Everyone has heard of the Salem witch trials, but what were they? Why did they come about? When did they begin and end? What effects did they have on colonial New England?

First, the Puritan beliefs of Salem separated them from their surrounding communities. In order to be a devout Puritan in 17th century New England, many things had to be abided by. Overall, Puritans were a group of people who strove to achieve independence and wanted to worship freely. A major focus of Puritan beliefs was placed on the individual rather than the whole. The Puritans showed an astonishing sense of religion. They felt that what they did was God's work and they would one day be rewarded for it. All of this led to a very strict lifestyle that only a select few could truly carry out correctly. Most colonies by this time had developed or followed a different branch of religion than Puritanism. Due to this, New England was a medley of different beliefs and cults. However, as Puritanism died, Salem stayed strong. With the downfall of Puritanism Salem became more and more isolated from the rest of the country because of its strong religious feelings. In a sense, the religious communities on New England formed barriers between each other to an extent that each religious group had to suffice as its own individual nation. This sense of individualism led to the peoples to place their faults on things that were inside their own jurisdiction. "It was this idea combined with the strong sense of religion that influenced and nurtured the ideas of witches and witchcraft" (Brown p. 2-7).

The second reason for the appearance of the belief in witchcraft was based on geography. Geography can play a role in shaping a culture in many ways. The condition of soil and resources defines what crops you can grow and what you need to manage with. Salem was also located in a place where transportation or trade was not a very stable process. The town had access to rivers but no major waterways used by other colonies. Salem was a very solitary place, which had neighbors that were few and far between. It was a place "that plowed its own crops and made its own products" (Brown p. 2-10). This could be traced back to the strong beliefs that were placed in Puritanism and religion and the belief that all they did was in order to please God. This separation from other societies led to a distinct culture in Salem.

Their society that formed in Salem was based on religion. The belief of witches and witchcraft was easily able to spawn from this. Due to the fact that the Puritans related everything in their lives to religion, they contributed the faults of the town to supernatural causes or the devil. Since the devil could not be put on trial for wrongs committed against society, the people of Salem had to find a different way to place blame. Hence the idea of witches. Witches were accused of being the root of anything that caused a disturbance in the town. If things went wrong such as crop failure, or animals dying, or children misbehaving, the town "felt that these witches were at fault" (Karlsen p. 84-90). The people of Salem believed that the devil had taken them over and controlled their actions. So these witches must be tried accordingly.

Actual witch trials were nothing like the trials held today. Overall an accused witch was on trial in a sense that they were guilty until proven innocent. The judge would automatically think a woman who was brought before him was a witch until there was evidence that could dispute it. During the trial an accused witch would have to undergo a series of unfavorable points. All trials would have a questioning that resembled an interrogation. This was a period in which the judge could ask why the witch had done the atrocities that she was accused of. These could include things like an entire season of bad farming or a child with a bad temper. The questions that were asked blatantly stated that the witch had done the crime, and now it was just a matter of fining out why. There was never an attempt to see if one was truly guilty of what they were accused of. Most would answer the questions honestly but others would chose to confess quickly and accept the punishment because they believed that God knew the truth of what happened. After one was questioned they were put through a thorough physical examination. An accused witch would have to strip of all clothes until she was naked in the courtroom and a doctor examined her. A doctor would search a body until she found a telltale sign of being a witch. These signs could include things such as oddly shaped birthmarks or moles or anything else that was believed to be a sign of a witch. If anything of that sort was found the woman was almost instantly condemned to jail or even to be hanged. Jail was the more common punishment although most think that it was execution. If a woman was set free without any charges she was allowed to go back and live like before but because she had been through the trial the town usually shunned her and regarded her as an outcast so, there was a downside to being innocent as well as guilty. It will never be known how many of these cases went on. There are hundreds that were legally recorded but dozens more that were told from people who had witnessed private cases. There were "dozens of private cases that were never correctly kept track of" (Hansen p. 127-153). It is known that there were hundreds of accusations, a majority of which were jailed or persecuted, and dozens of executions, which mostly came by the way of lynching. All of this contributed to many things in Salem and America.

The effects of the Salem witch trials and the witchcraft hysteria that was in New England at the time were many. The entire goings on in Salem in the late 17th century made it very isolated from itself, the rest of America, and the world. It split between itself over who could and who couldn't be trusted within the town. There was a sense that it was an every man for himself mentality and all that you could do was be accountable for your own actions. Salem was separated from America for reasons as well. Due to the craze of witchcraft no parts of colonial America wanted anything to do with Salem. Colonists didn't want to move into or trade with the frenzied town. Finally, Salem, like most towns at the time was separated from the world because it "was not a center for immigration or trade, which [forced Salem] to be self-dependent" (Carlson p. 92-101). These were the basic reasons from which many other problems branched.

In the end, the influence of 16th century western Europe led to the maddened 17th century New England. Salem was the spot where this was most evident because of the isolation by the strong religious beliefs of Puritanism and the actual geography of the town. Witches were put into existence as scapegoats for a community's problem. The effects of the trials affected the town, young America, and the world. Salem witchcraft is one of the most confusing and puzzling occurrences in history. Even though Salem's extremely violent nature is not something to be proud of, it is a chapter in the history of the country that cannot be forgotten.