Salem, Massachusetts. Before the 1600s, it might have been considered a peaceful farming community, but in 1662 everything changed. A bout of what might have been considered religious fervor, but was actually a wave of panic over fear of witches and witchcraft, swept through Christian Puritan-dominated Essex County, located in Massachusetts. Panic arose in the now infamous town of Salem. During the famous Salem witch trials of 1662, more than 150 men and women were officially accused of the crime of witchcraft. Of these 150, only 19 were executed (Godbeer). The Salem Trials had both immediate and lasting aftereffects, some of which have changed the world today. The witch trials represented the largest wave of anti-witchcraft activity in the British colonies bordering the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the last. There would be no more witch hunts or mass trials. Although a few trials still took place in America, and many more in Europe, they were not undertaken with as much hysteria and fervor as those before the end of the Salem trials. The trials also impacted the early American justice system, changing the legal process governing how trials of this magnitude, for all crimes, would be handled at later dates. Finally, with the last execution, the puritan oligarchy's grip on control of England's public affairs ended (Goss). However, while these events have had devastating consequences on the world then and now, nothing could be as shocking as the immediate impact of the loss of innocent human lives. The Salem witch trials of 1662 destroyed the lives and careers of many innocent victims, both those who were accused and those who were not.2. The Story of W...... middle of paper ......14 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lay_judge>Linder, D.. "Salem Witchcraft Trials 1662." Famous American essays. University of Mississippi, September 26, 2009. Web. April 3, 2014. .Roach, Mary K. The Salem Witch Trials: A Daily Chronicle of a Community Under Siege. Maryland: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2002. Web. Rosenthal, Bernard. History of Salem: Reading the Witch Trials of 1692. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1995. Web. .“Salem Witch Trials”. Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., March 31, 2014. Web. March 17, 2014. The Holy Bible. Holman Edition. Philadelphia: AJ Holman Comp., 1884. Print. (The Holy Bible).