Comrades, I thought I would give you another White History lesson. Being October, I thought of the perfect thing.
Most of us have heard of the infamous Salem Witch Trials, but not too many know all the details. For example, no convicted witch was ever burned in this country, although that’s what most people think. They didn’t burn witches – they hanged them. There are also the causes for this terrible chapter in our history.
To understand what happened in Salem Village in 1692, we must go back to 1675. The colonists had just lost a war with the Wabanaki Indians. The colonists, although better armed, were greatly out numbered.
The colonists had been slowly encroaching on Wabanaki land, and finally the Indians had had enough and they attacked. The colonists surrendered and agreed not to tresspass on Indian land, but the peace was fragile, and there was fear in the colonies.
Now we jump to 1689. The peace with the Indians had held. But the fear was still there. The Bay Colony was in disarray. There were no written charter of laws. No local magistrates. No governor. And back home in England the king was overthrown. And to make matters worse, Salem Village had been without a minister for a year.
Salem Village wasn’t much of a village to begin with. It was just farms facing the Great Wilderness. There was also the parsonage (where the minister lived), and the town meeting house which served as a place of both politics and worship.
Salem Village was five miles inland from the larger community of Salem Towne By The Sea. Salem Towne is today the city of Salem, Massachusetts. Salem Village is now the City of Danvers.
Salem Village paid taxes to Salem Towne. In exchange, they got a vote on the town council, protection from their militia, and the right to build a meeting house they could call their own. This very arrangement caused great disagreement in the village. Only land owners could vote, but also only landowners paid taxes. The more land they owned the greater their tax bill. Many landowners would have preferred to skip paying taxes to Salem Towne and give up the right to a meeting house/church of their own and travel the five miles to go to church every Sunday in Salem Towne.
In 1689, only one person showed any interest in the job as minister of Salem Village. His name was the Rev. Samuel Parris. Parris was a first time minister and had never preached before a congregation. He was a failed merchant from the West Indian Island of Barbados. This job was his only hope of financial salvation yet he was demanding a small fortune for his services. He demanded 70lbs. a year in salary instead of the standard 66. He also demanded 30 cords of wood cut and stacked, plus he wanted the deed to the parsonage in perpetuity. Only part of his demands were met. They wouldn’t pay him the extra money, they gave him ten cords of wood cut, but not stacked, and they agreed to deed to him the parsonage if after his first five year contract was up, and if they decided to hire him for a second. Then he could own the parsonage.
He agreed to the terms and came to Salem Village. With him he brought his wife Elizabeth, his seven year old daughter Betty, and an older girl – his 12 year old niece Abigail Williams. It was Abigail who started the witch madness. He also brought with him the last of his holdings from Barbados: Two slaves. Tituba, a Carob Indian did most of the household chores. Her slave husband John did the outdoor work.
Tituba knew something about the practice of voodoo. Abigail and Betty were very curious as many children would be. Tituba often showed them voodoo rites about how to see the future. Abigail often invited her friends.
It was in January of 1692 that both Abigail and Betty began to suffer what the Puritans called “distempers” With Abigail they took the form of convulsions. With Betty it was a trance-like condition. The village doctor could find no reason for these behaviours so he declared they were bewitched.
Now the Rev. Parris was determined to find out who or what was behind it all. After much badgering by the reverend, Betty named Tituba as the witch. Abigail named Sarah Osbourne and Sarah Goode as her tormentors. Warrants were issued and the three women were put in Salem Jail.
All of Abigail’s friends soon after exihibited the same symptoms. They too began naming names. More warrants and more arrests. However, Massachusetts had no written charter of laws and no judges so there could be no trials.
By May of 1692, a new governor, Sir William Phipps was appointed by the new king and queen of England, King William and Queen Mary. He was also authorised to appoint judges and he formed a special court, the Court of Oyer and Terminus to deal with this problem.
The Court of Oyer and Terminus was one of the greatest travesties of justice of all time. The accused were not allowed lawyers, and Spectral Evidence was allowed as the sole method of conviction. It was believed that anyone who is or was bewitched could recognize a witch on sight. Things began to get out of hand. The girls, who previously had no prominence in the village were now the center of attention. They continued naming names. More warrants and more arrests, only now trials could be held. The first hangings occurred in June of 1692.
The witch madness began spreading outside of the Salem area – as far away as Falmouth, Maine. Hundreds had been accused by these children. The jails were filling faster than they could hold trials.
The Rev. Increase Mather who was also an attorney began to grow concerned of possible injustices. He even wrote to the Council of Ministers, “It is better 100 witches be freed, than accidentally hang one innocent person.”
It was shortly after that that the wife of Governor Phipps was accused of witchcraft. The governor and Rev. Mather met with the Council of Ministers and it was agree that the court of Oyer and Terminus be disbanded, and witches should be tried in a standard court of law. This meant spectral evidence would no longer be allowed as the sole method of obtaining convictions. The accusers had nothing but fake evidence, so it stopped.
Those already in jail could not be released. They had to be tried. All of them were aquitted.
When it was over, 20 people were dead.
In 1698, the Rev. Parris was driven out of Salem by the Anti-Parris Committee made up mostly of people who lost family members during the trials. He did not retain his deed to the parsonage. He was never hired as a minister again and faded into obscurity.
His slave Tituba, who confessed to being a witch was held in Salem Jail until the end of the trials and used as a witness against others. She was sold by Parris to pay for her jail fees. Yes, in those days if you went to jail you had to pay for your room and board.
In 1705, their Majesties William and Mary appointed three magistrates to investigate any malfeasance in the Court of Oyer and Terminus. By 1712, they had overturned the convictions of all but five of the 20 people killed in 1692.
The story of the Salem Witch Trials didn’t come to a complete end until the end of the 20th Century. On October 31, 2000, the governor of Massachusetts pardoned the last five convicted witches at the request of their descendents.
The end of the Witch Trials marked the beginning of the end of the Puritan way of life and the beginnings of what would eventually grow into the United States of America.
The Liberal Left
by Steve Davenport
We white Aryans are facing great danger. A massive crisis of our very existence. The liberal left wants to destroy us. Already we have 11.5 million illegal immigrants here in the US. Soon, with a Democratic victory, it will be many more. The liberal left wants to replace us. Why do you think they are so lax at the border? They want the whites to disappear. They figure we white Aryans are too united. They think they’ll be better off with complacent non-whites. They intend to create a non white Soviet Union here on American soil. Why have freedom loving whites when they can get malleable non whites to do their bedding? The liberal left wants to DESTROY white Aryan family life. This is why they push anti-family/marriage feminism and homsexuality.
Join with ANP to stop this evil. Donate money. Donate your time to give out literature. Help ANP turn the tide before it is too late. White Aryan civilization, and existence depends on what YOU white Aryans do next. Think of our kids. Do You want them growing up in a non white country complete with drug abuse, feminism and homosexuality, where religion is treated as a joke? Think about it. Think hard.
Well, that’s about it for this week. Stay safe and hail victory!
Dan Schneider
Deputy Chairman
American Nazi Party