- Time Period
- 2/1/1692 - 5/1/1693
- Description
- Prior to the official witch hunt in Salem, several young girls were caught using a crystal ball for fortune-telling. The girls claimed that witches manipulated their behavior. Fear and panic swept over the community, as citizens started to accuse one another of witchcraft. The accused tended to be individuals of lower social status, like widowed or unpopular citizens. Many confessed to signing the "Devil’s book," almost certainly to avoid severe punishment. Despite little evidence, more than 150 people were imprisoned and 20 individuals were executed. The accusations started to lose credibility when several influential citizens were accused. Moreover, the number of accusations started to diminish after Massachusetts Governor Sir William Phipps abolished the use of "spectral evidence" (dreams and visions) and special court hearings for witchcraft accusations. By the end of the trials, many citizens acknowledged that the accusations were untrue and many accusers admitted ulterior motives for their allegations.
- Interactive Timeline(s)
- Prominent Religious Events and People in American History
- Browse Related Timeline Entries
- Prominent Religious Events and People in American History
- Religious Groups
- Timeline Entries for the same religious group Congregationalists (UCC) Congregationalists (UCC): Other ARDA Links
- Photographs
-
Salem Witch Trials- Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-94432 -
Salem witch trials- Internet Archive- from Pioneers in the Settlement of America by William A. Crafts -
William Phips- Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-110821 -
William Stoughton, Massachusetts Bay magistrate during the Witch Trials- Internet Archive- from Witchcraft in Salem Village by John Fiske -
Samuel Sewall, Massachusetts Bay judge during the Witch Trials- Internet Archive- from Diary of Samuel Sewall - Book/Journal Source(s)
- Queen, Edward, Stephen Prothero and Gardiner Shattuck, 1996. The Encyclopedia of American Religious History. New York: Facts on File.
- Web Page Contributor
- Benjamin T. Gurrentz Affliated with: Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. in Sociology
Syntax Repository
Download syntax files and recreate popular religious classification schemes in survey data.
Measurement Wizard
Browse 165 concepts used in the study of religion, review how survey researchers measured them in the past, and quickly compare the results of more than 7,600 survey questions.
Data Archive
The archive is a collection of surveys, polls, and other data submitted by the foremost scholars and research centers in the world. Review and analyze data online, or download free of charge.
Compare Nations + Regions
Compare up to eight nations or eight regions of the world on all measures included in the National and Regional profiles.
Regional Profiles
Examine the religious composition, religious freedoms, demographics and multiple social and political measures for 22 global regions and the world.National Profiles
Examine the religious composition, religious freedoms, demographics, constitutional clauses, survey findings and multiple social and political measures for 250 nations.
GIS Maps
View neighborhood maps of congregations and generate a community profile for your area of interest.Maps
View maps of the United States and individual states for hundreds of variables, including congregational membership, census data, crime statistics and many others.
Reports
Generate congregational membership reports for any county, state and urban area in the United States using data collected by the Religious Congregations & Membership Study.US Congregational Membership
Denominational Web Pages
Find all of the ARDA's information on the largest denominations and religious groups in the US on dedicated webpages for each group.Group Profiles
The profiles chart schisms and mergers, document membership trends, offer basic descriptions, and link to additional resources for more than 400 past and present American religious groups.
Religion Family Trees
Family trees diagram the rich history of major world religions and American denominations.
QuickLists
Using the best available data, the following lists provide data on American and international religion in rank order.
U.S. Congregations
Browse dozens of topics from a major national survey of religious congregations. See how the responses vary by the size, religious family and region of the congregation.U.S. Surveys
Browse dozens of topics covered by major national surveys. See how the responses vary by demographic categories and, when available, how they change over time.
Religious Minorities
Through the aid of text, pictures, and graphics, explore the history of non-Christian religious minorities in the United States.Social Movements & Religion
Interactively explore the role of religion within various social movements in the United States history.Prominent Religious Events & People
Interactively explore the most significant events and people in the history of American religion.
U.S. Maps
View maps of the United States and individual states for hundreds of variables, including congregational membership, census data, crime statistics and many others.International Maps
World and regional maps for measures of religious adherence, socio-economics, and religion and state relations.GIS Maps
View neighborhood maps of congregations and generate a community profile for your area of interest.
|
Salem Witch Trials
|
Subscribe to the ARDA: 
Copyright © The Association of Religion Data Archives. All Rights Reserved.