Causes of Salem Witch Trials

A detailed Summary of Causes of Salem Witch Trials


What caused the Salem witch trials of 1692? This question has been asked for over 300 years. Although it is a simple question, it does not have an easy answer. The answer is difficult because there are many factors and events that helped create and influence the trials. The most obvious causes were the girls need for attention, and the fears and imaginations of the people.

It all seems to begin when Reverend Samuel Parris's daughter and niece get caught up in seemingly harmless voodoo and fortune telling with their African slave Tituba. For reasons that no one is sure the girls began to have strange and violent fits. Maybe the girls actually believed they were possessed but I think it was just a stunt they pulled for attention that got out of


control when it was fueled by fanatical adults. The 17th century puritans believed in witchcraft as a cause for sicknesses such as the "fits" the girls were having. They believed that witches gained their power from the Devil so they decided to find the witches responsible for the girls ailment and kill them. The girls were probably then placed under enormous pressure to name names. Rather than admit to what probably started out as a game, the girls became frightened and a little excited as they became caught up in the frenzy of the witch hunts.

The cause of this hysteria is fairly clear. It began with a couple of girls looking for some fun and it escalated when people let their fears and imaginations get the best of them. If the people of Sa

Some common words found in the essay are:
Samuel Parris's, , fears imaginations people, probably started, witch hunts, imaginations people, witch trials, fears imaginations,

Approximate Word count = 504
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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