Salem Witch Trials



Salem Witch Trials

Introduction

During the seventeenth century, America went through a rapid and extraordinary colonial development. There was a shift in the situation of the colonies in America from primitive settlement situations of 1700s to the prevalence of the ills of urbanization and overpopulation. The development and progression in the societal conditions including social and legal development raised the issue of Salem Witchcraft and the prosecution of the people involved in the concept of Salem Witchcraft. Salem city is situated in Massachusetts, United States. The city is well recognized for its history of witchcraft allegations, criminal behaviors and fortune telling by girls (Jones & Johnstone, 2011). This paper discusses the accusations of the witchcrafts that took place in Salem during the year 1692. It discusses the background of the issue of witchcraft and the revolution in the justice and criminal system of Salem that accused such alleged witches of Salem.

Background

Salem was a society in Massachusetts that came into the condition of turmoil during 1692. It was due to the bad weather in the environment of the city that resists the harvesting conditions in the city and there was a reduction in the harvesting conditions of the Salem. Along with the bad weather conditions, there was an epidemic condition that prevailed in the society. It was the epidemic of small pox that surrounded the whole society and the town. There were attacks on the frontier settlements carried out by the Indians. The overall conditions of the community were under a kind of fear. people of Salem were afraid of the another war or conflict expected due to the current King Philip of that time that it will engulf the people of Salem. The city was in a condition of political uncertainty due to the revokening of colony's charter by the King of England in 1684. The people of Salem were living in the absence of a sanctioned government and political system. However, they forced the ejection of the King in 1689. During these situations of stressful atmosphere within the town, a group of girls started telling the fortunes of people. This thing was started just as it but gradually it turned into a serious concept. As a result of fortune telling, some of the victims started feeling fits of bizarre nature and distempers. It was the starting of the year 1692 (Jones & Johnstone, 2011).

There were several explanations provided to these mental and psychological conditions of such people especially the girls who became the victim of such conditions. Nobody actually knew the cause of these fits and distempers. It was clear that the girls are experiencing some kind of psychological or physical problems. They were suffering from temporary blindness, deafness and were experiencing bout of unmanageable screaming. Villagers were failed to identify the cause of this issue. The local physician named William Griggs was also failed to find the cause of such conditions of those girls. He suggested one of the fortune-telling girls that the fits are a ...