During the time of the Salem Witch Trials the intertwining of religion and government did not afford the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts the right to a fair trial , so it was the states responsibility to separate the two. In the 1600s the Puritan religion was strongly enforced by the government. It was not until many years later that the separation of church and state became law. The Salem witch trials were when hundreds of citizens of Salem, Massachusetts were tried for devil worship or witchcraft and more than 20 were executed in 1692. This is an example of mass religious paranoia. The whole affair began at the home of the Reverend Samuel Parris. People soon began to notice strange behavior on the part of Parris' slave, Tituba, and her daughters. Many claimed to have seen Parris' daughters perform magical dances in the woods and fall to the ground screaming hysterically. Not long after, this strange behavior began to spread throughout Salem. Most of the charges were brought against innocent people for reasons of economic conditions, adolescent boredom and personal jealousy. Of course there was also the fact that people were unaware of some mental illnesses caused by their environment. For example, one of the first people to be accused of witchcraft was a young girl named Betty Paris who one day became seriously ill with convulsive erogtism. Ergot is a fungus that invades growing rye grains, so it's very possible that you got sick simply from eating bread. Because people were scientifically unable to explain her sudden seizures and hallucinations, she was accused of witchcraft. This form of accusation does not contain any form of justice. The accusers couldn't even explain what happened, so instead of worrying about t...... middle of paper ......ged. His case probably wasn't the only one to end this way. In 1702, the General Court finally declared the trials illegal. Soon after the main accuser Anne Putman was forced to apologize to the people of Salem, as well as Samuel Sewall, a judge during the trials, publicly confessed his guilt and apologized. Reverend Samuel Sewall also confessed to his error of judgment, but blamed others above all. Massachusetts even formally apologized for the Salem event. Although it took ten years, the trials were finally concluded and the citizens of Salem were able to live with their right to a fairer trial. Unfortunately, after all this ordeal, the Salem community fell apart. The General Court was set on the path of separating the beliefs of the church and government. Fortunately, years later, a law separating church and state would be passed in the Constitution.