The Salem Witch Trials

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Salem Witch Trials
The Theme of Spectral Evidence
Spectral evidence is among the major themes that have been demonstrated in Salem Witch Trails. The evidence entails the presentation of dreams and visions as testimonies in the court of law. In the end of the seventeenth century, many people had been charged through their confessions or that of others who would state some satanic experiences during their lives. Many people especially women had been previously jailed and also hanged because of such an argument. For instance, Tituba had declared that the devil had approached her in the form of a yellow bird and a black man among other weird approaches (Gilman 18). The confession made her be jailed together with other women who were innocent since she declared that Salem had other witches.
What does your source reveal about the Salem Witch Trials?
The Transcription of the Court Records specifically The Salem Witchcraft Paper shows that majority of people who were charged for witchcraft were innocent. Claims of witchcraft made very many people to be charged since the then government launched a court that could deal with the witch accusations. Most of the people who were taken to these courts were required to prove that they were not guilty. The process was difficult and thus majority ended up being jailed or even hanged. For example, Bridget Bishop was accused of being a witch and was later hanged for the accusation that she did not give a convincing defense.

What do the Salem Witch Trials reveal about the Colonial society around the turn of the 18th Century?
The trail shows that rules where developed if the existing problems affected the colonial heads. In the 18th Century, the increased cases of accusations of witchcraft made the then government note that some people were innocently charged and jailed. Therefore, Cotton Mather; a minister recommended that the spectral evidence should not be allowed they led to a charge of innocent individuals. However, his idea was not adopted by the court. The son of Cotton, Increase Matter also called for the drop of the spectral evidence. After some time, Governor Phipps stopped the use of the vision and dreams as testimonies for witchcraft since his wife had been linked to it. Thus, it is clear that the colonial administration could not have passed some rules unless they touched them or their family.
Work Cited
Gilman, Sarah. The Salem Witch Trials. Enslow Publishing, LLC, 2016.