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The Salem Witch Trials: Fact or Fiction |
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American history is a collaboration of all of the wonderful events and the
not so successful ones that make up this great country that we call the United
States. Records of this fabulous nation date back all the way to dates way
before our original founding fathers. However, few episodes of American history
have aroused such intense and continuing interest ad the trials and executions
for the witchcraft which occurred in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. Historians
have scrutinized the event from many perspectives; novelists and playwright
from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Arthur Miller have capitalized upon its inherent
dramatic possibilities. The value, then, of a collection of primary documents
relating to this event would seem to be clear, or would it.
Witchcraft had been around long before the Salem witch trials. “Indeed by 1692
the “witch craze,” which had begun in Europe around 1500, was distinctly on the
wane so that the trials in the Salem Village were among the last of the major
outbreaks-if the execution of only twenty persons entitles this outbreak to be
called “major” in the history of European witchcraft.” However, if this was one
of the last instances of witches, why is it so famous? They are different in
many ways. “Before the outbreak at Salem Village, trials for witchcraft had
been fairly common events in colonial America, but they had not invariably
resulted in executions or even in conviction.” The other reason the trials are
so famous, is the highlight of this paper about proving that the trials were
just an act put on by the children who started this outbreak. “Only in 1692 did
the accusations multiply so quickly and develop an entire community.”
On February the 29, 1691/1692, the warrant for the arrest of Sarah Good was
handed to Constable George Locker, who would go to the home of William and
Sarah Good and arrest her. It was written in her warrant, that she had
displayed witchcraft on the children of the village: Elizabeth Paris, Abigail
Williams, Anne Putnam, and Elizabeth Hubert were the children involved. An
interesting point however, is that the children did not make the complaint to
the courts. It was the fathers and relatives of Joseph Hutchinson, Thomas
Putnam, Edward Putnam, and Thomas Preston that went to the courts and made the
complaint for the children. In addition, in the warrant for her arrest, it said
that she had hurt the children several times over the past two months. Why did
it take so long for the children to say something to someone?
The children, who accused Sarah Good of witchcraft, had to provide a deposition
for their testimony. The legal definition of the word deposition is Law.
Testimony under oath, especially a statement by a witness that is written down
or recorded for use in court at a later date. Ironically, the girl’s
depositions seemed to be very similar. Now this is ironic because it is the first
example of a conspiracy among the children. Here are girls who are
acquaintances that provide a written testimony to the courts that is very
similar in context. For example: Anne Putnam wrote that, “I saw the apparition
of Sarah Good, which did torture me most grievously, but I did not know her
name until the 27th of February, and then she told me her name was Sarah Good,
and then she did prick me and pinch me most grievously, and also since, several
times urging me vehemently to write in her book.” Elizabeth Hubbard also
stated, “I saw the apparition of Sarah Good, who did most grievously afflict me
by pinching and pricking me, and so continued hurting of me till the first day
of March, being the day of her examination…Also several times since, she hath
afflicted me and urged me to write in her book.” Here one can clearly see that
the girls talked about or met with each other to write their testimonies.
On March 1, 1691/92, Sarah Good’s examination began. Presided over by Chief
Justice William Stoughton, “the special Court of Oyer (to hear) and Terminer
(to decide) sat in Salem to hear the cases of witchcraft Sarah’s Examination
was performed by two worshipful assistants named John Hathorne and Jonathan
Curran. She was asked a series of questions that seemed to be repetitive and
not a good approach to finding out whether she was a witch or not. But then
again, is there such a thing as a good approach to trying a so-called “witch.”
To start the examination, Hathorne began with such questions as:
Q. Sarah Good, what evil spirit have you familiarity with?
R. None.
Q. Have you made no contact with the devil?
Good answered no.
Q. Why do you hurt these children?
R. I do not hurt them. I scorn it.
Q. Who do you employ, then, to do it?
R. I employ nobody
This is just the first part of the examination. Half way through the
examination, Hathorne turned and asked the children, “to look upon her and see
if this were the person that had hurt them, and so they all did look upon her
and said this was the one of the persons that had tormented them.” They also
proceeded to tell the court that they were being tormented now. Remembering the
play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, this is the period of the trial
in with the children started screaming and complaining of the pain and seeing
things.
After order was attained in the court, the examination proceeded. Hawthorn
again asked her why she tormented those children. Again, Sarah Good said no.
However, Hawthirn received a different answer for the question who did it then
he had the last time the last time he asked it. This time, Sarah said that it
must be one of the other people they brought in. After a couple of more
questions, she blames the tormenting on another person, Mrs. Osborn.
Interesting enough though, that is all that is said about Sarah saying it was
Osborne. Hathorne and Curran, go right on with a series of other questions like
they had them written down and had to follow the order that they were in and
could not stray from that order.
At the close of the examination, Hathorne and Curran ask Sarah Good who she
served as the final question. Sarah Good stated that she served God. Digging
into the question even deeper, Hathorne and Curran asked what god she served.
She stated that she serveed the God that made heaven and earth. In this
particular transcription of the examination, it says that she was not willing
to mention the word God. This doesn’t make sense because she said his name in
the question before that one. It is also said the she answered her questions in
a very wicked, spiteful manner, reflecting and retorting against the authority
with base and abusive words. This too is hard to believe because if this a
transcript of the examination like it says, anyone would get annoyed with
answering the same questions repeatidly. In addition, the answers that were
stated in this copy of the examination, weren’t answers that could have been in
a harsh or wicked manner. That is strictly an opinion of the person writing
recording the examination.
During this portion of the trial seemed to be when her husband, William Good,
turned against her. It said that her husband stated that he was afraid that she
either was a witch or would be one very quickly. The so-called “worshipful” Mr.
Hathorne swiftly questioned him about the nature of his response. Hathorne
proceeded to question him by asking if he had ever seen anything by her. Mr. He
calmly and strangely said no, that he had not seen anything from her, but he
had a bad feeling. So it can be inturpreted that Sarah Good was convicted
because her husband had a bad feeling about her. What kind of court system were
they running in 1691?