What was the salem witch hunt trial about?

Answer 1

Hysteria over suspected witches and wizards among the population. Research has shown many people were hung (not burned, contrary to popular belief) at the slightest accusation, and some people who claimed to have been affected by black magic may actually have been hallucinating on several mushrooms indigenous to the regions.

The term, "witch hunt" has been coined since to represent any mass fear or abuse of power against people suspected of subversive activities, with or without evidence....such as the "Red Scare" of the 1950s (Arthur Miller used the analogy in "The Crucible") to the more recent paranoia over suspected terrorists within the U.S. and elsewhere.......

Answer 2

They were about adults putting a little too much faith in imaginative young children.The Salem witch trials, which began in 1692 (also known as the Salem witch hunt and the Salem witchcraft episode), resulted in a number of convictions and executions for witchcraft in both Salem Village and Salem Town, Massachusetts. Some have argued that it was the result of a period of factional infighting and Puritan witch hysteria which led to the executions of 20 people (14 women, 6 men) and the imprisonment of between 175 and 200 people. In addition to those executed at least five people died in prison.

Answer 3

There's been a lot of theories about how the witch trials got so out of hand.After reading and yes watching the History Channel...LOL...my take is this:

The Puritans were an extremely religious group....some to the point of plain superstitious. Most of them weren't well read, except for the Bible.

Supposedly, some of the Puritans were dug up and their remains examined. In those remains they found evidence of hallucinogenics. It could have been from mushrooms as one person here said, but it has also been theorized that it could have been mold on wheat. They didn't have sophisticated storage methods back then, so this idea COULD be true. After consuming this wheat, they started seeing things. Now, figure this....if an adult ate this stuff, they could handle the effects a lot better than a child. A child would just go nuts. So, if a child started seeing things...and told a supersitious adult who was ALSO seeing things.....you could see how it would get out of hand reeeeal quick.

Answer 4

Politics of Mass Hysteria = Witch Hunts = Abuse Of Power Witches were generally tolerated as healers until the 1400's. When rumors of Jewish, Muslim conspiracies started a religious panic, the English were whipped into a panic that resulted in burning, torture, or hanging. Some were drowned trying to prove they were not witches. When the Black Plague swept Europe, the Churches did nothing or as some did, actually preached that it was a punishment from God because evil was existed, Ah ha, kill the witches who have caused this plague . God is dipleased, "we suffered a witch to live" Today we are subject to rumor and threats which result in the panic that has permitted the Government to exceed the powers of our Constitution and International Law. The Administration does not foster security, just the opposite! Uses God a lot, too! See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." --George W. Bush, Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005 If they tell people something long enough pretty soon people believe it.

Answer 5

I watched a show on this one Halloween. The Salem witch trials, which began in 1692, resulted in a number of convictions and executions for witchcraft in both Salem Village and Salem Town, Massachusetts. this was mostly because of the puritans and their beleif system.

Answer 6

It was believed that Witches, Warlocks and demons roamed freely through the countryside in Salem Mass. The Witch Hunt Tribual was charged by the Puritans to find those Pagans and destroy them. It was believed that the only way to kill a witch was to burn them to death and then spread thier ashes to the 4 winds so they could never come back from the dead.

Answer 7

Salem, Massachusetts, 1692. A group of young girls started pretending to be possessed by witches, and would accuse townspeople. Often the condemned were unmarried women exercising some degree of independence or people whose property their neighbors wanted.

Answer 8

They burned a bunch of women at the stake because they had different opinions and beliefs. The people who had "authority" considered them to be witches because their views were different. Kinda like the Christian/Atheist thing that we got going on right here on Yahoo. I read somewhere that they had a test for these women to determine whether or not they actually were witches. They would take the accused and dunk their head in bucket of water. If she survived, then she was definitely a witch so they burned her at the stake. If they died, then oh well, they had radical views anyway. So be it.

Answer 9

In like the 1700's the community was all rightous and God fearing, and if you were different, they thought you were a witch, which is sad, because a test was if you floated in water, you were a witch and you were condemed to die, and if you sunk and drowned, you were innocent but still ended up dead. You couldnt use herbal medicines, or they thought you a witch, because you werent using the relgious means of curing sickly. They believed in using leeches and bleeding the sick of their sickness.

Answer 10

Anyone who didn't conform to the churches laws were hung, drowned, or burned at the stake and labeled a witch. It was mostly free thinkers that were accused of it. Today alot of WICANs are considered witches because they cherish the earth and it's fragility. There's so much information about this online that you would be overwhelmed.