LITR 4231 Early American Literature Sample Research Posts 2014 (research post assignment) Research Post 2

Victoria Webb

Falsely Accused: Victims of the Salem Witch Trials

While doing research on the Salem Witch Trials and the main accusers, the “afflicted girls,” I became interested in the people accused of witchcraft and the motives behind the accusations. Through my research I learned that 78% of the accused witches were women and the evidence used to support the claims of witchcraft against them included unruly conduct and unladylike behavior (Reis). Other absurd testimonies of the accusers included claiming to have seen the “witches” sign the Devil’s book and witnessing their apparitions appear to them and cause bodily harm to the accused (Reis). With these allegations, there were a great number of victims that the village deemed fit for the role of “witch.” In my research, I found there were some stories behind these victims that were peculiar; I chose a few victims in particular to do further research on. While they are only a few amongst the many that were accused and executed, their stories were interesting enough to gain a substantial amount of recognition and research.

One of the first to be accused of witchcraft was the Parrises' slave Tituba. What is interesting about her case was that she confessed to signing the Devil’s book, flying in the air on a pole, and harming the afflicted girls (“Salem Witch Trials: Tituba”). She did not confess to teaching the girls witchcraft or fortune telling; this was a speculation that was brought on by the girls’ accusation. Her confession was due to the pressure and abuse from the Parrises; this admission of guilt was the spark that ignited the witch-hunt. Since Tituba was a slave, there is little information about her prior to the witch trials, though researchers believe that she may have come from Barbados and was purchased by Rev. Samuel Parris (Rosenthal). There is no official record of her being married to John Indian, but it was inferred that the two were married or at least lived together in that way. The significance of her marital status was due to the cultural differences between Tituba and the Puritan village. Tituba was an outsider in the village regardless of the witchcraft accusations; this made her an easy scapegoat, especially for the afflicted girls when explaining how they learned the fortune-telling technique which supposedly caused their erratic behavior. Tituba later recanted her statement, but her forced confession was the beginning of the end for other outsiders in Salem Village.

After Tituba, one of the first villagers to be accused and executed was Sarah Good. Tituba named Sarah as a witch. She was most likely forced to do so by Rev. Samuel Parris in order to rid Salem of Good.  I found Good’s story to be interesting because not only her, but her four-year-old daughter Dorcas was imprisoned along with her. I see Sarah’s story as quite tragic; she is an outsider in her village and woman who was down on her luck. After the passing of her first husband, Good carried the debts from the marriage; she and her second husband, William Good, were forced to beg for charity and sometimes shelter in the village after much of their assets were seized (“Sarah Good”). She was reported to have been a friendless person, and had a tendency to scold and curse at other villagers who were not as giving to her as she liked. No one in the village was particularly surprised when she was accused; she fit the profile of “witch” according to witnesses and accusers. Her daughter’s confession and allegation of her mother signing the Devil’s book was just part of Good’s undoing (“Sarah Good”). In reality, Good was condemned the moment she was accused and arrested; there would be no one to argue against the allegations against Sarah. Even William Good did nothing to help his wife; in fact, he had made statements against her character. While he did not exactly declare her a witch, he did cause more harm for her by putting the public against her even more than they already were. This made her execution much more justified to the accusers. What I found to be the most interesting part of her trial and execution were her last words to Rev. Noyes. She told him, “I am no more a witch than you are a wizard. If you take away my life God will give you blood to drink.” Twenty five years later Noyes suffered a hemorrhage and died choking on his own blood (“Victims”).

One of the most tragic and suspicious cases was the trial and execution of Rebecca Nurse. Nurse was a 71 year old mother of 8 with a notably good reputation in the town. She was accused by the Putnam’s, including Ann who was one of original afflicted girls. The Putnam’s had a known dispute with Rebecca Nurse and her husband. In fact, all of Nurse’s accusers were either a part of the Putnam family or close friends to the family (“The Trial of Rebecca Nurse”). During her trial, a petition went around asking to rid Nurse of the charges against her, and was signed by many respectable members of the village (“Rebecca Nurse”). The original verdict from the trial was “not guilty”; however, after the spectators and afflicted girls cried in outrage, the magistrates were asked to reconsider the verdict. There were doubts about the accusations against Nurse because of her age and moral behavior, but the reconsideration of the original verdict was allowed (“Rebecca Nurse”). The second verdict came out just as the accusers wanted: “guilty”. Nurse was sentenced to death on June 30^th and was executed on July 19^th. Her death caused a public outrage because of her “good Christian behavior,” according to those who were on her side. Following her death, her two sisters were also accused and one was hung just like Rebecca.  Rebecca Nurse was clearly the target of an ongoing feud between her family and the Putnams.

          These three women are examples of the injustice that took place in Salem during the witch-hunt and trials. The accusations made by the accusers were completely absurd and all in all suspicious. There is no doubt that the victims were targets of more than just witchcraft; the accused were the unwanted members of the village, whether it was because they were outsiders or simply unlucky enough to be disliked by an accuser. After the accusation of some unlikely “witches,” such as Rebecca Nurse, it was obvious no one was safe from being called a “witch”.

Works Cited

"Rebecca Nurse." Rebecca Nurse. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_BNUR.HTM>.

Reis, Elizabeth. Some Facts About The Salem Witch Trials. N.p.,n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.upa.pdx.edu/IMS/currentprojects/TAHv3/TAH_Course/2011_Materials/Salem_Trials_Fact_Sheet.pdf>

Rosenthal, Bernard. Tituba. OAH Magazine of History, Vol. 17, No. 4, Witchcraft (Jul., 2003),         pp. 48-50. Organization of American Historians. n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. < http://www.jstor.org/stable/25163623>

"Sarah Good." Sarah Good. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_BGOO.HTM>.

"Salem Witch Trials: Tituba." Salem Witch Trials: Tituba. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.         <http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/tituba.html>.

"The Trial of Rebecca Nurse." History of Massachusetts. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://historyofmassachusetts.org/the-trial-of-rebecca-nurse/>.

"Victims." Salem Witch Trials. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.salemfocus.com/>.