The Salem witchcraft trials: life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony grew very strange in January 1692. Were two young girls ill--or were they possesed by the devil?

Picture life in Salem Village, Massachusetts, in the winter of 1692. You have no television and no computer, and the long, snowy months isolate you from neighboring towns. How might you pass the time?

One group of girls often gathered at Samuel Parris's house. Parris was a stern preacher who denounced the worldly ways of nearby Salem Town. Among the group were his sickly 9-year-old daughter, Betty, and her cousin Abigail Williams, 11.

The girls amused themselves by practicing fortune-telling. In one game, they would drop an egg white into a glass of water. Each girl would then study the patterns the egg made to predict the profession of her future husband. Parris's slave, Tituba, also entertained the group with tales of demons and voodoo (witchcraft), common in her native Barbados.

Soon, Betty and Abigail began to act strangely. They crawled under tables and chairs, twitching and speaking incoherently (in a confused way). They claimed that someone, or something, was pinching them all over.

Parris turned to Dr. William Griggs, the local physician, for help. But Griggs could find no medical explanation for the symptoms. To everyone's surprise, he announced that the girls had been "bewitched."

Puritans considered witchcraft to be a sign of Satan's presence. Under English law, witchcraft was punishable by death. Sixteen people had been hanged as witches in New England before 1692.

People now wondered: Were some Salem villagers in league with Satan? If so, which ones?

OBJECTIVES

Students will understand:

* People in 17th-century New England were wrongly persecuted for allegedly practicing witchcraft.

TEACHING STRATEGY

Conduct a classroom discussion by asking: "What challenges did the people of Massachusetts Bay Colony face? How might the harsh living conditions of the time have contributed to the hysteria surrounding witchcraft?"

BACKGROUND

Historians attribute tensions between the social classes of Salem Village as a contributing factor in the witch-trial hysteria. The village's poorer and lesser-educated farmers broadly supported the efforts to root out suspected witches. Those who opposed the witch hunt, mostly wealthy residents, feared arrest or economic ruin for protesting.

THINKING SKILLS

MAKING INFERENCES: Why were some Salem villagers easy targets during the witchcraft hysteria? (The community's strict views concerning personal behavior targeted those people viewed as "disturbing.")

FINDING CAUSES: What do some scientists offer as a possible explanation for the witchcraft hysteria? (A certain kind of fungus present in the Salem Village diet has been known to lead to hallucinations and feelings of paranoia. Some scientists think these symptoms might have been mistakenly interpreted by Salem villagers as evidence of witchcraft.)

ACTIVITY

SALEM AND McCARTHYISM: Senator Joseph R. McCarthy's crusade against suspected Communists is often compared to the Salem witchcraft trials. Have students research McCarthy's "Red Scare" and compare the event to the witch-hunt of 1692 Salem. Students can present their findings in a written report.

STANDARDS

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* People, places, and environment: How superstitious beliefs and intimidation in Salem Village led to the convictions and executions of people falsely accused of practicing witchcraft in 1692.

* Individuals, groups, and institutions: How Salem Village residents, clergy members, and the English court united to root out alleged witches from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

RESOURCES

PRINT

* Rinaldi, Ann, A Break with Charity: A Story About the Salem Witch Trials (Gulliver Books, 1992). Grades 5-8

WEB SITES * Salem Museum http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/

* Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAred.htm