No witch trials in Salem, 1692

The root cause(s) of the accusations and the behavior of the "afflicted" (if you will) are lost to history: some suggest there was a feud between two of the families involved, which implies simple revenge, but in any case, nothing can be proved. Let's assume for the moment that the young women who showed what were judged to be signs of witchcraft (Betty Parris, age 9, and her cousin Abigail Williams, age 11) IOTL never did so--or did so to a lesser extent, either of which pretty much obviates the accusations and subsequent trials.

What longer-term effects does the lack of the witch trials have on US history? Recall, by the way, that these trials were contemporary with the career pinnacles of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Liebnitz, and that witchcraft trials in all but the fringes of Europe had faded away by then, making the events in Salem decidedly anachronistic.
 
These particular witch trials? Pretty much nil. They were largely a footnote in American history until the mid-to-late 20th century, and the biggest effect of not having them would be the area of Salem-Danvers today is in tougher economic shape without the tourism industry to draw on.

Now, if you want to work backwards and ask what conditions in New England would have prevented the trials from occurring, Mary Beth Norton's In The Devil's Snare makes a strong case IMO that the trials were in part an expression of panic over the wars with the Indians further north. If you can change that situation in the late 17th century, that we can start seeing some serious butterflies.
 

Kaze

Banned
Some of my very distant relatives were shortly based in Salem - they skipped town before the trials truly began. Coincidence? I think not.
In family legend, we have been practicing witchcraft since we gave the Germans the victory at the Battle of Teutoberg Wald....soo.... we would be still there practicing it in secret.
 
25 people don't die, why exactly should this have noticeable effects not caused by chaos theory?
 
A horrible plague of demonic possession, rampant mutations, proliferation of chaos cults, and an eventual tear in the warp sucks the planet into the immaterium.

The Congregationalist Church retains a stronger position in New England vs Universalists and Unitarians, and stays as the state church of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire until the 1870s. The Revolution still likely happens, but cultural differences start popping up in the Continental Congress with regards to financing and relations with the French. The Constitution is going to work out differently, and may be more in line with the antiFederalist. Puritan New England would have resentment against the non-Congregationalist immigrants (pretty much everyone) leading to an earlier and more successful anti-immigrant coalition. I think the Puritans will support efforts to prevent the expansion of slavery into all new territories.
 
When someone was executed for witchcraft their property went to the officials conducting the trials.
No trials could alter the wealth distribution of early colonial wealth.
 
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