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Under the [[Puritan]] beliefs at the time, the existence of [[witch]]es was accepted as clear fact on scriptural grounds. In accordance with [[Exodus]] 22:18, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," witchcraft was criminalized and considered a capital offense. Reverend Samuel Parris became the first ordained minister to Salem in 1689, but within a few years his conservative approach to religion and divisive sermons led to strong opposition to his ministry, including the cessation of his salary. Soon after, Parris began preaching of demonic assaults on the congregation, and he pitted members of his church against nonmembers, which led to confessions of witchcraft, most of which were coerced or tortured out of low-status women such as Parris's own slave, Tituba. The most active accusers tended to be the village's elites, who were the most ardent supporters of Parris, while those most often accused were usually Parris's opponents who lived on the outskirts of the village or beyond. Thus, a villager's status, especially within the congregation, was the most distinguishing characteristic between the accused and the accusers.<ref>Benjamin C. Ray, "Satan's War Against the Covenant in Salem Village, 1692," ''New England Quarterly'' 2007 80(1): 69-95</ref> ==Reports of witchcraft==The catalyst for the fears that led to the trials was an Indian woman from Barbados - Tituba.<ref>She was NOT a black; Hansen (1974).</ref> She was a slave in the household of Reverend Samuel Parris, the village preacher. She had entertained Reverend Parris' daughter Betty (9 years old) and her cousin Abigail Williams (11 years old) during the winter of 1692 with stories from her life in Barbados, which involved some sort of magic. She began demonstrating this magic to the girls, and some of their friends who had joined the group. Knowing these activities were forbidden by their Puritan religion, the girls felt guilty - it is then that they began the witchcraft hysteria. The girls began to exhibit strange behavior - they said strange things, screamed, threw things, crawled under furniture, complained of being pricked and cut by invisible pins and knives, and covered their ears during Reverend Parris' preaching as if it hurt them to hear it. The Reverend described their antics as "beyond the power of epileptic fits or natural disease to effect" - naturally, when the village doctor (William Griggs) could not find out what was wrong with them it was assumed that they had been bewitched. The girls soon began to accuse people of bewitching them - the first were Sarah Osborne (an invalid old woman who had married her servant), Sarah Good (a short-tempered beggar) and Tituba. They were all outcasts of the community, and so were easy targets - nobody stood up for them. Arrest warrants for these three were issued on February 29, 1692, and they were quickly arrested and tried by Magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne.==The escalation==More accusations followed the imprisonment of the first three accused. They included: Dorcas Good (4-year-old daughter of Sarah Good), Abigail Hobbs, Deliverance Hobbs, Rebecca Nurse, Martha Corey (an outspoken woman who was openly skeptical about the girls' accusations), Elizabeth Proctor and John Proctor. These new accusations frightened the community, as Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey had been virtuous, upstanding members of the Salem community - if these people were witches, then anyone could be. The number of accused in the jails of Boston, Salem and surrounding towns grew rapidly, until they were overflowing - having no real government, the villagers had no organized way to try all these accused witches. A new Governor, Sir William Phips, arrived in May 1692 and began the Court of Oyer and Terminer ("to hear and determine") to try the masses of accused witches. It comprised 7 judges: Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton, Nathaniel Saltonstall, Bartholomew Gedney, Peter Sergeant, Samuel Sewall, Wait Still Winthrop, John Richards, John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin. ==The trial==The first official session of Oyer and Terminer took place on June 2, 1692. The court based its decisions on 'evidence' such as confessions extracted under torture, 'witch marks' like moles and the reactions of the 'afflicted' girls. Three women were brought to trial and, under pressure, stated the names of others who were working together to possess the girls. The Puritans governing Salem then saw this as an opportunity to use the legal procedure of court trials to identify and uncover the ways of the occult. Public trials were held and testimony was elicited in an attempt to bring forth the workings of the devil.==Executions==These three women, along with sixteen others who were were accused of witchcraft were hanged. Nearly 150 were imprisoned. Those who had reservations about the proceedings often found themselves to be accused. It is interesting to note that to avoid hanging, all the accused had to do was admit their guilt, but many refused. The refusal to admit guilt to save their lives may be attributed to the sturdy Puritan-based morality of the community at the time. One man would not even dignify the proceedings by entering a plea and was pressed to death. <ref>Five men were convicted and hanged, and one man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to cooperate with the court. [http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/education/faq.shtml] </ref>
After many executions, a change in the rule of evidence for these trials excluded "spectral evidence," which was testimony by afflicted persons that they had been visited by a suspect's specter. With that change the subsequent trials resulted overwhelmingly in acquittals rather than convictions, and the later pardons were issued for several of those who had been convicted.<ref>http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ACCT.HTM</ref>
==Victims==
The Court of Oyer and Terminer was active between June 2 and October 29, during which time they condemned 20 people to be hanged. Many more died in prison awaiting trial. After Governor Phips closed Oyer and Terminer, a new Supreme Court was begun and used to try any remaining witchcraft cases. This time no one was convicted - the Salem Witch Trials were over.
== References ==
{{reflist|1}}
==External links==
*[http://www.salemweb.com/memorial/ The Salem Witch Trials 1692: A Chronology of Events]
*[http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/salemcauses.html Causes for the Outbreak of Witchcraft Hysteria in Salem]
*[http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_CH.HTM Chronology of Events Relating to the Salem Witchcraft Trials]
[[Category:Law]]
[[Category:Colonial America]]
[[Category:Religion and Politics]]
[[Category:New England]]
[[Category:Witchcraft]]