How Do You Understand The Salem Witch Trials?
In 1692, the town of Salem, Massachusetts, experienced what can only be described (in modern terms) as an outbreak of mass hysteria: the prosecution, and execution, of 20 citizens for the crime of practicing witchcraft. Although the Salem Witch Trials weren’t quite as random or widespread as they’ve become in modern myth, they still stand as one of the oddest events in early American history. Here’s a brief explanation. Salem was in a precarious condition. Early in 1692, a town not far from Salem was massacred by Indians, putting the population on edge. Also, Salem was subject to the daily stress of any frontier farming community: large families, limited resources and uncertain weather. Finally, the citizens’ Puritan heritage predisposed them to looking for “signs” and believing in the active intervention of God and Satan. The daughter and niece of the town’s minister fell ill. One fateful day, 9-year-old Betty Parris and 11-year-old Abigail Williams experienced epileptic-type fits inc
