What was the purpose of the Salem Witch Trials?
Answer Other than as a memory, I am not sure the Salem Witch Trials had a lasting effect. The events dissipated rather quickly after a short time and did not recur again. Upon reflection many people considered the events an cautionary tail of how fears of the unknown can lead to terrible violent outcomes. There was no one person at the center of the trials. Two young girls were the first accusers: 11-year-old Abigail Williams and nine-year-old Elizabeth Parris. When one of the first people they accused, a black woman named Tatuba confessed to being a witch and named many others as witches, that really got things going. The trial judges were John Hathorne, Samuel Sewall, and William Stoughton. The Reverend Cotton Mather also played an important role. The purpose of the trials were to determine if the people accused of witchcraft were guilty, and if so, to execute them. The people living in Massachusetts at this time were deeply religious and believed witchcraft was a very real danger. T
