what exactly were the salem witch trials?

Answer 1

First, a few caveats

a) there are many wildly mistaken claims and accusations made about what happened before and during these trials, partly out of ignorance, partly out of disdain or malice toward the Puritans (hence, willingness to believe the worst).

b) some of the popular (mis)understanding of the trials is based on works with completely different agendas. For example, Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible", while ostensibly about the Salem Witch Trials, is really his own attack on the McCarthy hearings, etc. in the 1950s. He didn't even really attempt to 'get the facts straight'

c) NONE of those convicted were burned -- most whose sentence was carried out were hung, one was pressed with stones

d) (cf. 2b below) top church leaders did NOT 'run the show', did not instigate the affair... but rather played a significant role in bringing it all to an end

As for the wikipedia article...I find it, like many wikipedia offerings, a mixed bag -- overview covers a lot, very good at some points, quirky and questionable on others... and i's often hard for those unfamiliar with the questions to sort out what's reliable and what isn't.
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SOURCES of GOOD information --

I've tried to collect a number of sources on this question, esp. online ones, but along with or even before you look at these, here is a book that I think tries to take a sympathetic look at the various people involved, and unlike many studies, looks at what people did to correct, forgive and heal afterwards. Yes, it's dated (more recent research can counterbalance that), but it tells the basic story well and gives you a sense of the people.
-- The Devil in Massachusetts by Marion L. Starkey, 1949.


Here are my other suggestions for your own study -

1) Collections of materials and overview, including court documents.

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/salem.htm
http://www.salemwitchtrials.org/home.html
"Teaching the Salem Witch Trials -
http://www.iath.virginia.edu/~bcr/maps_esri/Ray_ch02.pdf


2) Participants with warnings, misgivings

a) Some information, often missed, on how the Mathers warned AGAINST the use of spectral evidence (Cotton Mather's pamphlet warning against witchcraft is often noted and blamed as a partial cause of events at Salem, but the other side of what he and his father did is too often missed.)
http://www.iath.virginia.edu/salem/people/i_mather.html
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASA_INC.HTM

b) Interesting material on Samuel Sewall, a judge in the trials who, five years later, made a public apology (also an early abolitionist)

summary
http://shs.westport.k12.ct.us/radler/ColonialEarly%20AmLit/samuel_sewall1.htm

a recent book -
*Judge Sewall's Apology: The Salem Witch Trials and the Forming of an American Conscience* by Richard Francis (HarperCollins, 2005)
http://www.amazon.ca/Judge-Sewalls-Apology-American-Conscience/dp/product-description/0007163622

3) There are a lot of sociological studies that try to explain the BELIEF in witchcraft more generally, how these sorts of trials came about, etc.

One book I have found helpful in suggesting an explanation for the belief in witchcraft in the medieval and early modern European world is Rodney Stark's *For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery* (Princeton University Press, 2003). One major section of this book is devoted to studying when and where witch-hunts took place, who conducted them, what the results were, etc. (He shows, for instance, that most studies greatly inflate the numbers. He also argues that some sort of belief in witchcraft was "normal" in these times... and suggests this belief is related to their view of a RATIONAL universe, not exactly to the type of superstitions many have blamed it on.)


There are also some good, recent academic studies on this subject (both the specific history of the Salem case and more general studies of witch-hunting in Europe...), but besides being very heavy, you will probably find them difficult to get your hands on. The books I listed you should be able to find in a school or public library.

Answer 2

In 1792, in the town of Salem, Massachusetts, two little girls went around accusing people of being witches. They even accused their maid, Titchaba, who pretended to do magic on them just for fun. She admitted that she was and so was spared, weird huh? Well, they went around accusing all sorts of people and 20 women, 1 man, and a dog were burned at the stake for practicing magic. Then, the girls accused the governor's wife and that's when the governor realized that it was out of hand. However, the interesting thing, is that the people who were accused were usually wealthy, albeit eccentric, individuals. Many historians actually analyze the Salem Witch Trials as a social uprising of the poor against the wealthy.

Answer 3

They were probably caused by superstition and mass hysteria. Remember even in relatively recent times mass hysteria can still take place, even in a modern western society. The notorious Orson Welles radio dramatisation of 'The War of the Worlds' is evidence of that. The theory that they could have been because of an outbreak of Ergot poisoning from infected rye is a modern one by Linnda Caporael, dating from the 1970s, but is no more than that, a theory. Read up what Linnda Caporael's thoughts are, but form your own opinion. There is an undoubted link between Ergot and LSD, but that is in the field of Bio-chemistry, not theorising about historical events. I hope this helps. I've given no links, but Googling 'Linnda Caporael' should lead to more in depth explanation about her theories.

Answer 4

They were a series of tests to determine which witch (or pair, in the case of doubles and mixed doubles) would represent Salem in the regionals for the runup to the All-Colonial Witches' Cup Tournament (held in Nassau every seventh year from 1574 to 1832, when it was abolished due to lack of witches). Tests included trials of acceleration, mileage and pressure-resistance. There are persistant reports of flame-resistance being one of the trials, but that appears to be more a Continental sort of thing; the Colonial trials tended more to check on water-resistance.

Answer 5

The trials were about executing anyone that fell out of the norm. Many people died unfairly during this hysteria. Historians today believe that it could have been over land and not just the superstition/fear of living in a new land previously thought. I believe the Putnams were a wealthy family always on the lookout for more land to snatch. Once declared a witch, land and possessions were usually taken and the "For Sale" sign went up.

Answer 6

READ THIS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials

Answer 7

I don't know about 'exactly' but they were 'approximately' kangaroo courts run by ignoramious seventeenth century religious 'nuts' influenced by prodigal fear. Compare to modern McCarthyism.

Answer 8

A NUMBER OF CITIZENS IN SALEM MASS WERE ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT...THEY WERE TRIED,CONVICTED AND HUNG.