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Definition:
The Salem Witch Trials, which occurred between May and October of 1692, were among the
last outbreaks of the persecution of accused witches - and it was also one of the
darkest times in the American history of religious tolerance. It has, over time,
assumed almost mythic dimensions, coming to symbolize any systematic persecution of
despised or marginalized people in society.
The entire tragic episode began apparently when a few young girls were caught playin g with a crystal ball. In an attempt to escape punishment, they claimed to have been bothered by a witch as the reason for the crystal ball. Authorities, of course, made an attempt to seek out and punish the witch or witches responsible for tormenting the girls and the result was little more than a panicked feeding frenzy.
Samuel Parris, the town's new minister, not only did nothing to easy people's fear but in fact exacerbated them, warning people that witches were everywhere and that no one could be trusted. Neighbors were accused on the slightest pretext, and many profited personally from the confiscation of people's property. Of particular note was the ready use of "spectral evidence" - this involved witnesses being allowed to testify in court that a spirit had told them about someone being a witch.
In the end, nineteen people were hanged as suspected witches and over 150 had been imprisoned for varying lengths of time. Most of those who were imprisoned or killed were on the margins of society or members of families which had caused problems for Parris. At the height of the hysteria in 1692, however, a number of leading citizens were also accused and this was reason for even higher authorities to take a close look.
Sir William Phipps, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony prohibited the use of spectral evidence, and that was the beginning of the end. Eventually, many people concluded that the trials had gone way too far in their effort to discover an enemy in the midst - even those, like Cotton Mather, who had originally supported them. In 1697 citizens of Massachusetts spent a day of fasting and repentance for their role in these horrific events. Samuel Sewall, the judge who presided over many of the cases, published a confession in which he acknowledged his own "blame and shame" over what he did and what he allowed to happen.
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