Introduction Arthur Miller wrote ‘The Crucible’ in order to critic a period in history. Society substituted fact and reason with fear and irrationality to solve its problems. Nineteen people lost their lives owing to the Salem witch trials. However, this appalling occurrence was in the history of the people of Salem; it was not an isolated incident. Historical events in Salem prior to and at the time of the Salem witch trials During the 16 th and seventeenth century, people in the New England colony were highly religious. Puritanism was the main religion among this close-knit community. Furthermore, most of the adherents believed that forces of evil and purity prevailed in like measure, in the world. They claimed that natural catastrophes, diseases and ill fortune were manifestations of supernatural forces. Therefore, this thinking caused Salem residents to believe in witches and wizards as agents of the devil. New England had recorded witchcraft cases before. In fact, a reputable member of this community had written a book known as ‘Memorable Providence’ in 1689 (Hoffer 78). The author of the books was Cotton Mather, and he wrote about certain episodes of witchcraft that took place in the previous year. In the piece, he describes a washerwoman – Goody Glover – who was a typical witch. His accounts became a household name in Puritan New England. Even Samuel Parris; the Salem clergyman had the book in his household library. These thoughts enforced the belief in the existence of witchcraft in New England. They also demystified the rituals that witches and wizards used in the practice. Additionally, some cases existed even in Europe. However, these beliefs had started to fade in that continent during the mid seventeenth century. Therefore, these strong belief systems inspired the Salem witch craft trails. A few years prior to the events of the Salem witch trials, the community suffered from an attack of smallpox. Many people did not know how to interpret these misfortunes and readily accepted supernatural intervention as one of the explanations. Such tendencies set the pace for later acceptance of the same justification in the witchcraft trials. The political landscape at the time was highly volatile. The people of New England were in the middle of a war with the Indians. The British settlers had lived in that part of the world for approximately seventy years. Furthermore, they were not doing especially well in the war. If this poor performance continued, it was likely that New Englanders would accuse their administrators of incompetence. Senior reporters needed a scapegoat that would divert attention away from their inadequacies in the war. The people who others accused of witchcraft served as an avenue for diffusing the tensions that arose out of the poor performance in the wars. This was the reason why judges were quite eager to sentence them even when little or no evidence existed. In relation to the frontier wars at the time, Salem Village also contended with congregational strife. A certain degree of factionalism existed in Salem village as some people supported Parris and these were the Pro-Parris camp while others belonged to the anti-Parris camp. In 1688, a man known as Samuel Parris arrived in Salem Village upon invitation by John Putnam. The latter was a highly influential elder in the c