Why Salem Witch Trials Were Aimed Solely at Women

When thinking of what it means to have a “witch hunt”, one could imagine late 17th century America and Salem, Massachusetts. This is when and where the Salem witch trials, the origin of “witch hunt” or “witch trial”, occurred. Many have the misconceptions it was the “witches” doing evil acts towards the Puritan people and other locals who inhabited the area. These witch trials were horrendous acts carried out by Puritan ministers and the townspeople. The punishments for practicing witch craft consist of jailing, hanging and even torturing the subjects until they admitted guilt. During the Salem Witch Trials women were the main victims of the church and the people. So the question of this essay is “Is it reasonable thinking to wonder if the trials and accusations were aimed at women?”.

Firstly, who were the puritans? Some of the English Protestants who settled in America were not happy with their religion and how their society had been changing. These people were devoted to “purifying” the Church of England. This meant removing any and all aspects of Catholicism from their practices. The Puritans eventually settled upon Plymouth, Mass., which is not very far from Salem, Mass., in the early 1600s. In late 17th century New England the locals had been experiencing a lot of tension in the community from the hardships they had been faced with. The winters were long and cold, crops failed to grow, the native people as well as the settlers began to die off as a result of diseases. Political struggles also arose, the colony’s lost their charter in 1684 and gained another royal charter in 1691. These irrational fears worries and even teenage boredom are some of the reasons believed to be the underlying causes the trials.

The witch trials date back to Salem, Mass. in January of 1692. The hysteria began with 11-year-old Abigail Williams and 9-year-old Elizabeth Parris, the daughter and niece of minister Samuel Parris, of Salem Village. The two girls began having violent fits and uncontrollable outbursts. William Griggs, a local doctor, declare the girls had been bewitched. Shortly after this discovery, many girls in the area began experiencing similar symptoms, coincidentally. The names of the group of girls are, Elizabeth Hubbard, Mercy Lewis, Ann Putnam Jr., Mary Warren and Mary Walcott. Mr. Parris owned a slave from Barbados where he was from, Tituba. About a month after the hysteria first began, Tituba, along with two other women – an elderly woman Sarah Osborn and a homeless woman Sarah Good. All of the girls were examined, and the same conclusion had been drawn for each, there was so medical explanation, but they believed it was bewitching. There was a sort of theme to the people accused. This theme was women, specifically unmarried, older, and didn’t fit the typically female role in society. For example, they weren’t pious, submissive, or an ideal Puritan woman. So, the townspeople began gossiping that it was the work of Satan and the women who were different, the witches had taken over Salem. They had a theory that Satan came and forced the girls to sign his book to, “…renounce their covenant with God and sign a new contract with Satan”. Later in February the town of Salem then began to act desperately to prevent and stop the spread of ungodly acts. The three women, who were as innocent as anyone else, were forced to admit the crime to the community. The three women were declared evil in their town and society quickly alienated them. As time passes, about 150 people are accused, examined, charged, and put to death.

In the fall of that year, the weak government was then involved with the affairs taking place in Salem. Their actions put a stop to the trials and horrendous punishments. The Salem witch trials ended in May of 1693, a little over a year after it began. By the time it was over, the death toll had risen to around 20. Salem called on Martha Corey for witch like behavior in March of the same year. Martha Corey was an upstanding member of the congregation so this confused the locals and they began to then question her and arrest her with no sufficient evidence. She denied any accusations of satanic behavior and since no one could prove she was a witch, she sat in jail.

According to “A Chronology of Events”, the idea that witches were women seems to have been suggested by local men who had the power to decide the fates of the accused. In the end some people were never cleared of their crimes. Some escaped from prison, evaded arrest, pled guilty or were tortured to death while in the care of the regional government. All cases were inconclusive, and no evidence was found, the only judge was bias and stereotyping. Now we can clearly see how Puritan men did not value the truth or the women in society.