As the Puritans traveled to the New World, they created a society using strict Puritan philosophies. Philosophies which stated that everyone must strive for spiritual perfection and no less would be tolerated. The Puritans believed that witchcraft was one of man's largest spiritual weaknesses. A Puritan's first responsibility was to be at the hands of God at all times. There was no room for sin in the Puritan faith and there was nothing that could be done to undo the wrong-doings of man. It was to be believed that if you were to commit to sin, God could cast you off the Earth at anytime. This was the greatest Puritan concern.
             In order to regulate what was sinful and what was not, the Puritans created a legal system. The system was bible based but was very biased in favor of the rich and respected Puritans. Puritan prosecutors could literally do anything they wanted in the court room. They were allowed to redirect questions, badger, interrupt, and even hit a witness if they felt like it. Ministers were often times called upon to interpret the reasons and responses of accused witches.
             Witchcraft has come a long way from many different places. The basis of all the Salem Witch Trials was superstition, "irrational [belief] ... resulting from ignorance or fear of the unknown" (Britannica Online). A lack of scientific reasoning led many people to believe that, for instance, walking under a ladder would bring seven years of bad luck.
             The Puritans in Salem had even more reasons to be superstitious. Cotton Mather's "Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions," with its inaccurate encounters with witchcraft, terrified everyone. Also, undeveloped medical techniques, constant food poisoning, and unsanitary conditions killed many Puritans and livestock. These types of deaths were used as evidence for witchcraft in a trial.
             Witches believed that it could all be summed up in the ...