Salem Witch Trials Lecture Notes

Background

• Betty Parris and Abigail Williams
  • Lived in 17th century Salem, subject to strict Puritan lifestyle.
  • As daughter and niece of Reverend Parris, no games or toys allowed.
  • Expected to focus on chores and Bible study.

Secret Activities

• Evening Meetings with Tituba
  • Tituba, Caribbean slave, entertained girls with magic and stories.
  • Such activities were forbidden by Puritan standards.

Onset of Witchcraft Accusations

• Strange Behaviors in January

  • Betty and Abigail showed odd behaviors: screaming, twitching.
  • A doctor suggested witchcraft as the cause.

• Public Outcry and Pressure

  • Affected girls pressured to name their "tormentors."
  • Accused three outcasts: Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne.

Trials and Confessions

• Magistrate Appearance

  • Osborne and Good denied guilt.
  • Tituba confessed, possibly under duress (beaten by Reverend).
  • Tituba's confession led to widespread paranoia.

• Further Accusations

  • Other townspeople accused, including prominent figures.
  • Over 150 people jailed by mid-spring.

The Trials

• Start and Executions
  • Trials began June 2, 1692.
  • Bridget Bishop first to be hanged.
  • Total of 20 hangings, including former pastor George Burroughs.
  • Giles Corey pressed to death for refusing trial.
  • Four died in jail.

Decline of Trials

• Doubt and Protest

  • Public began to doubt the validity of accusations.
  • Boston minister Increase Mather opposed the trials.

• Conclusion

  • Governor Phipps halted executions and pardoned prisoners.
  • Trials ended as public opinion shifted.

Aftermath

• Impact on Participants
  • Ann Putnam was the only accuser to publicly apologize.
  • Most participants' lives were negatively impacted.
  • Judges and some girls moved on to successful lives.
• Legacy of the Trials
  • Trials left many in poverty and with tarnished reputations.

Key Quotes

• Increase Mather: "It were better that ten suspected witches should escape than that one innocent person be condemned."
• Ann Putnam's apology: "It was a great delusion of Satan that deceived me at that sad time."