What should be done to protect the innocent from being accused and presumed guilty?

Task Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, in the context of the historical Salem Witch Trails, shows many innocent people being accused of crimes/sins they did not commit. Throughout history, society has been blinded to similar occurrences, or “witch hunts.”

Task Indeed, Miller wrote The Crucible in response to one of those “witch hunts” that took place in his time period – McCarthyism.

Your Job In a group of 3 (or 4) students, you will research the back ground of the Salem Witch Trials, McCarthyism, and other “witch hunts” throughout history to find: Their causes Evaluate their consequences Develop a solution that would help avoid and/or prevent such “witch hunts” in the future

Your Job You will be charting your results and collaborating in order to create a letter to the editor of a newspaper telling what society should do to prevent innocent people from being accused and presumed guilty in the future.

Process Journal 1 Look at the pictures and poem below and do a quickwrite in your journal about one time you’ve been falsely accused. Consider what led up to the accusation and what the results of the accusation were. Also, discuss what could have been done to prevent the false accusation. Fill at least half of a page.

Japanese Internment Camps I am Japanese American I now live behind these barbed wires Everyday I wake up to see the same people Guards blocking the exits Wondering if I will live through another day Everyday I get more lonely I always pray for me and mama and papa At mealtime we get to eat the same exact stuff everytime I never drink the powdered milk that all the kids got at mealtimes I don't really like it that much So, I just wait, and wait. By Jordan

Process Journal 2 Go through the Salem Virtual Witch Hunt. You will be experiencing what it was like to have been accused of witchcraft in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials. Your job is to experience the emotions and feelings of being falsely accused. Write one page about your experience, what it felt like, and what you learned.Salem Virtual Witch Hunt

Process Groups Now, you will separate into groups of 3 (or 4) students and will need to choose one of the following roles: Expert on the Salem Witch Trials Expert on McCarthyism Expert on mass hysteria and related persecutions of innocent people

Process Research Once you have picked a role, you must begin researching your topic and summarizing/journaling on the information you read and learn. You must summarize/journal on a minimum of 4 articles. Your entries must be at least a half of a page long.

Process Charting For your role, you will chart out the following on a role chart: –The problem behind the situation (what is the issue?) –The causes of the “witch hunt” –The consequences of the “witch hunt” –Some possible ways for that society to have avoided it

Process Comparing Compile the information (charts and summaries/journals) your group has collected and compare: Causes Consequences Solutions Create a Venn Diagram to show similarities of each point. You should have at least one Venn Diagram for each point.

Process Prewriting Now you must begin your letter to the editor. To start, create and thesis and outline.

Process Writing Write the letter to the editor – each member contributing information on which she/he is an expert. Discuss the issues, causes, consequences, and the main solution. Write as if to the Houston Chronicle.

Role of the Expert on the Salem Witch Trials For this role, you must gather extensive background research related to the Salem Witch Trials, identifying Their causes (focus on the beliefs of the people at the time) Their consequences (both for individuals accused and accusing, and for the society) Possible ways to have avoided them (be sure your solutions are applicable to the people at that time period and in that situation.

Role of the Expert on the Salem Witch Trials Research links for the Salem Witch Trials Timeline of Salem Witch Trials Puritan History List of Accused Example of Martha Carrier’s Trial Salem Witch Trials #1 Salem Witch Trials #2

Role of the Expert on the Salem Witch Trials Searchable sites: The Salem Witch Museum Witchcraft in Salem Village The Crucible project

Role of the Expert on McCarthyism For this role, you must gather extensive background information related to McCarthyism, identifying Their causes (focus on the beliefs of the people at the time) Their consequences (both for individuals accused and accusing, and for the society) Possible ways to have avoided them (be sure your solutions are applicable to the people at that time period and in that situation.

Role of the Expert on McCarthyism Research links for McCarthyism Excellent Summaries of McCarthyism Era Short Biography of Joseph McCarthy Congressional Committees and Unfriendly WitnessesCongressional Committees and Unfriendly Witnesses Different View of the 1947 HUAC Activities HUAC HUAC and Censorship Famous American Trials Age of McCarthyism

Role of the Expert on Related Persecutions For this role, you must gather information on at least two related persecutions and identify the following for each: Their causes (focus on the beliefs of the people at the time) Their consequences (both for individuals accused and accusing, and for the society) Possible ways to have avoided them (be sure your solutions are applicable to the people at that time period and in that situation.

Role of the Expert on Related Persecutions Research links for Related Persecutions Mass Hysteria Modern Day Witch Hunts of large groups of people (be sure to view the bibliography section to use the original sources)Modern Day Witch Hunts Arab Americans Under Attack FBI Hate Crime Statistics for 2005 FBI Hate Crime Percentages (according to bias)FBI Hate Crime Percentages Hate Crimes in 2001

Role of the Expert on Related Persecutions Searchable sites: United States Holocaust Museum Simon Wiesenthal Center Japanese American Interment Resource