Salem Witch Trials
- Time Period
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2/1/1692
 - 5/1/1693
- Description
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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)
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Prominent Religious Events and People in American History
- Browse Related Timeline Entries
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Prominent Religious Events and People in American History
- Religious Groups
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Timeline Entries for the same religious group Congregationalists (UCC)
Congregationalists (UCC): Other ARDA Links
- Photographs
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Salem Witch Trials- Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-94432
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Salem witch trials- Internet Archive- from Pioneers in the Settlement of America by William A. Crafts
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William Phips- Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-110821
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William Stoughton, Massachusetts Bay magistrate during the Witch Trials- Internet Archive- from Witchcraft in Salem Village by John Fiske
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Samuel Sewall, Massachusetts Bay judge during the Witch Trials- Internet Archive- from Diary of Samuel Sewall
- Book/Journal Source(s)
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Queen, Edward, Stephen Prothero and Gardiner Shattuck, 1996. The Encyclopedia of American Religious History. New York: Facts on File.
- Web Page Contributor
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Benjamin T. Gurrentz
Affliated with: Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. in Sociology
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