The court convened again in late June, with more than one hundred accused witches in jail. Neither the young nor the old were spared. There is little doubt that some individuals did worship the devil and attempt to practice sorcery with harmful intent. The feedback will only be used for improving the website. is available to read on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts website (see especially page 94). This medieval text (Der Hexenhammer in German) prescribesjudicial procedures in cases of alleged witchcraft. B. The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University (accessed Jul 13, 2023). On January 14, 1697five years after the trialsthe General Court ordered a day of fasting and prayers for the tragedy of Salem, stating, That so all God's people may offer up fervent Supplications unto him for ye preservation & prosperity of his Majtys.. Levit. Courts relied on three kinds of evidence: 1) confession, 2) testimony of two eyewitnesses to acts of witchcraft, or 3) spectral evidence (when the afflicted girls were having their fits, they would interact with an unseen assailant the apparition of the witch tormenting them). The Salem Witch Trials, the events of 1692 in Salem Village which resulted in 185 accused of witchcraft, 156 formally charged, 47 confessions, and 19 executed by hanging, remain one of the most studied phenomena in colonial American history. Little is known about Tituba besides her role in the witch trials. Norton, Mary Beth. In the English tradition, although the rules of evidence were vague, legal experts insisted on clear and convincing proof of a crime. The Specter of Salem: Remembering the Witch Trials in Nineteenth-Century America (University of Chicago Press, BF1576.A33 2008). While there was no need to provide evidence for accusing someone of witchcraftjust pointing fingers was enoughspectral evidence was often used during the trials. Did witches really exist in Salem? Hoffer, Peter Charles. A lock icon ( Now that Tituba had confirmed that satanic work was afootand that there were other witches aroundthere was no stopping until they were all found. Five more were tried and executed, followed by another five in August, and eight in September, fourteen women and five men. A new Superior Court of Judicature was created to serve as the highest court in Massachusetts, and in January 1693 it began to hear the remaining witch trials. The accusers were generally young females between the ages of 11 and 20. Updated: October 24, 2022 | Originally Published: October 23, 2007 T.H. With this worldview, it was not a stretch for them to accept 'spectral evidence' of spirits and visionswhich was the primary evidence used as proof of guilt during the Salem Witch Trials. However, after the dogs death, the local Minister reasoned that if the devil had possessed the dog, it would not have been so easily killed with a bullet. According to her death warrant, through her witchcraft, Bishop had caused bodily harm to five women, including Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and Elizabeth Hubbard. North Berwick Trials. The accusations ran their course in Salem Village, but not in Andover, where 48 were accused compared with 23 in Salem Village says Burns. The most terrifying part, perhaps, was that anyone could be accused of engaging in witchcraft, and there was little they could do to defend themselves. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. For more on the Salem witch trials, see the University of VirginiasSalem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project. Thus, spectral evidence is testimony about what an accused person's spirit did, rather than actions of the accused person in the body. The second slain dog was actually thought to be a victim of witchcraft whose tormentors fled Salem before they could be tried in court. When this failed, Parris pressured the girls to identify the suspected witches. More Wonders of the Invisible World (1700). Spectral evidence refers to the description of harm committed by the specters of the accused, described by those who were bewitched [PDF]. Technically, those accused of practicing witchcraft, or their next of kin, could respond to accusations by filing charges of defamation against their accusers. "A lot of people were against spectral evidence, so confessions were now the gold standard to find people guilty. He was not successful in solving conflicts in the village; rather he contributed to the dissonance by making well-known church members suffer public penance due to their small mistakes. A few days later, Governor Phips met with Stoughton to decide the fate of the court and decided to halt the trials. ___________________________. Elizabeth Proctor was found guilty but received a reprieve because she was pregnant. Hot Podcasts. These events all contributed to an atmosphere of profound insecurity and danger, spiritual and physical, though perhaps none really adequately explain the Salem witchcraft outbreak of 1692. Under pressure from the authoritiesand hoping she would get to see her mother if she compliedshe confessed to the claims that Sarah was a witch and Dorothy had been witness to this fact. In October 1692, the governor dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer, and inDecember 1692, the General Court passed, An Act against Conjuration, Witchcraft, and Dealing with Evil and Wicked Spirits, For more on the Salem witch trials, see the University of Virginias, Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project, to Witchcraft law up to the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692. All Rights Reserved. Explore our upcoming webinars, events and programs. The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. Jacobs was one of the colonists the court convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to death. In the late 1600s the Salem Village community in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Danvers, Massachusetts) was fairly small and undergoing a period of turmoil with little political guidance. In the process Salem divided into pro- and anti-Parris factions. The Salem Witch Trials: Legal Resources The 1692 Salem witch trials are a big blot on American history. Additionally, a man was pressed beneath heavy stones until he died. Co., KA653.B75 1972 LawAnxS). Which of the following most likely led to the events described in the excerpt provided? Regardless of whether they confessed, some were burned and some hanged. New York: Norton, 1998. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015. 188; Deut. Real-Time. PDF The Devil's Specter: Spectral Evidence and the Salem Witchcraft Crisis C. Scribners Sons, New York. A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials - Smithsonian Magazine By May 1693, Phips had pardoned and released all those remaining in prison on witchcraft charges. Thank you for your website feedback! 2015 A Story of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience. The Salem Witch Hunt: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford/St. How has Matteson conveyed the climate of hysteria that overtook the community of Salem and led to the witch trials? The only clues: five buried chests and the word "Croatoan," a Native American village nearby, carved on a post. Starkey, Marion. One exception was Giles Corey, who refused to stand for trialhe believed the court had already decided his fate, and he didn't want his property to be confiscated upon his verdict of being found guilty. Fourteen women and six men were executed for witchcraft, and five others died in prison during the trials. Spectral Evidence Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc. . rrosenbe@uchicago.edu, The University of Chicago Library1100 E. 57th St., Chicago, IL 60637, Posted on Oct 29, 2012, by Salem Witch Trials: Cotton Mather - University of Virginia And the most effective way to achieve that is through investing in The Bill of Rights Institute. Illustration of the Salem witch trials, depicting Mary Walcott, one of the afflicted victims. The Moreover, the magistrates let it be known that an accused witch could avoid execution by confessing, repenting, and putting the blame on someone else. If the accused was female, a jury of women examined her body for witchs marks which supposedly showed that afamiliar had bitten or fed on the accused. It prevents the admission of rumors, assumptions, and community gossipprecisely the sorts of things that drove the Salem trials., Debate over allowing hearsay in court trials had begun by the time of the Salem trials, but the doctrine evolved slowly. In January 1697, he stood bare headed in church in Boston while the minister read the following apology: Samuel Sewall, sensible of the reiterated strokes of God upon himself and family; and being sensible, that as to the guilt contracted upon the opening of the late commission of Oyer and Terminer at Salem (to which the order for this day relates) he is, upon many accounts, more concerned than any that he knows of, desires to take the blame and shame of it, asking pardon of men, and especially desiring prayers that God, who has an unlimited authority, would pardon that sin and all other his sins, personal and relative; and according to his infinite benignity, and sovereignty, not visit the sin of him, or of any other, upon himself or any of his, nor upon the land. Godbeer, Richard. The Hammer of Witches: A Complete Translation of the, Witchcraft and the Law: A Selected Bibliography of Recent Publications, Rhonda Owens appointed Associate Dean of Administration and Operations, Use the south entrance to Regenstein Library while the east entrance stairs are replaced, Dog Fight: The Animal Experimentation Debate in Twentieth-Century Chicago, Trials (Witchcraft) Massachusetts Salem, Witchcraft Massachusetts Salem History 17th century. Those who publicly questioned the guilt of a defendant were likely to be accused of witchcraft themselves. The number of trials and executions varied according to time and place, but it is generally believed that some 110,000 persons in total were tried for witchcraft and between 40,000 to 60,000 were executed. To save his wife, the governor stepped in to stop the trials and disband the court of Oyer and Terminer. The series of trials and executions finally ended in May 1693. The Literature of Witchcraft Trials: Books & Manuscripts from the Jacob Burns Law Library (University of Texas at Austin, BF1566.P243 2008)(Tarlton Law Library, Legal History Series, No. Francis, Richard. During the witch trials, however, individuals convicted of perjury could save themselves from public humiliation byaccusing their neighbors. However, no one ever embodied the concept of a witch as previously described. Even a four-year-old girl, the daughter of one of the accused, Sarah Good, was imprisoned for witchcraft. Martins, XXKFM2478.8.W5G63 2011). Nevertheless, the trials continued despite the travesty of justice that was recognized at the time. Squabbles over property were commonplace, and litigiousness was rampant. Children against parents. She went as far as to say that she did not even know what a witch was. I find this topic really interesting and think you do a nice job summarzing it, but would have liked this post a little more had it discussed more directly what role archaeology or anthropology in general has had/ could have when it comes to discussing the Salem Witch Trials. People were not hanged if they confessed, so many confessed to save their own lives. The touch test was also used to determine guilt or innocence. PDF The Legitimacy of Spectral Evidence During the Salem Witchcraft Trials