Salem witch trials
Massachusetts persecution episode
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions in colonial Massachusetts in 1692–93, in which over 200 people were accused of witchcraft and 20 were executed.
The episode has become a byword for mass hysteria, false accusations, and the dangers of religious extremism in legal proceedings.
Arthur Miller's play *The Crucible* used Salem as an allegory for McCarthyism: This investigation is turning into a Salem witch trial.
Early Puritan New England settlement
- theocracyRule by religious authority
- covenantBinding formal pledge
- predestinationDivinely predetermined fate
- meetinghousePlace for group worship
sermon · sin · devil · temptation · godliness · piety · moral panic · religious fervor
Shared irrational public fear
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- frenzyViolent mental agitation
- accusationsClaims of fault
- spectral evidenceTestimony from supernatural visions
fits · convulsions · crying out · contagion · delusion · groupthink · mob mentality · escalation
Practice of dark magic
- familiarsWitch's supernatural attendants
- black magicEvil supernatural practice
- spellArrange letters correctly
- curseInvoked harm through words
hex · pact with devil · broomstick · cauldron · Malleus Maleficarum · spectral evidence · bewitchment · enchantment
Suspended wall coverings
- executionsLegally sanctioned killings
- arrestsLawful detentions by police
- imprisonmentLegal detention in jail
- pressingRequiring immediate attention
Tituba · accused · condemned · jailed · chains · dungeons · interrogation · torture
Politically-motivated accusation without evidence
- red scareMass anti-communist hysteria
- Arthur MillerAmerican dramatist, mid-century
- The CrucibleDrama about witch accusations
- moral panicIrrational collective fear wave
scapegoating · political persecution · memorial · tourism · Halloween · cautionary tale · collective memory
Erroneous guilty verdict
- innocenceFreedom from wrongdoing
- scapegoatingUnfairly assigning fault to innocents
- false testimonyLying while legally sworn
- coerced confessionStatement obtained through pressure
kangaroo court · exoneration · pardon · reparations · memorial · apology · victims · miscarriage of justice
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Early Puritan New England settlement
- theocracyRule by religious authority
- covenantBinding formal pledge
- predestinationDivinely predetermined fate
meetinghouse · sermon · sin · devil · temptation · godliness · piety · moral panic · religious fervor · heresy
mass hysteria
Shared irrational public fear
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- frenzyViolent mental agitation
- accusationsClaims of fault
spectral evidence · fits · convulsions · crying out · contagion · delusion · groupthink · mob mentality · escalation · outbreak
sorcery
Practice of dark magic
- familiarsWitch's supernatural attendants
- black magicEvil supernatural practice
- spellArrange letters correctly
curse · hex · pact with devil · broomstick · cauldron · Malleus Maleficarum · spectral evidence · bewitchment · enchantment · dark arts
hangings
Suspended wall coverings
- executionsLegally sanctioned killings
- arrestsLawful detentions by police
- imprisonmentLegal detention in jail
pressing · Tituba · accused · condemned · jailed · chains · dungeons · interrogation · torture · confession
McCarthyism
Politically-motivated accusation without evidence
- red scareMass anti-communist hysteria
- Arthur MillerAmerican dramatist, mid-century
- The CrucibleDrama about witch accusations
moral panic · scapegoating · political persecution · memorial · tourism · Halloween · cautionary tale · collective memory
wrongful conviction
Erroneous guilty verdict
- innocenceFreedom from wrongdoing
- scapegoatingUnfairly assigning fault to innocents
- false testimonyLying while legally sworn
coerced confession · kangaroo court · exoneration · pardon · reparations · memorial · apology · victims · miscarriage of justice · bias
- religious trialsinquisition, religious court, Spanish Inquisition, Roman Inquisition, church court
- US HistoryAmerican Revolution, US history, Civil War, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln
- Colonial AmericaGeorge Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Benjamin Franklin, Declaration of Independence
- New EnglandMaine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut
- legal casescivil case, court cases, landmark cases, criminal case, federal case
- New England historyMassachusetts, Boston, Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Puritans
Salem witch trialsdue process
Guaranteed judicial fairness
fair trial · habeas corpus · rule of law · presumption of innocence · Brown v. Board of Education
Salem witch trialsAge of Reason
Eighteenth-century intellectual awakening
scientific inquiry · empiricism · scientific method · skeptical inquiry · rationalism
Salem witch trialscivil rights movement
Organized effort against discrimination
social harmony · reconciliation · tolerance · pluralism · sanctuary movement
trial, witch, trials, witchcraft, witches, bewitch, bewitched, witching, bewitching