Topic 5 - Salem witch trials (rise and decline)

What is spectral evidence?

Spectral evidence was testimony that the accused witch's spirit appeared to the witness in a dream or vision.

Who was Samuel parris?

Puritan minister of Salem village who was extremely decisive and often used his sermons to target his opposition in the village - he caused factions to split between the town and village and internally against the putnams and porters

Who were Betty Parris and Abigail Williams?

The first two afflicted girls of the trial, parris was 11 and williams was the niece of parris since her parents had died in king williams war + both girls began top act strangely saying they were being pinched by invisible agents and writhing, seen as the first victims of witchcraft in salem

Who were ann Putnam Jr and Mercy Lewis?

Ann Putnam was the 13 year old daughter of Thomas Putnam (influential and rich and leader of faction who wanted to break away from Salem town), Putnam was friends with Betty and Abigail and another afflicted girl - mery lewis 17 was the servant of the Putnam family and an orphan having witnessed her family be murdered by the wabanaki, she is also a possible victim of sexual abuse by the Putnams

Who was Mary warren?

Servant of john proctor who had originally been one of the afflicted girls but when proctor threatened to beat the allegations out of her she stopped claiming to be a victim of witchcraft - she was arrested after her fits stopped and claimed the proctors had made her sign the devils book?

Who did Betty and abigail accuse of being a witch?

Their slave Tituba

How was Tituba a stereotypical witch?

She was vulnerable as a slave, she performed white magic such as the witches cake for the Parris family, she had no economic standing in her community

Who did Lewis and Putnam accuse of being witches?

Sarah good and sarah osburn

How was sarah good a typical witch?

She had become destitute due to poor financial decision and her family was homeless by the start of 1692 - she was forced into begging and wandering Salem town and she was also a women

How was sarah Osburn a typical witch?

She was a widow and lived openly in a relationship with her servant without being married - she was unwell and vulnerable when she was accussed, bed ridden and so had not gone to church for 2 years before her accussation - she also had considerable power for a women of the time, therefore non-conforment to society

How did legal proceedings against sarah Osburn e and sarah good play out?

Due to the status of Thomas Putnam legal proceedings began by the two magistrates Hathorne and Corbin and the women were arrested - good denied her charges against the afflicted girls but when she did so they began to experinece convulsions and this led to good blaming the experineces on Osburn as the true witch - both were then imprisoned

How did Good blaming Osburn for the girls convulsions at her trial negatively impact her?

It gave legitimacy to the claims of witchcraft in the community and heightened the villages trust in the testimonies of the girls

How did the position of Hawthorne and Corbin contribute to Good and Osburn convictions?

They were inexperience when it came to dealing with serious crimes and were not judges or lawyers but politicians

How did Tituba contribute to the escalation of the trials in march 1692?

She admitted to being a witch and said she had seen sarah Goods familiar (bright yellow bird) suckling on her - she claimed that she had marked the devils book alongside good, Osburn and nine other witches in Salem leading to the belief there was a witches conspiracy in the town

Who was accussed at the end of march 1692 and by whom?

Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse and Goods four year old daughter dorothey by ann Putnam Jr.

What is the significance of Corey and Nurse being accussed?

Corey had been publicley sceptical of the legitimacy of the trials and Rebecca was 70 years old and belonged to the nurse family who were against the putnams in the village factions

Who was accussed after Corey and Nurse in may 1692 and why?

Mary warren accussed john proctor of being a witch after he had beaten her to stop her making accussations - although he strongly denied being a witch and called out the immorality of the trials, his wife was then also accussed and himself soon after

Who was one of the first influential residents of Salem who spoke out against the witchcraft trials?

John Proctor - arranged his own petition of 32 signatures which testified to his good name and disbelief in spectral evidence being used

How is it demonstrated that the Salem witchcraft trials had expanded by may 1692?

Deputy governor of Massachusetts Thomas Danforth visits Salem to investigate the trials (he went back to Boston saying that the claims of the afflicted girls were inconclusive)

Who were arrested after the visit of Danforth in may 1692?

Bridget bishop and Giles corey

Who was Giles Corey?

81 years old married to Martha Corey and a prosperous farmer - he had been taken to court 15 years earlier for allegedly beating his farm hand ot death and he frequently took people in Salem to court as well ( over 80 times) - he was described as old and annoying with a long-term scandal against him

Who was Bridget bishop?

Unpopular in the community and long suspected of being a witch - previously it had been claimed by her neighbours that she was robbing them from 1670 onwards and that she was in the possesion of voodoo dolls hidden in her house

What was the first accusation that shocked the Salem community worse than the others?

Georg Burroughs

Why did Putnams accusation against Burroughs cause the community to be shocked?

He had previously been minister of Salem but left in 1680 due to disputes over pay - he was seen as a decisive leader, charismatic and a good preacher (high profile in the community) - the fact a puritan minister had been accussed shocked the community

Who in the community did Burroughs has connections too from outside Salem and how?

He was involved in the same attack as Mercy lewis in Maine and she had then worked for him - lewis certainly influenced Putnam to accuse him as it is likely he abused her during the trauma

By the end of May 1692 how many people were facing custody for witchcraft?

62

When was the court of oyer and terminer established and by who?

14th may 1692 Governor willima phips arrives with a new charter and established a law court made from 9 justices who were leading men of the colony and headed by Staughton, deputy governor

How did court proceedings begin in the Court of Oyer and Terminer in June 1692?

The court met five times between june and september and the judges submitted evidence to juries who would then decide if it should go to court - the judges had the power to question, lead and accuse people within the trial and the accussed were not allowed lawyers and had to speak for themselves

What types of evidence (2) did the court of oyer and terminer accept in june 1692?

1. Spectral evidence 2. The touch test - accused touched the afflicted while they were having a fit, if the fit stopped it was a sign of guilt from the accused

Who was the first trial at the court of Oyer and terminer and why?

Bridget bishop - long suspected of being a witch and discovered to have voodoo dolls hidden in her house - testimonies were given by many of her neighbours and she was examined for a witches teat - she was accussed first as she had the best case against her

After Bishop was condemned to hang, what happened in the court (rise of skepticism)

1. Judge Saltonstall resigned from the court
2. Ministers such as John Hale condemned the use of the touch test and spectral evidence in court

Due to the rising skepticism of those such as Saltonstall and Hale, who was brought to Salem?

Cotton Mather - seen as colony witchcraft expert who although warned against spectral evidence gave the court the green light to carry on using it in trials

Which two of the accussed witches were tried after Bishop and what happened during their trials?

1. Good - convicted of witchcraft and 'cursed' salems junior minister Noyes saying that if she was killed he would drink her blood (he died from choking on his own blood years later)
2. Nurse - originally found not guilty but Staughton refused to pass this and asked for further deliberation after which she convicted due to the pressure on the Jury

What did Cotton Mather say after the trials of Good and Nurse in July 1692 and why?

He said that the colony was in the process of uncovering a enormous witches conspiracy due to the spread of the craze beyond Salem to Andover, where people were accused of satanic baptisms and enchanting crops

Who were the highest profile victims in the trials and when were they tried at O&T?

1. Martha Corey 2. John Proctor 3. Elizabeth Proctor 4. George Burroughs

Why was the execution of Burroughs unsettling for the community? How did Cotton Mather respond to this?

Burroughs and proctor were not typical witches and when Burroughs stood to be hanged he gave a perfect recitation of the Lord's Prayer which many believed showed he was not guilty - Mather responded by saying he must never have been a minister and that the devil was a trickster

How many were accused and hung in September 1692?

26 accused, 18 indicted and 8 hanged

What case shows that the witchcraft trials had become uncontrollable?

Marcy Bradbury september 1692 - she had a petition of 118 people claiming to her good character including her minister but she was still sentenced to hang (protestors broke her out and she survived)

What was the trial of Giles Corey like?

He maintenance he was not guilty but refused to answer any questions - he was then 'tortured' under a large pile of rocks and crushed to death in attempts to make him speak in court but he never had any omissions of guilt and was killed in the process

How did the religious community of Salem begin to view the witchcraft trials after Corey's death in september 1692 and why?

Many began to believe they were seeing signs of gods displeasure due to 1. Fire destroying 15 houses in Boston 2. Earthquake that caused port royal to sink into the sea

What pamphlet did C Mather release and why?

Wonders of the invisible world which defended the court of oyer and terminer against growing skepticism

What pamphlet did increase Mather release against the pamphlet of his son cotton Mather?

Cases of conscinece concerning evil spirits

What did increase Mather's pamphlet cases of conscinece concerning evil spirits say?

It argued against the use of spectral evidence and the touch test in the trials