The Salem Witch Trials
History will never die, but it is our job to make sure we do not make the same mistakes from our past.
The term witch hunt has been defined as: a searching out for persecution of persons accused of witchcraft. In today's society, we no longer see that term being used for witchcraft but more so politically in a reasoning for harassment.
The most well-known "witch hunt" that took place in the United States was during the spring of 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts. A group of young women claimed that they had been possessed by the Devil and women in their village were practicing witchcraft. This accusation rippled into mass panic throughout the village, leading up to the events we know now as the Salem Witch Trials.
These trials took place during February of 1692 to May of 1693 - resulting in the death of 20 women while over 200 women were accused of practicing witchcraft. While these trials are in the past, we are still being faced with "witch-hunts" to this very day in our modern society.
In 1689, William III and Mary II, English rulers of the time, started a war with France in the American colonies. This was known as King William's War to colonists and it devastated areas around upstate New York, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. This sent refugees into the country of Essex and, specifically, Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Since people from these damaged lands were trying to find a haven, it also resulted in a major decrease in sources for Salem Village. Due to the high amounts of stress created through the village, townsfolk began to grow aggravated with each other. One thing lead to another and soon the Puritan villagers began to believe that this was the work of the Devil.
Since townsfolk were already on edge with one another, it became easier for those to believe that others in town were practicing witchcraft, blaming the accused for anything wrong that came their way - and it didn't stop there. By January of 1692, the daughter and niece of Salem Village's minister, Samuel Parris, were growing sick, and accusations flew through the roof. Parris' daughter, Elizabeth – otherwise known as Betty, and Abigail, began having fits that included violent contortions and screaming outbursts.
A local doctor, William Griggs, diagnosed both girls with bewitchment, along with other young girls in the community showed similar symptoms. These young girls were Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Walcott, and Marry Warrant. In late February, arrest warrants were issued for the Parris' Caribbean slave, Tituba, along with two other women–the homeless beggar Sarah Good and the poor, elderly Sarah Osborn–whom the girls accused of bewitching them. The three women that were accused of practicing witchcraft were brought to civilian officers, Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne, for questioning.
While Good and Osborn denied that they were witches, Tituba confessed. Tituba described in detail images of black dogs, red cats, yellow birds, and a "black man" who wanted her to sign his book. Tituba admitted that she signed the book and said there were several other witches looking to destroy the Puritans. All three women were put in jail.
The thing that truly made the Salem Witch Trials so gut-wrenching were the tests done to the accused. The most well-known tests done were the swimming test, prayer test, and the witch's mark. All tests were done to prove whether or not the accused were really a witch or not, and the tests were usually extremely unfair. When it came to the swimming test, the accused were tied to a chair and thrown into the lake.
It was believed that if you were a witch, you would float, but if you were innocent, you would sink. The majority of the time, it ended with the accused sinking to the bottom of the lake, many not surviving despite the rope tied around their waist. When it came to the prayer test, if the accused slipped even in the slightest way possible, they were deemed a witch and burned to death.
The witch's mark was a flaw on the body that only a "witch" could have, or so the townsfolk thought. If the accused had a mole, scar, extra nipple, or even a birthmark, they were sentenced to death as a witch. As you can see, these tests were extremely unfair and led to far too many deaths that were not needed whatsoever.
The newly appointed governor of Massachusetts, William Phips, established the special Court of Oyer and Terminer (hear and determine) witch cases on May 27th of 1692. This determined the fate of accused witches in Suffolk, Essex, and Middlesex counties. The court consisted of eight judges; Jonathan Corwin, Bartholomew Gedney, John Hathorne, John Richards, William Stoughton (Chief Magistrate), Samuel Sewall, Nathaniel Saltonstall, Peter Sergeant, and Waitstill Winthrop.
The first case this special court had to judge was that of Bridget Bishop, an older woman in town. Bishop was later found guilty and on June 10, the first hanging occurred in what later would be known as Gallows Hill. Five days later, minister Cotton Mather wrote a letter that pleaded the court to not accept testimonies that related around dreams and visions.
The court would not listen and five people were sentenced and hanged in July, five more in August and eight in September. On October 3, following in his son's footsteps, Increase Mather, then president of Harvard, denounced the use of spectral evidence. In January 1697, the Massachusetts General Court declared a day of fasting for the tragedy of the Salem witch trials. The Court of Oyer and Terminer was later found to be unlawful when it came to trials.
While the witch hunt did finally come to an end, the painful memory of those killed lasted forever. Fortunately, the heirs of townsfolk would not have to live the way they had to – suffering to find food and deal with constant accusations over religion and witchcraft. The town never did return to how it originally started, the damage of the trials being too overwhelming for others to ignore but in the end, Salem Village survived the mass hysteria.
We are no longer burning accused "witches" at the stake, yet witch hunts are still a very common thing to this day. In politics, people can become very nasty with one another – targeting anyone that disagrees with their ideas. It is cruel and shows how little we have moved forward in history. We see witch hunts between white officers and innocent black community members, cis-gender men and women targeting transgender men and women, and most of all – our very own president.
Many bystanders could say that these "witch hunts" are nowhere near as cruel as they were back in Salem, but those who are being accused, much like the witches of Salem, are fearing for their lives just like the accused were in the 1600s. History will never die, but it is our job to make sure that we do not repeat the same mistakes from our past.
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
Michael Neal
My 10 Favorite YouTubers
They can all teach you something
I've fallen down into the rabbit hole that is YouTube. Lately, I've been finding the videos on YouTube much more entertaining than anything on Netflix or Hulu. There are so many videos out there about literally everything. Some of my favorite videos are murder mysteries or unsolved crime videos. But I also love watching movie commentaries or anything funny. If you like YouTube as much as I do, I highly recommend checking out these YouTubers.
1. Hailey Reese
Hailey is such a light in this world. Even though she talks about paranormal things which can oftentimes be scary, she always brings light and love to the video. Her videos are so informational and spooky. They're so fun to watch and interesting to think about. She is one of the soul siblings, and you will understand what I mean by that if you watch her channel. Also, you get to be a Reese's Peaces, what a cool name!
2. Kendall Rae
Kendall does a lot of different kinds of videos, but some of my favorite ones that she does are the True Crime videos. Many of the stories are sad or disturbing, but she does a fantastic job of being respectful of the families who lost a loved one as well as the person who is deceased. These stories really bring into perspective how messed up people in this world can be, but at the same time the beauty of our humanity and that there are good people in the world.
3. Dylan Is In Trouble
Ah, Dyan. Where to begin. He does a lot of movie commentaries. He has done commentaries on everything from kids movies, rom-coms, horror, and thriller. He apparently went to film school and so he actually analyzes the movies in a critical way. He always points out plot holes and cliches and makes it so entertaining to watch. He also shows the movie as he's watching it, so it's like you get to watch it without actually spending the hour and a half watching it. He's so entertaining to watch and makes me laugh every time, even if it's a serious movie. One of my favorite things is that he calls his followers "troublemakers" and as someone who rarely ever gets into trouble, I like it.
4. Jon Solo
If you're someone who loves Disney movies and fairytales, this channel is for you. Jon goes into the origin stories of various Disney movies, heroes, villains, and other fairytale creatures. It's amazing the amount of research he does in order to find and explain the origins of some of our favorite characters.
5. tiffanyferg
I'm a bit new to her channel, but she covers a range of topics that I think are very important. She talks about beauty standards, the college scandal, minimalism, mental health, and college struggles. As someone who is finishing college and still learning about myself, I really appreciate her analysis of these topics and the advice that she gives.
6. Brandi TV
Brandi is too funny. While I don't condone doing drugs, she does really funny "makeup" tutorials. I feel like I always cry from laughing so hard. One of my favorites is when she does a makeup tutorial for Ursula from the Little Mermaid. So funny. She is such a sweetheart and a pure soul.
7. Loey Lane
Loey is another light in this world. She talks about paranormal things, reads scary viral stories, body positivity, and her own personal experiences. Her makeup is always on point and brings so much light to sometimes dark topics. She is one of the soul siblings too!
8. The Try Guys
Do I even have to give an explanation for these guys? They try everything, and it's hilarious to watch them. My favorite series of theirs is when Keith eats everything on the menu from different fast food places. And they don't waste the food so that's a plus!
9. Alex Myers
Alex is another great YouTuber who does movie and Tv show commentaries, but he animates himself and his dog into the videos. It's very interesting to see, especially because sometimes he will talk about his own personal experiences and its very relatable. Also, his dog is super cute!
10. AndrewTMI
Last but not least, we have Andrew. I love how totally open and honest he is. He is very relatable and honestly hilarious. He is dramatic and that just makes his channel so entertaining. He is the last member of the soul siblings. When Hailey, Loey, and Andrew are together some real spooky stuff happens and it's some of the most entertaining videos to watch.
If you haven't heard of any of these YouTubers, please check them out. They are so great at entertaining and presenting facts. Even though I haven't met any of them, they all seem like really great, genuine people.