Adams 1
Grace Adams
Professor Barnhart
American History I
26 September 2018
Causes of the Salem Witch Trials
Taking place in February of 1662 the Salem witch trails hindered colonial Massachusetts in its time period. It began with a disease that caused abnormal behavior and lead to accusations of demon possessed girls. Being the deadliest witch hunt in United States history the Salem witch trails became a major problem leading to 20 executions. The main causes that started the whole trials are ergot poisoning causing muscle spasms and boredom because of strict puritan belief.
One theory claims that the whole thing started because the girls in the village were bored simple as that. Being stuck in their houses all winter long, there wasn’t much to do in 1662. Plus, the Puritans had very strict beliefs which forbid a lot of forms of entertainment. And for girls, it was even worse because the restrictions for them were much stricter than they were for boys. Reading books and attending small circles containing fortune telling and associating themselves in various stories about witches and witchcraft. But at the time the stories of witchcraft were very new so they quickly became the main form of entertainment.
Works Cited
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trialshttp://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/witches-curse-clues-evidence/1501/
https://prezi.com/tox2oel-ojko/the-salem-witch-trials-theories-and-possible-causes-to-the-epidemic/
