and the Salem Witch Trials The Puritans and the Salem Witch Trials

Learning Target I can understand the historical context of a work. (18th century for The Crucible) I have knowledge of the time period in which the work was written or takes place. I can understand how the lifestyle of the time influences the work or the characters that exist within it.

What does it mean to be American? What does it mean to be an American? On your paper, describe the characteristics, values and habits that would be required before one could call themselves one. An American is someone that is ____________________.

What does it mean to be American? Was it easy to define an American? Why or why not? Think about the people that came to be Americans in the first 100 years of our country’s existence… Where did they come from? What were they like?

What is a Puritan? On your paper, do one of the following: Sketch a simple picture of what you visualize when you think of the Puritans. Create a list of at least three key Puritan traits.

What is a Puritan Do these pictures match the mental images that you had earlier? Why or why not?

Who are the Puritans? It is a broad term, referring to a number of Protestant groups that, beginning about 1500, sought to “purify” the Church of England.  What does the term “purify” mean? Why might a group of people want to “purify” their church?

Who are the Puritans? In England during the 1500s and 1600s, a group of Protestants called Puritans led a movement to “purify” the Church of England. They wished to return to the simpler forms of worship and church organization described in the New Testament. They did not believe that the clergy or the government should or could act as an intermediary between the individual and God.

Who are the Puritans? The first and most famous group of English Puritans landed in 1620, on the tip of Cape Cod, just before Christmas after a long and difficult journey. There they hoped to build a new society patterned after God’s word. They were followed ten years later by seven hundred more Puritan settlers. By 1640, as many as twenty thousand English Puritans sailed to what they call New England.

The First Thanksgiving

Values of the Puritans For the Puritans the everyday world and the spiritual world were closely related. Puritans also believed the bible is the supreme authority on earth. They did not believe in separation of church and state. Puritans did value hard work—their attempt to begin a life in the new world dictated this, but many Puritans also placed great emphasis on obtaining material wealth.

Values of the Puritans Puritans believed that those who obtained wealth did so because it was a reward for a virtuous life. They also valued family life, community service, art and literature. As a result of this, they were the first group in the new colonies to establish a printing press, free public grammar schools, and Harvard College.

Religious Beliefs of the Puritans When it comes to religion, Puritans were often arrogant in their faith and intolerant of religious viewpoints that differed from their own. Those that stayed in England beheaded the king of England as part of their quest for religious freedom. Because of their religious intolerance, they are often seen as hypocritical. Why do you think this last statement could be true?

Puritan’s Basic Religious Convictions Puritans had three basic convictions of their faith. Human beings are inherently evil and so must struggle to overcome their sinful nature. The Bible is the supreme authority on earth. They believed that the Bible should guide all aspects of society, including how governments were organized. Personal salvation depends solely on the grace of God, not on individual effort. Puritans referred to this as predestination.

What exactly IS predestination? The largest tenant of their faith was the concept of predestination. What exactly IS predestination? It is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God: biblical predestination means that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others. This “final destination decision” was decided prior to birth. By this theology, God decides whether you are going to heaven or hell before you are born. You and your actions have no say in the matter.

What problems arise from the theology of Predestination? Interestingly enough, God does not tell humans which people are predestined to go to heaven and which people are predestined to spend an eternity in hell. This means humans were left to determine who they thought was going to heaven and who was going to hell. How do you think Puritans determined who was going to heaven and who was going to hell? What problems could this cause within a community?

Discussion: Are Witches Real? Do you believe that witches are real? Why or why not? For those that believe in witches, why would thinking that they were hiding in your community create a sense of fear? If you did believe in witches, what evidence would you need to have in order to accuse someone of being a witch?

Background on Salem Witch Trials Salem was a Puritan colony. The residents fully believed that witches and witchcraft were real and were in their community. Witchcraft was defined as “entering into a compact with the devil in exchange for certain powers to do evil.” Witchcraft was considered both a sin and a crime. This was because it supposedly used the devil’s power to perform cruel acts against each other. The intense fear of witches caused the hysteria to spread quickly through the small village. 18

The Salem Witch Trials The witch hunt began in early 1692. Rev. Parris’ daughter, Betty, and Abigail Williams started having fits of convulsion, screaming and hallucinations. The doctor that examined them said that the only explanation was witchcraft. Cotton Mather had detailed witchcraft and the symptoms of being afflicted by it in a book. The girls’ symptoms were much like those described in Mather’s book so the Puritans in Salem easily believed that it was true. 19

The Salem Witch Trials The girls accused Tituba (a Parris family slave), Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne of being witches. John Hawthorne and Jonathan Corwin were responsible for examining the three accused women and determining whether they were witches or not. 20

The Salem Witch Trials March 1, 1692 questioning began After rigorous questioning Tituba confessed to being a witch stating that her, Good and Osborne made a pact with the devil. Tituba confessed because she thought she would avoid death. This fueled the village’s speculations and they went on a witch hunt that lasted for years. 21

The Salem Witch Trials They were all convicted based on hearsay and gossip. The only way to avoid execution was to admit to being a witch. Why do you think this is ironic? During 1692 nineteen people refused to confess to being a witch and died as a result. The witch trials getting out of control showed the deep belief in the supernatural that ran in colonial America. 22