was not an isolated incident—it was the culmination of witch hunt culture transplanted to the New World. But it was also uniquely American: shaped by Puritan theology, frontier anxieties, Native American conflicts, and the rigid social hierarchies of colonial New England.

This is the sixth article in our Witch Hunts series. We now cross the Atlantic to examine America's dark chapter, the trials that shocked even the colonists, and the legacy that still haunts Salem today.

The Timeline: Nine Months of Madness

January-February 1692: The Beginning

The afflicted girls:

• Betty Parris (9 years old), daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris
• Abigail Williams (11), Parris's niece
• Ann Putnam Jr. (12)
• Others soon joined

Symptoms: Screaming, convulsions, contortions, claiming to be pinched and bitten by invisible forces

Diagnosis: Local doctor William Griggs declared them bewitched

February-March 1692: First Accusations

First three accused (February 29):

• Tituba: Enslaved woman from Barbados, worked in Parris household
• Sarah Good: Homeless beggar, pregnant
• Sarah Osborne: Elderly, ill, hadn't attended church

Pattern: All were social outcasts—enslaved, poor, or non-conforming

March-May 1692: Escalation

• More girls claimed affliction
• Accusations spread to respectable citizens
• Martha Corey (church member) accused
• Rebecca Nurse (71, pious, respected) accused
• Prisons filled with accused

June-September 1692: The Executions

June 10: Bridget Bishop hanged (first execution)

July 19: 5 hanged (Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe, Sarah Wildes)

August 19: 5 hanged (George Burroughs, John Proctor, John Willard, George Jacobs Sr., Martha Carrier)

September 19: Giles Corey pressed to death (refused to plead)

September 22: 8 hanged (final executions)

October 1692-May 1693: The End

• Governor William Phips's wife accused (too far)
• Spectral evidence banned
• Trials stopped
• Remaining prisoners released (May 1693)

The Accused: Who Were They?

Demographics

• Total accused: ~200
• Gender: 78% women, 22% men
• Age range: 4 years old to 80s
• Social status: Mostly lower class, but some wealthy and respected

Notable Victims

Rebecca Nurse (71)

• Pious, respected church member
• Deaf, didn't hear question during trial, interpreted as refusal to answer
• Jury initially found her not guilty
• Judges sent jury back to reconsider
• Convicted and hanged July 19

George Burroughs

• Former Salem Village minister
• Accused of being the "ringleader" of witches
• Recited Lord's Prayer perfectly at gallows (supposedly impossible for witches)
• Crowd wavered, but Cotton Mather insisted on execution
• Hanged August 19

Giles Corey (80)

• Refused to enter a plea (to protect his property for his sons)
• Subjected to peine forte et dure (pressing with stones)
• Took two days to die
• Last words: "More weight"
• Died September 19

Sarah Good

• Homeless beggar, pregnant
• Gave birth in prison, baby died
• At gallows, told Reverend Noyes: "You are a liar! I am no more a witch than you are a wizard, and if you take away my life, God will give you blood to drink!"
• Hanged July 19
• (Legend: Noyes later died choking on his own blood)

The Accusers: The Afflicted Girls

Who Were They?

• Mostly teenage girls (12-20 years old)
• Some as young as 9
• From prominent families (Putnam, Parris)
• Servants and daughters

Why Did They Accuse?

Theories:

• Genuine belief: They believed they were bewitched
• Attention and power: Powerless girls suddenly had authority
• Ergot poisoning: Fungus on rye causing hallucinations (debated)
• Mass hysteria: Psychological contagion
• Manipulation: Adults (Putnam family) using girls to settle scores
• Trauma: Recent Native American raids, orphans, PTSD

Ann Putnam Jr.

• Most prolific accuser (62 accusations)
• 12 years old
• Daughter of Thomas Putnam (major instigator)
• 1706: Public apology, claimed she was "deluded by Satan"

The Unique Features of Salem

Spectral Evidence

What it was: Testimony that the accused's "specter" (spirit) appeared to the afflicted and tormented them

Problem: Only the afflicted could see the specter, no one could verify

Logic: If you saw someone's specter tormenting you, they were a witch

Catch-22: Accused couldn't defend against invisible evidence

Why it was accepted: Puritan belief in invisible spiritual warfare

The Touch Test

Method: If the accused touched an afflicted person and the fits stopped, it proved guilt (the witch was recalling her evil power)

Result: Damned if it worked, damned if it didn't

Confession as Survival

Pattern: Those who confessed were not executed; those who maintained innocence were hanged

Logic: Confessors could repent and be saved; deniers were unrepentant and must die

Result: Incentive to lie and accuse others

The Social Context: Why Salem?

Puritan Theology

• Predestination: Anxiety about salvation
• Satan's reality: Devil was active and present
• Covenant theology: Community's sins brought God's wrath
• Jeremiad tradition: Constant warnings of moral decline

Political Instability

• Massachusetts charter revoked (1684), restored (1691)
• New governor (Phips) just arrived
• Uncertainty about legal authority
• No established court system

Native American Conflicts

• King William's War (1688-1697)
• Recent raids on frontier settlements
• Refugees fleeing to Salem
• Trauma and fear of "the other"
• Some accusers were orphans from raids

Economic Tensions

• Salem Village vs. Salem Town rivalry
• Farming village vs. merchant port
• Putnam family (village, declining) vs. Porter family (town, rising)
• Accusations followed factional lines

Gender and Age

• Teenage girls had no power in Puritan society
• Suddenly, their words could condemn adults
• Reversal of normal hierarchy
• Women accused women (internalized misogyny)

The End: Why Did It Stop?

Spectral Evidence Questioned

• Increase Mather (Cotton's father): Cases of Conscience (1692)
• "It were better that ten suspected witches should escape than one innocent person be condemned"
• Argued spectral evidence was unreliable (Devil could impersonate innocents)

Elite Victims

• Governor's wife accused
• Prominent merchants and ministers accused
• When the powerful were threatened, support evaporated

Public Doubt

• Rebecca Nurse's execution shocked many
• George Burroughs reciting Lord's Prayer at gallows
• Too many respected people accused

Official Action

• October 1692: Governor Phips banned spectral evidence
• January 1693: Superior Court convened, acquitted most
• May 1693: Phips pardoned all remaining accused

The Aftermath: Regret and Reparations

Public Apologies

• 1697: Day of fasting and repentance declared
• 1697: Samuel Sewall (judge) publicly apologized
• 1706: Ann Putnam Jr. apologized
• 1711: Massachusetts colony reversed convictions, paid reparations to families

Modern Exonerations

• 1957: Massachusetts formally apologized
• 1992: 300th anniversary memorial dedicated
• 2001: Last five victims officially exonerated

The Legacy: Salem's Enduring Impact

Cultural Impact

• Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953): Allegory for McCarthyism
• "Witch hunt" as metaphor: For any unjust persecution
• Salem tourism: City's identity tied to trials

Legal Legacy

• Importance of due process
• Dangers of spectral/hearsay evidence
• Right to legal representation
• Presumption of innocence

Conclusion: America's Original Sin

The Salem witch trials were America's introduction to the horrors of witch hunting. Though brief and small compared to European persecutions, Salem revealed the dangers of religious extremism, mass hysteria, and the abuse of power. It showed how quickly a community could turn on itself, how fear could override reason, and how injustice could be committed in the name of righteousness.

In the next article, we will explore The Basque Witch Trials: Inquisition in Spain. We will examine how the Spanish Inquisition handled witch accusations, the massive Basque trials of 1609-1611, and why Spain's approach was surprisingly more restrained than Protestant regions.

Salem hanged 19. But the shame endures. And the lessons remain unlearned.

For the 19 hanged at Gallows Hill. For Giles Corey, pressed to death. For the 5 who died in prison. For the children accused. We remember.