Salem Witch Trials Facts

Salem After the Fact
Throughout the years, many have wondered what happened to Salem after the famous
Salem Witch Trials. The recovery period that was necessary after these trials lasted for a quite a while; people were scared and afraid that something along the lines of the trials could occur again. As a result of the trials, in the next decade to come apologies were issued publicly, and compensation was paid as restitution to the families of those who were affected; much of the cataclysm had settled down. However, the people of Salem were starting to become ashamed of the horrible acts that occurred. Due to the immense hysteria, Salem began to deteriorate as a result of neglecting everyday duties.
Great hysteria was brought about during and
The people of Salem considered their punishment to be in the events of some type of insect infestation that razed the season’s pea crop (Callis). The understanding of why the court of
Salem wanted to have this day was certainly obvious; it had the potential to settle everyone down and possibly get things back to normal. In the article, “A Brief History of the Salem Witch
Trials,” the author states, “the General Court ordered a day of fasting and soul­searching for the tragedy of Salem” (Blumberg).
The trials in the Salem Witch trials were certainly unfair and preposterous. None of what was going on made any sense. As time went on, people started to realize that the quality of the evidence that was used in the trials was not reliable; therefore, they canceled any additional inquisition (Hurd). It was said that Samuel Sewall, one of the magistrates in the trials, was seemingly affected by portents and omens (Hurd). When thinking about the reality of the trials, if there was additional evidence that was more reliable, which would have led to further examination it could have been of great significance in the trials. As well as, if the
Overall, people were beginning to forget themselves as well. Much like what would be assumed to happen during an event like this, happened. The people of Salem seemed to have felt shame and remorse. The article “The Salem Witch Trials” states, "the people had been so determined upon hunting out and destroying witches that they had neglected everything else" (Brooks). Due to everyone abandoning their everyday jobs, the food would have become scarce which could have contributed to some of the hysteria. The village began to experience many misfortunes from droughts, crop failures, smallpox outbreaks, and
Native­American attacks (Brooks). I am sure that to the Puritans, they saw these misfortunes as a sign of God punishing them for the terrible incidents that occurred.
Many people became deranged because of the limit on the resources in Salem.
Around 300 years later, the Salem Witch Trials are still remembered. The house in which the first three accused women were examined still stands today (What About Witches). The village of Salem, which is where the trials occurred in 1692, is not the town of Salem that we know today. The village of Salem's name was changed to Danvers in 1752