In Part 1 (Read Here) of my blog post on the Massachusetts Bay Colony, I addressed why the Puritans settled there, what the conditions were like, and what daily life was like for the settlers. In Part 2, I discuss the Salem Witch Trials and Dissent within the colony.

As a result of strict adherence to the Puritan religious practices, laws in Massachusetts were also strict.  Many crimes carried the death penalty, including witchcraft.  (Davidson, p. 99)  Drunkenness, swearing, theft and idleness were against the law, and the courts would decide the punishment.  (Davidson, p. 99)  Throughout New England, some colonists could be accused of crimes on faulty evidence.  “In 1642 the New Haven authorities suspected George Spencer of bestiality when a sow bore a piglet that carried his resemblance.  He confessed and they hanged both Spencer and the unfortunate sow.” (Taylor, p. 181)  The religious fanaticism of Massachusetts led to one of the most bizarre and well-known episodes in American history, the Salem Witch Trials. 

In 1692, two girls, ages 9 and 11, and related to the village minister, began to act strange; convulsing, screaming and uttering strange sounds. They blamed their condition on the witchcraft practiced by a slave woman named Tituba. From there, the accusations spread. Most of those who were first accused were society’s outcasts and those who didn’t follow all of the Puritan norms. They could be poor beggars or single women considered too independent. When the girls accused others of witchcraft, the situation grew out of control, and those who were accused tried to save themselves by naming other “witches”. The accusations continued until the girls accused such prominent citizens as the governor’s wife. (McDougal, p. 82) The causes of these events have been debated by historians and have highlighted both the religious zeal, as well as the social and economic divisions in Salem. Many of the accusers were from Salem Village which had small farms. Many of the accused were from Salem Town, a port town where its merchants and traders were becoming wealthier. Therefore it appears that the accusations reflected the grudges held between members of differing social classes within Salem. During the trials, the court allowed Spectral Evidence. Witnesses could claim that the spirit of the accused witch visited and tormented them in their dreams. This was seen as legimiate evidence by the court and could be used to condemn the accused. The witch trials displayed the religious enthusiasm of a people who believed that both God and Satan were amongst them and that Satan would use individuals to terrorize others. As a result, nineteen people were hanged and another, Giles Corey, was crushed to death with stones. Four or five accused witches died in jail, and about 150 more were imprisoned. (McDougal, p. 82) Finally, after about a year of witch hunts, the trials finally came to end when people began to conclude that the trials and accusations had gotten out of control. While this was a horrifying and tragic event, Americans learned many lessons from what transpired in Salem, such as the right to a fair trial, innocent until proven guilty, the importance of the separation of church and state, and religious freedom. Witch hunts were not new in 1692. Witch trials had occured in Europe for centuries. They were exceptionally prevalaent during The Thirty Years War (1618- 1648), a war fought mostly in modern-day Germany between Protestants and Catholics.

I’ve always loved teaching about the Salem Witch Trials because I am always amazed by the hysteria that struck Salem. To me, the events of the Salem Witch Trials show the damage that can be done when people lose a sense of reality and are completely overcome with madness like the settlers of Salem. I’m intrigued by the different characters of the Salem Witch Trials story, as well as the different motivations that people had to accuse others of witchcraft. In 2022 my family and I were able to visit Salem. A couple of the sites that we saw there included the Salem Witch House (which is the only structure still standing with direct ties to the trials), the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, and the Old Town Hall, shown in the pictures below.

Disagreeing with the Puritans

Early in the history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a few influential individuals felt that the Puritan-led government had too much power.  Those who spoke out against the colony’s leaders or their religious practices could be arrested or banished from the colony.  The Puritans were “dismayed by people who publicly promoted an alternative form of Protestantism.” (Taylor, p. 181)  In 1636, Roger Williams was a Puritan preacher who held two controversial views: English settlers had no right to claim land unless they paid the Native Americans, and government officials had no right to punish settlers for their religious beliefs.  (McDougal, p. 52)  Williams’s belief in religious toleration angered the General Court, and he was to be arrested and returned to England.   However, Williams fled Massachusetts and headed south to the Narragansett Bay, where he purchased land from the Natives and set up a new colony, called Providence, later the capital of the Rhode Island colony.  There, Roger Williams guaranteed a separation of church and state, and religious freedom.  (McDougal, p. 52)

Another dissenter was Anne Hutchinson who became a threat to the Puritan Church when she began having meetings at her house, expressing her own religious views and even criticizing Sunday sermons.  According to Puritan belief, women did not have a right to explain God’s law, and she was put on trial.  In 1638, she was banished from the colony and headed to Rhode Island.  (McDougal, p. 52)  Another Puritan minister, Thomas Hooker also believed that the government had too much power.   He led about 100 settlers out of Massachusetts Bay and headed west.  They built a town on the Connecticut River and called it Hartford.  In the Connecticut Colony, all men who were property owners could vote, including those who were not members of the church.  They limited the power of the Governor, and extended the idea of representative government.  (Davidson, p. 96)

In Part 3 (Read Here), I will address conflicts that Massachusetts Bay settlers had with Native Americans, including a devastating war called King Philip’s War. I will also discuss the legacy of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Works Cited

Taylor, Alan/ Foner Eric (EDT). American Colonies The Settling of North

America. Penguin Group USA, 2002.

Mcdougal, Holt. Americans, Grades 9-12 New Jersey: Mcdougal Littell the

Americans. Holt Mcdougal, 2007.

Davidson, James West., et al. The American Nation. Prentice Hall, 2000.

Bremer, Francis, J., John Winthrop: America’s Forgotten Founding Father,

Oxford University Press, 2005

Lauterborn, David. “Blood and Betrayal: King Philip’s War.” HistoryNet,

HistoryNet, 12 July 2015, 

http://www.historynet.com/blood-and-betrayal-king-philips-war.htm.

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