I believe that the Salem Witch Trials occurred because women were becoming more independent and doing things that the church and community did not approve of. People that lived outside of the village tended to be lower level of the social hierarchy and were easier to accuse of witchcraft than the powerful Puritans that lived within walking distance of the church and meeting house. It was considered abnormal if someone did something that the church didn’t approve of, so they were accused. Since the Witch Trials revolved around people breaking religious beliefs the pastors were highly involved. Even though there was a mass hysteria that affected the entire north east coast of North America some people were able to remain out of it for the most part for example, the Porter’s. Despite being influential members of the community they are never mentioned in the crucible. The Porters did not approve of what was going on, this can be seen when Patrick Browne says, “ Their rivals, the Porter camp, tried to put a stop to the hysteria. As a result, many of them were singled out as witches.” 

The Salem Witch Trials occurred for multiple reason. In this time period there was a widespread belief in the supernatural and practices of the devil. History.com also explains the context and harsh realities of Salem at the time, “at the time included the after-effects of a British war with France in the American colonies in 1689, a recent smallpox epidemic, fears of attacks from neighboring Native American tribes and a longstanding rivalry with the more affluent community of Salem Town.” Using this evidence, it came be concluded that the people in Salem were most likely looking for someone to blame for all their hardships. They needed a scapegoat; and they began to blame the alleged witches and devil. The last reason that the people in Salem began to prosecute witches was because the authority figures began to support the hunt. People are really easy to persuade when people with power endorse something. Therefore, when the highest leaders in the church and the courts told them the devil was present in the witches, people believed them.