Dylan Kilkenny

How a Mass Hysteria Changed a Nation: The Salem Witch Trials

Junior Division
Individual Website

Process Paper Word Count: 475 Words

Student-Composed Website Word Count: 1199 Words
Media Length: 4 Minutes

I have always been interested in law and public policy. I aspire to be a human rights lawyer when
I grow older, and the idea of being able to defend peoples’ basic rights excites and empowers me. This led
me to the Salem Witch Trials for my NHD project. The Salem Witch Trials were a serious tragedy and
injustice to the victims. Learning about the unjustness of the trials will not only help me and my goals but
will also allow me to share information to prevent such a misfortune from happening again.
For my research, I wanted to make sure I had the full story from every point of view. I spent
hours going through primary sources and court records from the time, as well as reading articles about the
trials to make sure I had reliable information. There are countless websites and articles that analyze the
trials and give explanations as to how something as tragic the Salem Witch Trials could manage to
happen. I studied into the trials and collected the information I needed from websites that I tested to be
reliable. I investigated laws and acts that have been created because of the trials as well as the current
state of Salem Village (now known as Danvers) to know the full impact of the trials.
I chose a website as my presentation category because it will allow me to share the information
and lessons I’ve learned from the trials with the rest of the world. We are in a new and innovative digital
age and technology is one of the most effective ways to learn new information. Being able to have a
website would allow me to convey information to thousands of people worldwide and even inspire them
to make sure that everyone is treated equally and has the justice that they deserve and to prevent a repeat
of the trials in another country, or even our own.
The Salem Witch Trials are a perfect example of the relationship between triumph and tragedy.
The trials took the lives of many innocent people and ruined the lifestyles of countless others. The mass
hysteria that was the Salem Witch Trials negatively impacted the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the
village of Salem for years to come, and there was no escaping its harsh effects. However, the Salem
Witch Trials taught us an incredibly valuable lesson we can never forget – a reliable system of law is
extremely important. The trials robbed the accused of basic rights they needed to defend themselves, and
it is our job to make sure these things never happen again. Laws have been put in place to make sure the
accused can call upon witnesses, the right to lawyers, through investigations, the need for hard evidence,
and countless other common practices in the courtroom that ensure the rights of the victim.