Salem witch trials impact on history

The three women were thrown in jail to await trial for practicing witchcraft. During the trial, Tituba confessed to having seen the devil and also stated that there was a coven, or group, of witches in the Salem Village area.

Good and Osbourne insisted they were innocent. The punishment was hanging. As the weeks passed, other young girls claimed to have been infected by witchcraft too. They accused other townspeople of torturing them, and a few of the so-called witches on trial even named others as witches. Women were not the only ones believed to be witches—men and children were accused too.

The haphazard fashion in which the Salem witch trials were conducted contributed to changes in U. How did the Salem witch episode reflect the tensions and changes in seventeenth century New England life and thought? Tituba was the first woman to be accused of practicing witchcraft during the Salem witch trials….

In the English tradition, clear and convincing proof of a crime was needed for a conviction. Confessions, especially with other evidence and testimony of at least two trustworthy people, constituted the best proof. Though the Salem Witch Trials predated the U. During the epidemic of witchcraft accusations in Salem, the legal process changed.

The trials followed the temporary suspension of the Colony Charter due to political and religious tension between the colony and England. A new governor and a new charter from England arrived in , but the General Court did not have enough time to create any laws. The Puritans believed that physical realities had spiritual causes. For example, if the crop failed, the Devil may have played a role—and Satan could not take the form of an unwilling person.

So if anyone claimed to have seen a ghost or spirit in the form of the accused, that person must be a witch. With this worldview, it was not a stretch for Puritans to believe in spectral evidence, which was the primary evidence used as proof of guilt. Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Recommended for you. How the Union Defended Washington, D.

During the Civil War. Daniel Webster. Salem Witch Trials. History of Witches. Chicago Seven Trial. History of Witches Witches were perceived as evil beings by early Christians in Europe, inspiring the iconic Halloween figure. How the Salem Witch Trials Influenced the American Legal System In early , several girls in the colonial Massachusetts village of Salem began exhibiting strange symptoms, including twitching, barking, and complaining of being pinched or pricked by invisible pins.