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[[File:Cotton Mather on Salem Witch Trials.jpg|300px|right|1693 pamphlet by the Puritan minister Cotton Mather declaring the trials to have been a success]]

[[File:Cotton Mather on Salem Witch Trials.jpg|300px|right|1693 pamphlet by the Puritan minister Cotton Mather declaring the trials to have been a success]]

The '''Salem Witch Trials''' are an early example of the weaponization of the legal process for political gain. From May to October 1692, in the town of [[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]] (short for "Jerusalem") in [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]], several girls reported they were possessed by [[devil]]s, and they accused three women of [[witchcraft]]. The community was alarmed, and held investigations and trials. All three along with 16 other accused witches were hanged. Nearly 150 people were imprisoned.<ref>No one was burned to death.</ref>  [[jury supremacy|Jury supremacists]] blame this on allowing in as evidence what would not be allowed today, but research shows that social resentment by jurors was likely to blame.

The '''Salem Witch Trials''' are an early example of the weaponization of the legal process for political gain. From May to October 1692, in the town of [[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]] (short for "Jerusalem") in [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]], several girls reported they were possessed by [[devil]]s, and they accused three women of [[witchcraft]]. The community was alarmed, and held investigations and trials. All three along with 16 other accused witches were hanged. Nearly 150 people were imprisoned.<ref>No one was burned to death.</ref>  [[jury supremacy|Jury supremacists]] blame this on allowing in as evidence what would not be allowed today, '''''but research shows that social resentment by jurors was likely to blame'''''.  ''Concerning witchcraft at the time, see [[Macbeth]]''.

'''''This episode remains a top tourist attraction and topic of popular movies and books'''''. ''[[The Conjuring]]'' and other movies assume that some of the accused really were witches.<ref>https://onceuponawheat.com/top-5-salem-witch-trial-sites/</ref>  The trials were stopped when the governor's wife was accused of being a witch. To this day Salem is a favorite gathering place for people enamored of witchcraft.  Famous [[American]] writer [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], who wrote the novel partially against [[Puritan]] [[morality]] called the ''[[The Scarlett Letter]]'', was born in Salem as a direct descendant of a presiding trial judge who never recanted his actions, and Hawthorne felt his family was cursed due to its role.  Hawthorne was only 4 years old when his father died at sea.

'''''This episode remains a top tourist attraction and topic of popular movies and books'''''. ''[[The Conjuring]]'' and other movies assume that some of the accused really were witches.<ref>https://onceuponawheat.com/top-5-salem-witch-trial-sites/</ref>  The trials were stopped when the governor's wife was accused of being a witch. To this day Salem is a favorite gathering place for people enamored of witchcraft.  Famous [[American]] writer [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], who wrote the novel partially against [[Puritan]] [[morality]] called the ''[[The Scarlett Letter]]'', was born in Salem as a direct descendant of a presiding trial judge who never recanted his actions, and Hawthorne felt his family was cursed due to its role.  Hawthorne was only 4 years old when his father died at sea.