Many cruel and horrific methods were used to “test” for evidence of witchcraft. These human beings were not only arrested and paraded through the streets, they were tortured and their bodies used to perform a number of “tests” so that the executors could decide whether they were guilty of their crime.

The patriarchal beliefs of the Puritans (and most communities at that time) induced people to expect women to be subservient to men. Women were seen as weaker, more cunning, lustful and in the Devil’s service by nature while the men looked at themselves as honorable, hardworking and on the side of God. By the way, the concept of a “Devil” or “Satan” is the invention of the Roman Catholic religion. So it was the perverted ideas of the controlling cultures in combination with the ignorance and distorted beliefs of a religious system that paved the way for this mini holocaust.

Before the Salem Witch trials went to a close, nineteen innocent people were hanged; one eighty year old man was pressed to death with boulders and 13 innocent people died in prison.

Incidents such as these prove that it is easy to provoke hysteria in the masses and to continue down the path of destruction. We must be aware of the fact that our judicial system, even though it is among the best in the world, can still be manipulated and used to hurt innocents.

Always remember the popular poem credited to Pastor Martin Niemller (1892-1984) about the inactivity of some German citizens following the Nazi rise to power and the destruction of their chosen targets, one group after another:

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out–because I was not a communist
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out–because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out–because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak out for me.

To get the full “Salem Witch Craft Trial” article you’ll need to download it here.