I guess you miss the point. Government was a little more honest then than it is today, as far as we know. And the Salem witch trials were in the 1600's.
You're reaching here a bit, my friend.
While the Salem witch trials were in 1692-3 there were witch trials as late as 1878.
The point that I was trying to make is that anyone who thinks anything was better in 1776 is not thinking clearly. The government was certainly not more honest in any sense of the word back then.