Were The Salem Witch Trials Justified

The Puritans, conductors of the Salem witch trials, in which many people were killed, were right in their actions. The Puritans were settlers in early American history that settled near Salem, Massachusetts. They were looking for religious freedom in America, because they weren’t Catholic. They had a very strict interpretation of the Bible and lived according to that. They were also responsible for the Salem witch trials, an event in which many people were killed for supposedly being witches. However, although the Puritans caused much distress and grief during the witch hunts, they were justified in doing this because they were acting in accordance to their laws against a perceived threat that they thought could have seriously and severely
Coming from a strong religious background, being a witch was illegal to the Puritans. This stems originally from the belief that witches had created a pact with the devil, and religiously the devil was the root of all evil. Another reason being a witch was illegal was because witches were thought to have supernatural powers. The people being “bewitched” by a witch were the man accusers in the trials. During the trials, only these people and the witch themselves were considered to have proper witness testimony, because they would be the only ones to see the “bewitchment” happening. All of this is important to know because it casts light on the legality of what the Puritans were doing. If they were acting in accordance to their own laws, what they were doing would have been right and just. Remember, this takes place before the United States was formed, and therefore the Puritans only had the laws that they had created to follow. Clarifying this can also eliminate any bias based on sparse knowledge about the Salem witch trials, because not everyone knows the whole story. So, because the Puritans had laws regarding how to deal with witches, they obviously must have believed in their existence. However, what did they actually believe witches
They were afraid for their lives from witches, who they believed had great supernatural powers and that they could destroy the towns. They also were afraid of letting a witch go, because a vengeful witch attacking the town would have severely damaged the town and its people. There was also no sense that they were doing anything wrong. This is because they had no other context to judge their actions, no outside force to look inwardly on them and declare them to be ridiculous or paranoid. They only had their own laws to follow, and they followed their laws correctly. What is a society without laws? The Puritans had to follow their laws because without them, their society would fall into anarchy, and that would cause more damage than any witch trial could. From their point of view, they were doing the right thing, and that makes them reasonable. Only an unreasonable person does things that they don’t believe to be right. All of this is important because it explains the Puritans’ actions. How could they be reasonable while also killing people in trials for a reason that we don’t believe existed? Given all of the background information, it is clearer to see how the Puritans were reasonable. In conclusion, the Puritans’ actions in the Salem witch trials were reasonable. However, after learning about the Puritans, it is important that we as a society learn from this. What are we doing now that in 400 years people will