Witchcraft Hysteria in Salem

Proving what happened exactly in Salem is nearly impossible. It is possible that the witchcraft hysteria could have been a result of economic and social tensions, or it could have been because of an epidemic of encephalitis that spread through the colonies. Both articles provide very good argument about the causes of the witchcraft hysteria.
According to Boyer and Nissenbaum, the whole problem arose because of the times. Things in the colony were changing. For the first time since they arrived in the colonies, the population was starting to grow more and more. This meant less land for each family. Some families were becoming wealthier and higher up than...