By

Anna Hartman

World History 7th Hour

April 22, 2013

Salem

Witch

Trials

What They Were

• A series of hearings and prosecutions that accused people of using witchcraft.

• If they were accused of practicing witchcraft (Devils Magic) they were hung or whatever the punishment the judge gave them.

• It mostly was to be hung.

Where and When It Happened

•Salem Massachusetts

•Where the accused lived

• Gallows Hills• Hangings occurred

• Between 1692 and 1693

• Variety of towns and Provinces involved.

•Ipswich, Andover and the Salem Town

How It Started• Samuel Parris was named new minister and moved to Salem with his daughter Betty, cousin

Abigail Williams and their slave Tituba.• His daughter Betty became very ill.• She had violent fits, hid underneath furniture, filled with pain and was vomiting and choking.• The symptoms then spread throughout the Salem village.• A doctor named William Griggs said that the symptoms were from a supernatural origin

maybe witchcraft.• A lady told their slave Tituba that she should make a recipe of “White Cake” made from rye

and the girls urine to feed to a dog to take to the witches.• The townspeople and the ministers asked the girl who caused the weird symptoms.• Betty blamed it on the slave.• The other girls involved with the weird symptoms blamed it on two women.

– Sarah Goode and Sarah Osborne

• Two magistrates issued arrest warrants for Tituba, Sarah Goode and Sarah Osborne.• Tituba confessed at the trials and the other two didn’t admit they were witches and they

were put under interrogation. • This led to more witch hunts in the village.

Who Were The People Accused

Accused 0ver 120

141Women

44Men

Tried52

Women7

Men

Signs of Being a Witch

• Throwing themselves on the floor

• Twitching uncontrollably

• Screaming• High fever• Abdominal and

muscular pain.

Major Trials• The first case was against Bridget Bishop. She was found guilty because of the way she dressed

and her exotic life style. A warrant was issued for her arrest where she was taken to the court and charged but then cleared. The sheriff took her to Gallows Hill where she was hung.

– Hung on June 10• Sarah Goode was the next women accused because of the confession of her daughter Dorcass

Goode. The daughter was asked questions about her mother to see if she was a witch. Dorcass confessed that she was and once she said that one of the people in the court screamed out that she was being stabbed by Sarah. The jury was in shock which then she was found guilty of being a witch.

– Executed on July 19• In the next week the court brought forward Rebecca Nurse. She was accused of being a witch

and was brought in front of the court. The jury gave a verdict of not guilty. The people in the court screamed in anger on the vote which then the magistrates asked the judge to reconsider the vote. The jury deliberated a second time a came back with a vote of guilty. She was taken to Gallows Hill where she was executed.

– Executed on July 19• The next case was against Martha Corey. She was a new member of the church and was

accused of using witchcraft. In court, her husband was asked questions and testified against her. She was taken to Gallows Hill and was hung.

– Hung on September 22• Giles Corey was the case right after his wife's trials. Corey was pressed to death by heavy rocks

because he refused to enter the plea of guilty or not guilty of being a warlock. He was thrown in prison to await his execution. A woman named Abigail Hobbs confessed and said that Corey was a warlock and he was then killed.

– Executed September 19• Sarah Osborne was one of the first three to be tried as a witch. She was the first one

in her trial that said the devil could take the shape of another person without them knowing. She was put in prison where she died at the age of 41.

– Died on May 10

Video

Pictures

Giles Cory being suffocated by heavy rocks.

Mary Walcott being questioned and later accused and hung.

Salem Village house where Martha Corey was put to death for praying.

Rebecca Nurse was accused of several Counts of practicing witchcraft and was hung.

Salem meeting placewhere all the trials tookplace.

George Jacobs was accused of being a wizard and was hung.

Interesting Facts:

• Over 150 people were accused.

• 19 people were hanged.

• 14 women and 5 men

• Thirteen died in prison awaiting their trials.

• Witches were people who signed the devil’s book giving the devil permission to use them to harm people.

– Led to accusations that they were witches.

•The people that confessed to witchcraft lived, the ones that didn’t were hung.

•One man was pressed to death with heavy rocks another manwas stoned.•Many dogs were killed as expected accomplices of thewitches to carry out their commands.

Impact

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials• http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/salem

map.HTM• http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-

archaeology/brief-salem.html• http://www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials• “Salem Witch Trials.” 2013. The History Channel website. Feb 19 2013, 10:31

• http://salempress.com/store/samples/great_events_from_history_seventeenth/great_events_from_history_seventeenth_salem.htm (Salem Press)

• http://www.slideshare.net/akuklinski/the-salem-witch-trials-3066752