Salem Witch Trials

Erin Sullivan Dating back to 1692 when the Salem Witch Trials were occurring, it was a time of despair, concern,and many accusations. The events that took place in Salem in 1692 are a part of a greater pattern throughout our history to persecute innocent people, especially women, as witches. Salem was broken into two parts, Salem Town and Salem Village which set it aside by economy, class and character. Salem Village was known as the have nots, mostly consisting of poor farmers who made a living cultivating crops where as Salem Town was the haves, a wealthy town in which was the center of trade. Salem Village tried to gain its own independence from Salem Town for quite some time but finally succeeded gaining its own church and minister in 1674. The merchants who lived in Salem Village near Ipswich Road prospered but the farmers felt that wealth of Salem Town threatened Puritan values. When Reverend Samuel Parris became the new minister of Salem Village is when tension arose. Parris was a stern Puritan who denounced the worldly ways and economic prosperity of Salem Town as the influence of the Devil. The jealousness and fighting which then occurred during these two towns was the major role of the witch trials. The majority of the women who were accused of witchcraft lived near Ipswich Road and the people accusing them lived near the farms in Salem Village. The first three witches to get accused of witchcraft were Tituba, Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good.
“Trouble in the small Puritan community began in February 1692, when nine-year-old Elizabeth Parris and 11-year-old Abigail Williams, the daughter and niece, respectively, of the Reverend Samuel Parris, began experiencing fits and other mysterious maladies. A doctor concluded that the children were suffering from the effects of witchcraft, and the young girls corroborated the doctor's diagnosis. Under compulsion from the doctor and their parents, the girls named those allegedly responsible for their suffering.”