What are 3 or 4 good main points for the Salem Witch Trials to put in my research paper?

I can think of like, 1 or 2. But there really isn't much too it, I need a bit of help. I don't want many details, but as long as it's a point that has details so I can research it. Keep your rude childish comments to yourself please :) and thanks!

What are 3 or 4 good main points for the Salem Witch Trials to put in my research paper?
Read the books "the crucible" and "witch child" if you haven't done so already, they are both centered around the Salem witch trials if you have already read them then put this as an additional comment on your question and then i will see if i can help you further.


Good luck.
Reply:there is also a book just recently published titled " The Witch Trial Judge " in which the Judge's papers are accessed to bring new information to light. Although I have not seen or read this book this might be of some assistance to your project.
Reply:The Salem Witch Trials were a case of mass hysteria. It began when the daughters of a minister were playing with a family slave--they were playing a game where you crack an egg and put it into a bowl water to try to predict who your future husband will be. Suddenly, they went into hysterics and claimed that they had been bewitched. At the time, it was believed that children were not capable of lying (yeah, right), so what they said was taken as gospel. They accused person after person of being witches, and there was no such thing then as being innocent until proven guilty--you had to prove you weren't a witch--how do you prove a negative? When the defendants would come into the court, the girls would moan and convulse on the floor as if bewitched, so obviously you had to be a witch. If a cat was seen running down the street, or a cow lost its milk, that was seen as witchcraft. Consequently, many people were condemned as witches, and either burned, hung, or even pressed with stones. My favorite story was that of a man condemned as a witch--if you confessed to being a witch, your property was seized as well. He was pressed to death with stones, but he wanted his family to keep their possessions, so his dying words were, "More stones!"





There was a political component to the trials, too--there were two factions within Salem, and most, of not all of the persons accused of being witches were in one faction. Those who were outsiders, such as older women and loners, were especially vulnerable to being accused. The madness finally ended when the judges accused the wife of the Governor of Massachusetts of being a witch. At that point, the governor had enough, and put a stop to it.
Reply:Tyrannical rule by a governing body:


There was the church's fanatical obsession with the Devil that could be seen as a contrivance to elicit fear in people to get them to follow their edicts and be dominated by their dictatorial authority.





Tactics used by tyrants:


To exaggerate fear, the church would validate any accusation of Devil possession in which they would kill the accused to further instill even greater fear in people.





Gullibility of people in fear:


Young girls in the town were used by the church using the justification that young girls are pure enough to possess spiritual insight to see the Devil in others.





Personal ethics and integrity:


A married man was accused by one young girl because of unrequited love, but he wouldn't compromise his integrity by admitting to being possessed and working for the devil and subsequently was murdered by the church.
Reply:I recommend going to CNBC website, and searching for "Salem Witch Trials". The host of their noon daily program, Power Lunch, has just completed a brand new book on the topic, and stated he is sure, after doing his research, that the prevailing reason for the trials was the taking of property for personal wealth. That's a new perspective, and if you do the research through his new book, should provide a strong platform for your paper.