The Salem Witch Trials was a very tragic event displayed in The Crucible. Many innocent people were accused of being witches and died as a result. Many people influenced the Salem Witch Trials. The three people that had the greatest impact on them were Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Mary Warren.
Abigail Williams influenced the Salem Witch trials a great deal. She manipulated everyone in the town a great deal. If it weren't for her and the other girls dancing in the woods and conjuring spirits witch craft would have never even be mentioned in the town. Abigail took control very early on in the play. She made it very clear to all the girls that they were to say that they danced in the woods and nothing else. She felt it very necessary to lie since she did much more than dancing in the woods. "And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word about the other things, and i will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy recognising that will shudder you" (20). She had control over the town through fear. She installed fear in the girls by threatening each of them with death. Not only did she intimidate only the girls but the town as well. They all feared she would accuse them of witchery and she would have their lives as a result. She would accuse innocent people in order to keep the blame away from herself. As soon as someone would doubt her she would take the focus away from her and project it onto someone else. An example of this was in Act 3 in the court room when Mary Warren confessed that the devil never came to her and nobody was ever seen with him. As soon as the judges asked Abigail if this was true she quickly made a scene and made it look like Mary Warrens spirit was coming after her. She would lie and make it seem like she was doing this for God but in reality she was doing this to save herself. Abigail Williams had the largest impact of every one in the entire play.
In addition to Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth played a big ole in the Salem Witch Trials. He had the power to stop Abigail and take control in order to make the town normal again. But he chose not to. "They're gulling you, Mister"( 117)! Proctor tried to show Danforth multiple times that the girls were lying. Danforth didn't stop for a moment to doubt the girls. He believed every single word that Abigail told him. By doing this so many innocent people were harmed. If he has only seen the truth in Abigail and the other girls lies the situation could have easily been resolved.
Lastly, the third person that had a large impact on the Salem Witch Trials was Mary Warren. Through out the entire play her actions showed that she was a follower. But if someone who was a follower like Mary Warren was in that situation you would think that they would stand up and take charge to save innocent lives. For a moment in the court house she held the power. She confessed to the judges that it had all been a lie and they had never seen the Devil. She felt threat end though and quickly ran back to Abigail's side. "You're the Devil's man"(118)! She accused proctor of threatening her and coming to her in the night with the Devil. If she had only stayed truthful and exposed the girls the outcome of the play would have been completely different.
The Witch Trials was an unnecessary event. It could have been avoided or at least the death tole could have been much lower. If certain people reacted differently then the outcome could have been altered. In conclusion, the three people who played the biggest role were Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Mary Warren.
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