I know I can google it, but that takes to long! o.OI understand it was because they were afraid of devil's work, (Or lied about people using witchcraft just to get rid of them.. =/)but I don't really know WHY...Thanx!! =D

Cash and land grab.

because alot of people were religos and that is wrong and it was asinst God so they killed them

i agree w/the first person, people wanted their neighbors' land so they accused them of witchcraft. and everyone was judgemental and accusatory and idiotic.

Partially because of hysteria. It was a small community that was isolated. They needed a scapegoat and something that would unite the community. And there was greed involved, too. But greed alone doesn't explain why the rest of the community allowed it's governing body to commit such heinous acts.

between February 1692 and May 1693. Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned, with even more accused who were not formally pursued by the authorities. The two courts convicted twenty-nine people of the capital felony of witchcraft. Nineteen of the accused, fourteen women and five men, were hanged. One man who refused to enter a plea was crushed to death under heavy stones in an attempt to force him to do so. At least five more of the accused died in prison.The patriarchal beliefs that Puritans held in the community added further stresses. Women, they believed, should be totally subservient to men. By nature, a woman was more likely to enlist in the Devil's service than was a man, and women were considered lustful by nature. In addition, the small-town atmosphere made secrets difficult to keep and people's opinions about their neighbors were generally accepted as fact. In an age where the philosophy "children should be seen and not heard" was taken at face value, children were at the bottom of the social ladder. Toys and games were seen as idle and playing was discouraged. Girls had additional restrictions heaped upon them. Boys were able to go hunting, fishing, exploring in the forest, and often became apprentices to carpenters and smiths, while girls were trained from a tender age to spin yarn, cook, sew, weave, and be servants to their husbands, mothers, and children.After someone concluded that a loss, illness or death had been caused by witchcraft, the accuser would enter a complaint against the alleged witch with the local magistrates.[16]If the complaint was deemed credible, the magistrates would have the person arrested and brought in for a public examination, essentially an interrogation, where the magistrates pressed the accused to confess.If the magistrates at this local level were satisfied that the complaint was well-founded, the prisoner was handed over to be dealt with by a superior court. In 1692, the magistrates opted to wait for the arrival of the new charter and governor, who would establish a Court of Oyer and Terminer to handle these cases.The next step, at the superior court level, was to summon witnesses before a grand jury.A person could be indicted on charges of afflicting with witchcraft, or for making an unlawful covenant with the Devil. Once indicted, the defendant went to trial, sometimes on the same day, as in the case of the first person indicted and tried on June 2, Bridget Bishop, who was executed on June 10, 1692. (His last thought was probably, Thank you religion.)

Paranoia was the main reason.People were suspicious of anyone that didn't appear to be 'normal.' Which in those days, 'normal' was defined as a 'God-fearing, church attending Christian.'Back then, the vast majority of people were afraid or incapable of thinking for themselves, due to a much poorer education system. They relied on upstanding figureheads to make their decisions for them. And back in those days, the Priest was the most upstanding figure, as most, if not everyone, went to church on Sunday.

B/c people back then were foolish gullible idiots. Also another word for it mass hysteria.

There really was no one cause for the Salem witch trials. A combination of events and factors helped in the creation of a climate for the birth and growth of the trials. A recent small pox outbreak, the revocation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter by Charles II and the constant fear of Indian attacks helped in creating anxiety among the early Puritans that God was punishing them. This fear of punishment established a fertile atmosphere in which a case of possible witchcraft could easily be interpreted by the Puritans as the cause of God's wrath. Add to these events the economic, political, imaginations and fears of the people, family feuds and religious factors of the time, it is easier to understand how the Salem witch trials grew and prospered for almost a whole year.Much later, scholars researching history and the causes of the Salem Witch Trials introduced the theory that a major contributing factor to the odd behavior which led to the mass hysteria was ergot poisoning, due to the peoples' consumption of rye bread made from ergot-infected grain.http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/history/ergot.htm

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/salem.htmhttp://www3.nationalgeographic.com/salem/http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/texts/transcripts.htmlhttp://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASA_REC.HTMThese are all very good links on the Salem Trails