Salem Witch Trials presentation by Abby Gunn

1. Salem Witch Trials
(1692) By: Abby Gunn

2. Salem Witch Trials

3. Thesis Statement
Although the Salem Witch Trials took
place in 1692, it is still a testament to
how scapegoating and groupthink are
used to perpetuate oppression in our
society.

4. Setting the Scene of Salem 1692
• The changing of attitudes towards magic,
witchcraft in particular, results after the
rapid religious transformation
• The middle ages was plagued with diseases
(the Black Death), and many Christians
believed this was due to magic or poisoning
(Zabel).
• Driven by fear, witches were taken to “trial”
and eventually killed. It is estimated that
40,000 to 50,000 people were killed in the
trials.
• It is also estimated that, “prior to the mid-
1970s, when detailed research into trial
records began, “were almost 100% pure
speculation” (Zabel).

5. • In the Spring of 1692, “a group of young
girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts,
claimed to be possessed by the devil and
accused several local women of
witchcraft”(History.com).
• People claimed to be overtaken by
hysterical episodes
• The hysterical episodes increased, and
people started pointing the finger at
different women in town
• This drawing is titled “The Afflicted Girls
of Salem”. It is depicting one of the
hysterical episodesà
What started the Salem
Witch Trials?

6. What started the Salem Witch Trials?
• The young girls (Abigail and Betty) were
seen by a local doctor by the name of
William Griggs who couldn’t find
anything physically wrong with the girls.
• He then diagnosed the girls with
“bewitchment” (history.com)
• There were many more misdiagnoses of
“bewitchment”, as women experienced
the same symptoms around the
community.
• It is important to understand that
doctors at this time didn’t have the same
medical training as doctors today.

7. What started the Salem Witch Trials?
• Other girls started to have hysterical episodes, as news of Abigail
and Betty spread. The community members needed an answer for
why this was happening.
• The other afflicted girls pointed the finger at three women: Sarah
Good, Sarah Osbourne, and Tituba
• It was the outsiders of the community who were first accused of
witchcraft

8. Who Were These Outsiders?
• Sarah Good: a “poor” young pregnant mother of a young daughter.
She would later die in prison, maintaining her innocence.
• Sarah Osbourne: a young woman who had been absent from the
church and was suing one of the girl’s family that accused her. She
would later be hanged after the husband turned on her in court,
accusing her of witchcraft.
• Tituba: an enslaved woman who lived in Betty Parris’s home.
Tituba denied practicing any kind of magic; but then admitted to
practicing witchcraft blaming Good and Osbourne for forcing her.

9. Tituba, Sarah Osbourne, Sarah Good

10. Why Did Tituba Lie?
• It is important to note that Tituba not only lied and
confessed to something she didn’t do; but she also
made a false confession to save herself.
• The justice system valued repentance over truth.
• This idea is very similar to Christian beliefs, wanting
Christ followers to repent for their sins.
• One authority reported to a woman, “she would be
hanged if she did not confess, and freed if she did”
(Pavlac).

11. Why Did People Believe Magic was real?
• Unlike in today’s culture, citizens had no access
to information to check the credibility of the
authorities, doctors and accusers.
• People didn’t understand science and wanted a
deeper explanation for the plagues that were
taking over.
• There are many different hypotheses as to why
people were so quick to believe that the reason
why they acted hysteric was because of being
possessed.

12. Possible Reasons for Belief in Bewitchment
Possible reasons for Belief (history.com):
1. Lack of scientific understanding
2. Paranoia because of epidemic, and neighboring Native American Tribes.
3. Physical illness that would lead to what seemed like “possession”

13. Paranoia
1. Epidemic: This is something that we are familiar with in our world today with
COVID-19; however, at the time medicine hadn’t been credited or reliable to
cure most illnesses. A smallpox epidemic created panic for settlers because
they didn’t understand the scientific knowledge. Increasing overall paranoia
for those who remained untouched by the disease.
2. Neighboring Native American Tribes: The relationship between the colonies
and the Native American Tribes was strained to say the least. The Native
American’s had different beliefs and practices that made the colonist
uncomfortable. This lack of understanding of cultural differences created a lot
of tension.

14. Physical Illness- Not only were young girls showing physical symptoms of
this “bewitchment”, but the doctors who are supposed to
be trusted fed into this idea.
- How can you argue with someone who claims they felt
specific symptoms?
- These are also young girls who could be influenced into
saying anything by trusted adults and doctors
- The convictions were based on the circumstantial biased
evidence given by young girls.

15. Lack of Scientific Understanding
• Most people at this time were illiterate, especially
women
• This placed a lot of power into the leader's hands to
decide what is true
• Science was so underdeveloped that magic stood in
its place in many cases.
• The lack of accessibility to information allowed for
so many people to get on board with the witch
trials.
• Why would the people doubt what the government
is saying if it isn’t against them?

16. How did your topic fit into the daily life of
America in the era that you are covering?
This topic fits into the daily lives of
Americans because it controlled many of the
actions of the people of this time. Americans
were acting out of fear of being bewitched
or being accused of being a witch. This
didn’t just affect women, but men were also
accused of using dark magic.
Citizens constantly had to be on guard for
bewitchment happening to them, or for
accusations.

17. So What Happened to the “Witches”?
• In the previous slides, three women were mentioned as being
accused of witchcraft. This was only the beginning of the
accusations.
• More than 200 people were accused of witchcraft either by young
girls or other convicted witches that wanted to save themselves.
• Following the teachings of the church, the authorities wanted
accused witches to simply confess and ask for forgiveness.
• The authorities didn’t want to dive deep into investigating each
“witch”.

18. What Options did the “Witches” Have?
1. The accused could confess and ask for forgiveness
This was the best option because the authorities proved they
weren’t looking for justice, just repentance. They would walk free,
even if they had to ruin their reputation, which really wouldn’t
matter if they were dead.
The accused witches would also be asked to place the blame on
other people within the community. Most of the original people
accused were considered outsiders, and they didn’t fit into the
community anyways. This made it easier to out other community
members

19. What Options did the “Witches” Have?
2. The witch could maintain their innocence
The evidence that was being considered in the case didn’t have any
facts behind it. At first the court would simply take the word of the
young girls. Later they began implementing many different tests
that don’t relate to witchcraft. To make the cases even more
biased, the jury members would be compiled of family members of
the accused.
If a jury member spoke out, they would then come under suspension
like Judge Nathanial Saltonstall. Saltonstall “hunted for the truth,
not witches”, which brought attention to himself and his family.

20. Examples of the Tests Administered
Similar to the majority of this time period, these tests were without
fact, and carried little meaning; however, they were considered
law. If the accused passed the test, there was no way they could
have been a witch. If they didn’t, they would be condemned to
death.
There were many different tests; here are three tests that were the
most interesting:
1. Swimming Test
2. Prayer Test
3. Witches Cake Test

21. Swimming Test
• It was believed that Witches rejected
water and would float or come
completely out of the water
• The accused would be stripped of their
clothing and a weight would be tied to
their waste.
• So if a person sank in the water, they
weren’t considered a witch
• They weren’t a witch, but often
accidental drownings would take place

22. Prayer Test
• Medieval wisdom believed that witches wouldn’t
be able to speak or memorize scriptures
• Usually the accused would be asked to recite the
Lord’s Prayer
• This seems like a simple task, but if the accused
messed up one word or paused, this would be
seen as an error
• Also most people at this time were illiterate
making this task impossible for anyone

23. Witch Cake Test
• This test included the making of a supernatural
dessert that would identify the “witches”
• When someone was being possessed/bewitched,
they would take a urine sample from the victim,
and mix it with rye-meal and ashes and bake it
into a cake (Andrews)
• This cake was then given to a dog (supposed to
be animal helpers of the witches) who would
then fall under its spell and reveal the name of
the guilty witch

24. What was it about your topic that was unique to
America and to our study of American history prior
to 1865?
The Salem Witch Trials are unique to our study of American history
because they represent what can happen when there are no political
institutions in place to protect the rights of individuals in a court of law.
Early Americans, especially the founders, knew that these rights would
have to be protected if there was to be justice in the nation they would
create.
Unfortunately, these rights were not extended to all Americans (blacks
and women) until much later in American History. The Salem Witch Trials
represent how desperately we need order and justice for all people.

25. How would you have felt about your topic if you
had been living during the era you are covering?
• If I were a woman in this society, I want to say that I would have recognized
the insanity in the injustices that were taking place; but truthfully, I may
not have been equipped to recognize this, especially if I wasn’t accused of
witchcraft.
• There are many factors that play into why this happened, and many are due
to the lack of informed citizens. Most people had zero education, and no
ability to think for themselves.
• These factors created a perfect environment for scapegoating and group
thinking/mob mentality orchestrated by people with power.

26. Cultural Connections to Today
I have talked a lot about how the Salem
Witch Trials have affected people in the
past, but we haven’t talked about how
this manipulation and scapegoating is
like today’s society:
1. Scapegoating allows people to shift
blame towards others with less
power creating injustices
2. Manipulation of power creates a
groupthink environment where
citizens can’t think individually.

27. Evidence of Scapegoating
Recent Examples
- One example is how our President is
blaming the country of China for COVID-
19
- Although the virus originated in China,
there is some blame to take as well
- “Trump has repeatedly claimed that the
deaths of more than 100,000 Americans
to COVID-19 were somebody else’s fault”
(Garrett).
Salem Witch Trials
- The doctors didn’t have an actual
physical diagnoses for the girls, so
they were “bewitched”
- The authorities took this diagnosis
and needed to hold someone
responsible
- They didn’t care who was guilty,
they only wanted repentance
- They gained popular support by
turning people against one another
to save themselves

28. Evidence of Groupthink
Recent Examples
- During the cold war, America created a
common enemy: communism.
- Accusations of being a communist were
damaging and required little or no
evidence
- People were swept up in the hysteria
fueled by fear from the anti-communist
propaganda developed by our
government
Salem Witch Trials
- In the actual trials that took place,
there were family members
testifying against their own wives,
or daughters.
- Based on what the community was
saying about the woman, the
family member would adapt their
opinions on their loved one
- This wasn’t just a small fine they
would pay, their loved ones
condemned them to death

29. Examples of Group Think: Salem Witch Trials

30. Examples of Group Think: Red Nightmare
This is an example of group
think opinions put together
by our government to scare
Americans away from
Communism. The whole
video is 30 minutes long
but here is a short clip

31. How has your topic changed over the years
(describe its’ role in society today).
• As citizens became more educated, they were able to realize how
horrible the Salem Witch Trials treated people and violated their
rights.
• There was also a need to establish rights that couldn’t be taken
away under the law. Law and order must be established to prevent
situations like the Salem Witch Trials.
• Today an individual's rights must be protected in a court of law.
We still haven’t always perfected the protection of every
individual’s rights; but it is a massive improvement from 1962 to
now.

32. Are Witches Still Relevant Today?
• Looking back at the thesis: this presentation is arguing that the Salem
Witch Trials is one example of how scapegoating and groupthink exists
in our nation's history.
• The idea of witches may not be as relevant today; however, the
attitudes that surrounded the term “witch” has taken on many
different roles.
• For example: Our president believes that the COVID-19 is caused my
people from China, they have taken on the role of the “witch”

33. What new information did you learn about
your topic that you didn’t already know?
Prior to this project, I really didn’t know anything about the Salem
Witch trials. I had previously watched the movie Hocus Pocus, that
has Witches being hanged in the opening scene; however, I really
didn’t understand the relevance to U.S history. I didn’t understand
the ridiculousness of the accusations that were being made, and
how they still were justified. This project opened my eyes to the
reality of how the Salem Witch Trials stemmed from ignored
injustices.

34. Conclusion
This topic shines a light on how important individualized freedom is
under the law. Many of these people wouldn’t have been tried or
hanged if they had proper rights upheld by the government. It is
also showing how strong government power can be if not checked
and balanced by the citizens. The different factors at play here are
Scapegoating, and Groupthink organized by those who are in power.
It is important to recognize the extreme situation from hundreds of
years ago, and also consider how this still exists today.

35. Works Cited
Garrett, Laurie. “Trump Scapegoats China and WHO-and Americans Will Suffer.” Foreign Policy, 30 May 2020, foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/30/trump-
scapegoats-china-and-who-and-americans-will-suffer/.
History.com Editors. “Salem Witch Trials.” History.com, A&E Television
Networks, 4 Nov. 2011, www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/salem-witch-trials.
History.com Editors. “Red Scare.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 1 June 2010, www.history.com/topics/cold-war/red-scare.
“Medieval European Magic.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Sept. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_European_magic.
Pavlac, Brian A., director. What Really Happened during the Salem Witch Trials. Youtube, TedEd, 4 May 2020,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVd8kuufBhM&t=205s.
Vennochi, Joan. “A Judge Who Hunted for Truth, Not Witches - The Boston Globe.” BostonGlobe.com, The Boston Globe, 2 Oct. 2019,
www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2019/10/02/judge-who-hunted-for-truth-not-witches/fKKTbUa7DULdWgbxBzl88K/story.html.
Wallenfeldt, Jeff. “The Trials.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 24 Apr. 2020, www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-
trials/The-trials.
Zabel, Gary. “Case Study: The European Witch-Hunts, c. 1450-1750 and Witch-Hunts Today.” Gendercide.com,
www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Courses/Phil%20281b/Philosophy%20of%20Magic/Arcana/Witchcraft%20and%20Grimoires/case_witchhunts.html.