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The Salem Witch Trials finally came to an end because it was getting way out of control and just about everyone was accusing of everyone else. The leaders f the English society in North America are portrayed as indecisive and based their judgment from what the town’s people were saying instead of having scientific evidence. The Accusers A group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. There was a wave of hysteria that spread throughout colonial Massachusetts.
During this time, there happened to be a lot of unfortunate circumstances going on such as the frontier war, bad economic conditions, congregational strife, teenage boredom, and personal jealousies which had then fallen into a AR of accusations, trials, and executions. One particular event that occurred which had led to the witchcraft trials was that these young girls in town had gotten strangely ill. The author Linden stated, “Young Betty Paris had become ill and some of her strange behavior included dashing about, diving under furniture, contorted In pain, and complained of fever” (Linden, 2009).
During this time, Cotton Matter s had recently published a popular book about witchcraft called “Memorable Providence’s”. It just so happen that Betty’s symptoms and behavior was practically mirrored to those who were afflicted. It was easy to believe anything for the town of Salem who could not make sense of what was going on at the time. Fears The small town of Salem was easily influenced by the town’s people. After little Betty Paris became ill, three other young girls had become ill too who were all examined by a doctor.
The doctor believed that their symptoms were coming from a supernatural power. There was a widespread belief that witches were targeting children which then made the doctors diagnosis seem true. The number of girls afflicted was continuing to grow. Linden stated, “In a illegal where everyone believed that the devil was real, close at hand, and acted in the real world, the suspected affliction of the girls became an obsession” (Linden, 2009). Three women were the first to be accused Of witchcraft who go by, Tuba, Sara Good, and Sarah Osborn.
Tuba had even confessed that she did come in contact with the Devil and also declared she was a witch. This actually became a life saver for Tuba. When the witches confessed, they were not executed. The Puritans believed that once a person made a full confession, his or her fate should be left in God’s hands, and not man’s (Linden, 2009). Trials Came to an End The Salem Witch Trials eventually came to the end partly because the stones that the girls were telling were coming more and more implausible and even the people of that horrible time in our history were realizing it.
Since the communities were so small, the accusers were running out of people to accuse. The final straw was when they accused the wife of the Governor of Massachusetts of Witchcraft and it took a personal visit from him to stop the trials. By this time, there had already been many executions based on unfounded “spectral evidence” and may have already died in prison from illumination and diseases. Phipps replaced the Court of Rye and Terminate with a Superior Court of Judicature and eventually pardoned all who were in prison on witchcraft charges by May 1963(Plumber, 2007).
Leaders of English Society The leaders of English Society in North America judgments were based off of hearsay and did not have concrete evidence to back up their beliefs. After the trials and executions, many involved, like Judge Samuel Seawall, publicly confessed error and guilt. The author Plumber states, “in 171 1, the colony passed a bill restoring the rights and good names of those accused and ranted IEEE restitution to their heirs”(Bummers, 2007).
This small town was easily influenced by others and gave into the superstitious hype disregarding the lives of others. Conclusion The Salem Witch Trials was a tragic part of our history. The trials resulted in more than 200 people accused, 1 9 men and women hung, and one man was pressed to death. Eventually, the colony admitted that the trials were a mistake and compensated the families of those who were convicted. This event still captivates our imagination to this day and shows us what could happen if we made poor decisions based on our fear and ignorance.