Salem Witchcraft Trials by Matthew Altieri
The Salem Witchcraft Trials In the 17th century New England, most any citizen could at any time be accused of witchcraft. When some of the Pilgrims of the late 1600’s began to have uncontrolled fits and doctors could not explain it, witchcraft came to blame. ... Of the twenty-five witches that were convicted during the Salem trials, nineteen were actually executed. ... The entire Salem witchcraft epidemic can be traced back to the Trial of the first accused witch, Tituba. ... These three were all ‘outcasts’ of Salem, veering ever so slightly away from the social norm. ... ” All this was said in front of the entire town, and this event is what sparked the Salem witch trial epidemic (source 3). ... Once the town’s people had confirmed, via the testimony of Tituba, that witchcraft was indeed to blame for all their problems, the hunt for witches was on. ... The town of Salem’s people were more than willing to accept this explanation now that they had actually found a witch, and were eager to convict them all. ... It can be clearly seen that Tituba’s confession, for whatever reason it was made, is responsible for the start of the witchcraft epidemic in Salem, and from that point on, it is also easy to see how Rebecca Nurse and many other accused ‘witches’ came to meet their convictions and executions. The town of Salem was caught at a bad time, and needed something to blame. ... (source 3)” The “educated elite” of Salem attempted to put a stop to the madness, and the witch hunt ended almost as quickly as it began.