Two Trials, Two Towns, One Name

When most people (aka Americans) hear the word "Salem," they immediately think about the Salem Witch Trials. Taking place in Salem, Massachusetts in the late 17th century, the Salem Witch Trials was the deadliest witch hunt in the history and is one of Colonial America's most notorious cases of mass hysteria.

The trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft (by their neighbors) in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused, 19 of whom were found guilty and executed by hanging, 14 of whom were women and the other 5 men. Another man was crushed to death for refusing to plead, and at least five more people died in jail.

This trial has made "Salem" a household name in many American homes because of how it has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a cautionary tale about the dangers of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations, and lapses in due process. However, the infamy of this trial often causes another trial in another town called Salem to often go overlooked, the Salem Tomato Trials (not its actual, formal name).

In early 19th century Salem, New Jersey, there was a widespread belief that tomatoes were poisonous. When tomatoes were first introduced in England, John Gerard, one the fruit's earliest cultivators, believed they were poisonous. His view caught on and, as a result, tomatoes were considered unfit for consumption in England and North America for years. Practically everyone in North America believed the rumor about the dangers of consuming tomatoes. Rather than consuming the fruit, people view tomatoes as an ornamental plant instead. Everyone except Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson that is. During the peak of the tomato season in 1820, Johnson challenged the notion that tomatoes are poisonous by announcing that he would eat a tomato to prove it was not poisonous.

Standing on the steps of the Salem courthouse, Johnson consumed an entire basket of tomatoes during a "trial." When his fellow citizens discovered that Johnson didn't suffer any ill effects, they finally realized tomatoes weren't poisonous and are safe for consumption. Finally, America joined the world in consuming this popular fruit.

Salem, New Jersey and Salem, Massachusetts are two different cities in the US. However, they were both the location of an important trial in American history. While both trials do not relate in any remote sense, they both were the result of silly beliefs and merely showed how easily people believe the words of others.