The+Salem+Witch+Trials7

 In the summer of 1692, ignorance and fear ruled over Puritan Salem, Massachusetts. Several men and women stood trial for witchcraft. People called them witches and believed the devil had given them special powers. Nineteen of the accused were judged guilty and put to death by hanging. Another was crushed to death for not pleading guilty. Many others suffered and some died as a result of the turmoil and mistreatment. Web resource from http://www.42explore2.com/salemwitch.htm

The Salem Witch Trials, 1692 T he seeds of the hysteria that afflicted Salem Village, Massachusetts were sown in January 1692 when a group of young girls began to display bizarre behavior. The tight-knit community was at a loss to explain the convulsive seizures, blasphemous screaming, and trance-like states that afflicted the youngsters. The physicians called in to examine the girls could find no natural cause of the disturbing behavior. If the source of the affliction where the trials took place || was not attributable to a physical malady, the community reasoned that it must be the work of Satan. Witches had invaded Salem. In February the village began praying and fasting in order to rid itself of the devil's influence. The girls were pressured to reveal who in the community controlled their behavior. Three women were identified and examined. One, Tituba (a slave), confessed to seeing the devil who appeared to her "sometimes like a hog and sometimes like a great dog." Even more troubling, Tituba confessed that a conspiracy of witches permeated Salem Village. In March the afflicted girls accused Martha Corey. The three women previously denounced as colluding with the devil were marginal to the community. Martha Corey was different; she was an upstanding member of the Puritan congregation - her revelation as a witch demonstrated that Satan's influence reached to the very core of the community. Events snowballed as the accusatory atmosphere intensified and reached a fever pitch. During the period from March into the fall many were charged, examined, tried and condemned to death. The hangings started in June with the death of Bridget Bishop and continued through September. As winter approached, the hysteria played itself out as criticism of the procedures grew. In October, the colonial governor dissolved the local Court of inquiry. The convictions and condemnations for witchery stopped. Nineteen victims of the witch-hunt had been hanged, one crushed to death under the weight of stones and at least four died in prison awaiting trial. Article from http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/salem.htm
 * [[image:http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/images/salem2.jpg width="208" height="157"]] ||
 * The Salem Village Meeting House

Video: [|http://school.discoveryeducatio][|n.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/story/story.html] Examination of a Witch, by T.H. Matteson 1853. Courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum http://www.salemweb.com/guide/images/wtrial2a.jpg

Picture from the "courthouse" http://z.about.com/d/atheism/1/7/L/0/3/SalemWitchTrial-e.jpg

Woman convicted of being a witch about to be hung. http://www.iath.virginia.edu/salem/images/noblemartyr1.jpg

Slave Wachubba getting run out. http://lewisamanda.wikispaces.com/file/view/pylewitch1.jpg