Witchcraft Lesson Plan (5th year):

Objectives: Students will Draw inferences about 18c witchcraft from pictures Apply information gathered from primary sources to make new inferences about the pictures Analyze a specific witchcraft case study by answering guiding questions Practice their public speaking skills by presenting their case study to peers Collaboratively come to conclusions about why people were accused of witchcraft and how their actions affected their lives Essential Question: Why would similar accusations of witchcraft be unlikely to happen today? What factors of colonial life allowed witch trials to take place? Materials: Drawing/Paintings from colonial witchcraft to pass out to students in groups Primary source document for each group of students Case study of different witches per group Guiding questions worksheet for each group of student to help them analyze the pictures, primary source, and individual case study this worksheet will have space for students to fill in notes when other groups present their case study Large post-it note poster paper for students to answer guiding questions based on their case study Primary Sources: http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/home.html Procedure: 1. Analyze the Schoolhouse Street drawing by answering guiding questions in their SS notebooks to review what colonial life was like (what was important)

Ask: What do you see in this picture? What seems to be most important to people during the colonial period (what is at the center of the street)? Does anything seem out of place or do things seem to be in uniform? 2. While students are in groups, give them a set of two drawings/paintings that depict the stereotypes of witches and one primary source reading that provides more information about witchcraft during the colonial period a. Have guiding questions for students to use to help them analyze these pictures 3. While students are in the same groups, supply each group with a different case study of accused witches and their outcomes 4. Come together as a class. a. Teacher will project one picture at a time while the groups who had the assigned picture discuss what inferences they made about witchcraft from the picture i. Students will explain how they used their primary source to finalize their conclusions about witchcraft (ex. When we first saw the picture we thought.then from the primary source, we learned that we were right/wrong) b. Students will explain their case study: Who was accused (sex, status, profession), Why he/she was accused, What he/she did after being accused (confessed, ran away, pleaded innocent, etc.) i. Students could present this material as an informal post-it poster presentation for students to take notes of the different types of people accused, the different reasons why they would be accused and the different actions accused people could take. ii. Final class discussion- What would you do? How would you feel? Essential Question

BELOW: Drawings/Paintings depicting 18c witchcraft :

EXAMPLE TEXTS TO ACCOMPANY THE PICTURES (underlined parts were paired with drawings/paintings above to help students create inferences about 18c witchcraft

To John Cotton DI/AAS August 5, 1692

August 5, 1692 Reverend Sir, Our good God is working of miracles. Five witches were lately executed, impudently demanding of God a miraculous vindication of their innocency. Immediately upon this, our God miraculously sent in five Andover witches, who made a most ample, surprising, amazing confession of all their villainies, and declared the five newly executed to have been of their company, discovering many more, but all agreeing in Burroughs being their ringleader, who, I suppose, this day receives his trial at Salem, whither a vast concourse of people is gone, my father this morning among the rest.

To John Foster TLHSQ;HM/* August 17, 1692

August 17, 1692 Sir, You would know whether I still retain my opinion about the horrible witchcrafts among us, and I acknowledge that I do. I do still think that when there is no further evidence against a person but only this, that a specter in their shape does afflict a neighbor, that evidence is not enough to convict the [word missing] of witchcraft. That the devils have a natural power which makes them capable of exhibiting what shape they please I suppose nobody doubts, and I have no absolute promise of God that they shall not exhibit mine. It is the opinion generally of all Protestant writers that the devil may thus abuse the innocent; yea, tis the confession of some popish ones. And our honorable judges are so eminent for their justice, wisdom, and goodness, that whatever their own particular sense may be, yet they will not proceed capitally against any, upon a principle contested with great odds on the other side in the learned and godly world. If any persons have been condemned, about whom any of the judges are not easy in their minds that the evidence against them has been satisfactory, it would certainly be for the glory of the whole transaction to give that person a reprieve. It would make all matters easier if at least bail were taken for people accused only by the invisible tormentors of the poor sufferers and not blemished by any further grounds of suspicion against them.

The Diary of Samuel Sewall, 1674-1729

Selected excerpts from Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol. 5, Series 5, 1878, pages 358 - 464. *April 11th 1692. Went to Salem, where, in the Meeting-house, the persons accused of Witchcraft were examined; was a very great Assembly; twas awfull to see how the afflicted persons were agitated. Mr. Noyes prayd at the beginning, and Mr. Higginson concluded. [In the margin], V, V, V, Witchcraft. *July 30, 1692. Mrs. Cary makes her escape out of Cambridge Prison, who was Committed for Witchcraft. *Augt. 19th 1692. This day [in the margin, Dolefull! Witchcraft] George Burrough, John Willard, Jno Procter, Martha Carrier and George Jacobs were executed at Salem, a very great number of Spectators being present. Mr. Cotton Mather was there, Mr. Sims, Hale, Noyes, Chiever, &c. All of them said they were innocent, Carrier and all. Mr. Mather says they all died by a Righteous Sentence. Mr. Burrough by his Speech, Prayer, protestation of his Innocence, did much move unthinking persons, which occasions their speaking hardly concerning his being executed. **Monday, Sept. 19, 1692. About noon, at Salem, Giles Corey was pressd to death for standing Mute; much pains was used with him two days, one after another, by the Court and Capt. Gardner of Nantucket who had been of his acquaintance: but all in vain. **Sept. 21. A petition is sent to Town in behalf of Dorcas Hoar, who now confesses: Accordingly an order is sent to the Sheriff to forbear her Execution, notwithstanding her being in the Warrant to die to morrow. This is the first condemned person who has confessd.

Case Studies:

1. Katherine 2. Bishop Accused of Witchcraft more than any other defendant Flamboyant lifestyle (mistress to two men, late night parties, multiple husbands, drinking habits) Exotic dress (Black hat, red bodice looped with many different colors) First witch hanged in Salem

3. Burroughs Thought to have superhuman strength People claimed he could run faster than a horse

4. Giles Corey Refused to stand for trial Penalty: death by pressing under heavy stones 5. John Proctor rash in speech, judgment and action Denounced witchcraft and all those who girls who claimed to be afflicted as a scam 1st male to be accused of witchcraft in Salem Accused along with all of his children, his wife, and his sister-in-law, Executed

6. Deliverance Hobbs a. Daughter: Abigail = reputation for being an unruly and disrespectful child i. Posed as witness against her parents b. Confessed to witchcraft c. Acted as witness against her husband (who never swayed from claiming innocence) d. Confession = way to avoid hanging and death BELOW: Worksheet for students to use for the picture and primary source activity:

Eighteenth Century New England Witchcraft

Analyze the pictures given to your group to answer the first four questions.

1. What characters or people do you see in the drawings? o Who/what do these characters represent?

2. What is happening in the picture? o What actions are taking place? What does this tell you about witchcraft during the colonial period?

3. When do you think these pictures were from? (Were they drawn in todays time, in the past, etc.?)

4. How can drawings and pictures help you learn about the past?

Read the primary source(s) that have been handed out to your group together. Reflect on your answers from 1-3 and draw further conclusions about witchcraft to answer the following questions: 5. What new information have you learned from the primary source? How can you apply the new information from the primary source to your pictures?

As a group, read about the accused with you have been assigned. Using the poster paper provided, answer the following questions o Who was accused (sex, status, profession), Why he/she was accused, What he/she did after being accused (confessed, ran away, pleaded innocent, etc.) Use the following chart to take notes during group presentations: WHO WAS ACCUSED? WHY WERE THEY ACCUSED? THE ACCUSEDS ACTIONS AND OUTCOME:

CASE STUDY SECONDARY READINGS ON PEOPLE ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT:

Bridget Bishop

Bridget Bishop, "a singular character, not easily described," was born sometime between 1632 and 1637. Bishop married three times. Her third and final marriage, after the deaths of her first two husbands, was to Edward Bishop, who was employed as a "sawyer" (lumber worker). She appears to have had no children in any of her marriages. Although Bishop had been accused by more individuals of witchcraft than any other witchcraft defendant (many of the accusations were markedly vehement and vicious), it was not so much her "sundry acts of witchcraft" that caused her to be the first witch hanged in Salem, as it was her flamboyant life style and exotic manner of dress. Despite being a member of Mr. Hale's Church in Beverly (she remained a member in good standing until her death), Bishop often kept the gossip mill busy with stories of her publicly fighting with her various husbands, entertaining guests in home until late in the night, drinking and playing the forbidden game of shovel board, and being the mistress of two thriving taverns in town. Some even went so far as to say that Bishop's "dubious moral character" and shameful conduct caused, "discord [to] arise in other familes, and young people were in danger of corruption." Bishop's blatant disregard for the respected standards of puritan society made her a prime target for accusations of witchcraft. In addition to her somewhat outrageous (by Puritan standards) lifestyle, the fact that Bishop "was in the habit of dressing more artistically than women of the village" also contributed in large part to her conviction and execution. She was described as wearing, "a black cap, and a black hat, and a red paragon bodice bordered and looped with different colors." This was a showy costume for the times. Aside from encouraging rumors and social disdain, this "showy costume" was used as evidence against her at her trial for witchcraft. In his deposition, Shattuck, the town dyer mentions, as corroborative proof of Bishop being a witch, that she used to bring to his dye house "sundry pieces of lace" of shapes

and dimensions entirely outside his conceptions of what would be needed in the wardrobe of a plain and honest woman. Fashionable apparel was regarded by some as a "snare and sign of the devil." When asked by one of her jailers, Bishop claimed that she was not troubled to see the afflicted persons so tormented, and could not tell what to think of them and did not concern herself about them at all. But the afflicted girls were not Bishop's only accusers. Her sister's husband claimed that "she sat up all night conversing with the Devil" and that "the Devil came bodily into her." With a whole town against her, Bishop was charged, tried, and executed within eight days. On June 10, as crowds gathered to watch, she was taken to Gallows Hill and executed by the sheriff, George Corwin. She displayed no remorse and professed her innocence at her execution.
Source: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_BI.HTM

After reading about Bridget Bishop, think (specifically) about this question along with the ones stated on your worksheet What was different and unusual about Bridget Bishop that led to her accusation of being a witch? What does this tell you about eighteenth century colonial New England?

George Burroughs

In the minds of many of the villagers of Salem, George Burroughs was "the ringleader of them all." Burroughs was born in either Maryland or Virginia, when his father was on business from England. He graduated from Harvard College in 1670. Burroughs was a non-ordained minister. While preaching in Casco, Maine (now Portland) in 1676, the entire settlement was broken up by an Indian assault. Burroughs escaped to an island in the Bay. He was rescued by aid from the mainland. He moved to the Village of Salem in 1680, where a year later his wife died. Burroughs ministered in the Village of Salem for only two years. He left as a result of a bitter dispute over his salary. He seems also to have had a more personal and heated dispute over money with John Putnam, the uncle of one of Burroughs' later accusers. As a result of these disputes, Burroughs left the Village abruptly. After leaving Salem, he returned to Casco, where he was again driven out by Indians in 1683, causing him to relocate to Wells, Maine. There he was given a grant of 150 acres of land, part of which he gave back to the city as population thickened. Burroughs had been serving as a minister in Wells for nine years when he was arrested for witchcraft. He was seized, taken from the table while eating, and hauled back to Salem on May 4 to stand trial. The arrest and examination of Burroughs "constituted the most dramatic escalation of judicial action during the early phases of the trials." Burroughs was tried on August 5. There was no shortage of testimony that Burroughs was not just a witch, but their leader as well. One of his accusers testified that his specter told her that "he was above a witch, he was a conjurer." During his examination, the suffering of the afflicted girls was so extreme that the magistrates ordered them removed from the court house for their own safety. Abigail Hobbs confessed that magical dolls had been given to her by Burroughs. Nineteen-year-old Mercy Lewis claimed that Burroughs "carried me up to an exceeding high mountain and shewed me all the kingdoms of the earth and tould me that he would give them all to me if I would writ in his book," a temptation not unlike one used by his supposed master on occasion. Some of the most damaging testimony against Burroughs was by several confessed witches who identified him as Satan's personal representative at Salem Sabbaths. They claimed that meetings were personally organized and presided over by Sorcerer Burroughs. The effect of this testimony was to convince the magistrates that they had finally located one of the central figures in the current diabolical operations. Much of the testimony, however, in addition to focusing on his commissions of acts of witchcraft, focused on his general mistreatment of his wives, and his uncanny physical ability. Ann Putnam claimed to have been visited by two women in shrouds (the deceased wives of Burroughs) who proclaimed to her the mistreatment they suffered at the hands of their husband. Burroughs was a short man of small build, who supposedly possessed superhuman strength. Burroughs was accused on one occasion of

having carried a whole barrel of molasses or cider a great distance. He responded that at the time an Indian had done the same, and his accusers immediately replied that his Indian companion had to have been the Devil. It was also said that Burroughs could run faster than a horse, and would often go from one location to the next in a shorter time than was possible for a mere mortal. Burroughs again responded that he had a companion on these travels, and it was again alleged that this companion was the Devil. Burroughs was hanged on August 19 along with three other men and one woman, all supposed witches. As he stood on the gallows awaiting the noose, Buroughs stunned the crowd by loudly proclaiming his innocence and then reciting the Lord's Prayer without hesitation or error, a feat thought impossible for a wizard. The spectators, deeply impressed, called for his pardon. However, more legal-minded officials overseeing the execution refused, and the convicted man was hanged before the protesting spectators could organize their opposition.
Source: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_BI.HTM

After reading about George Burroughs, think (specifically) about this question along with the ones stated on your worksheet Would the accusations against Burroughs be sufficient evidence of him being a wizard in todays society? Why do you think these accusations were accepted at trial during this period of time?

Giles Corey

Giles Corey was a prosperous farmer and full member of the church. He lived in the southwest corner of Salem village. In April of 1692, he was accused by Ann Putnam, Jr., Mercy Lewis, and Abigail Williams of witchcraft. Ann Putnam claimed that on April 13 the specter of Giles Corey visited her and asked her to write in the Devil's book. Later, Putnam was to claim that a ghost appeared before her to announce that it had been murdered by Corey. Other girls were to describe Corey as "a dreadful wizard" and recount stories of assaults by his specter. Why Corey was named as a witch (male witches were generally called "wizards" at the time) is a matter of speculation, but Corey and his wife Martha were closely associated with the Porter faction of the village church that had been opposing the Putnam faction. Corey, eighty years old, was also a hard, stubborn man who may have expressed criticism of the witchcraft proceedings. Corey was examined by magistrates on April 18, then left to languish with his wife in prison for five months awaiting trial. When Corey's case finally went before the grand jury in September, nearly a dozen witnesses came forward with damning evidence such as testimony that Corey was seen serving bread and wine at a witches' sacrament. Corey knew he faced conviction and execution, so he chose to refuse to stand for trial. By avoiding conviction, it became more likely that his farm, which Corey recently deeded to his two sons-in-law, would not become property of the state upon his death. The penalty for refusing to stand for trial was death by pressing under heavy stones. It was a punishment never before seen in the colony of

Massachusetts. On Monday, September 19, Corey was stripped naked, a board placed upon his chest, and then--while his neighbors watched--heavy stones and rocks were piled on the board. Corey pleaded to have more weight added, so that his death might come quickly. Samuel Sewall reported Corey's death: "About noon, at Salem, Giles Corey was press'd to death for standing mute." Robert Calef, in his report of the event, added a gruesome detail: Giles's "tongue being prest out of his mouth, the Sheriff with his cane forced it in again, when he was dying." Judge Jonathan Corwin ordered Corey buried in an unmarked grave on Gallows Hill. Corey is often seen as a martyr who "gave back fortitude and courage rather than spite and bewilderment." His very public death may well have played in building public opposition to the witchcraft trials.
Source: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_BI.HTM

After reading about Giles Corey, think (specifically) about this question along with the ones stated on your worksheet Giles Corey refused to stand trial and was, therefore, ordered to death by pressing under stones. What do you think would have been the punishment if he confessed or pleaded innocent?

Deliverance Hobbs

Deliverance Hobbs, about 50 years old at the time of the trials, was the wife of William Hobbs and the mother of Abigail Hobbs. All three members of the Hobbs family were accused of witchcraft. Abigail had a reputation for being a wild, irreverent and disrespectful young girl. She would brag that she was not afraid of anything. She was also known to mock the holy sacrament of baptism by sprinkling water on her mother's head and reciting the appropriate words. Abigail was one of the first arrested, and acted as a witness against both of her parents. She also enthusiastically contributed to efforts to accuse and convict other supposed witches. A warrant was issued for Deliverance on April 21. She was arrested two days later and committed to prison. For a while Hobbs professed her innocence. After a time her resistance and her will were broken by the harshness of the proceedings. Hobbs was the fourth Salem resident to confess to practicing witchcraft, preceded only by her daughter, Abigail, and Mary Warren. She then readily confessed to anything the magistrates, afflicted girls, or the crowds would suggest. She even acted as a witness against her husband, who never swayed from his claims of innocence. Despite the circle of accusations in the family, all three Hobbs managed to avoid the noose. Confession became seen as one option open to accused witches for avoiding the gallows, but of course confessions also had the effect of confirming suspicions of witchcraft and widening the circle of accusations. Deliverance's breakdown and confessions was gradual, and can be followed through her confessions. Her first confession, given before George Burroughs had been brought back to Salem and accused, made no mention of Burroughs, although it was a lengthy and detailed confession. However, once it had become publicly known that Burroughs had been charged, she confessed again,

this time freely implicating Burroughs in the circle of witchcraft in Salem, and claiming that he was the leader of the meetings. Hobbs also claimed that her mother-in-law served the refreshments of red wine and red bread at the witch meetings. Despite his wife's and daughter's confessions, William Hobbs steadfastly denied all accusations of witchcraft. He remained in prison until December 1692, then left town.
Source: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_BI.HTM

After reading about Deliverance Hobbs, think (specifically) about these questions along with the ones stated on your worksheet What does the first paragraph tell you about family relations and being accused of witchcraft?

What surprises you about the verdicts for each of the Hobbs cases? (Think about what they did when they were accused, and if they were punished for their actions).

John Proctor

Proctor was originally from Ipswich, where he and his father before him had a farm of considerable value. In 1666 he moved to Salem, where he worked on a farm, part of which he later bought. Proctor seems to have been an enormous man, very large framed, with great force and energy. Although an upright man, he seems to have been rash in speech, judgment, and action. It was his unguarded tongue that would eventually lead to his death. From the start of the outbreak of witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Proctor had denounced the whole proceedings and the afflicted girls as a scam. When his wife was accused and questioned, he stood with her throughout the proceedings and staunchly defended her innocence. It was during her questioning that he, too, was named a witch. Proctor was the first male to be named as a witch in Salem. In addition, all of his children were accused. His wife Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's sister and sisterin-law, also were accused witches. Although tried and condemned, Elizabeth avoided execution because she was pregnant. Mary Warren, the twenty-year-old maid servant in the Proctor house--who herself would later be named as a witch--accused Proctor of practicing witchcraft. It is believed by some sources that when Mary first had fits Proctor, believing them to be fake, would beat her out of them. Even if it didn't actually beat her, he certainly threatened beatings and worse if she didn't stop the fits. It was this type of outspoken criticism of the afflicted that caused Proctor to be accused. Proctor was tried on August 5 and hanged on the 19th. While in prison on July 23, Proctor wrote a letter to the clergy of Boston, who were known to be uneasy with the witchcraft proceedings. In his letter he asked them to intervene to either have the trials moved to Boston or have new judges appointed. After the trial and execution of Rebecca Nurse, the prospects of those still in prison waiting trial were grim. If a person with a reputation as untarnished as hers could be executed, there was little hope for any of the other accused, which is why Proctor

made his request. With the present judges, who were already convinced of guilt, the trial would just be a formality. In response to Proctor's letter, in which he describes certain torture that was used to elicit confessions, eight ministers, including Increase Mather, met at Cambridge on August 1. Little is known about this meeting, except that when they had emerged, they had drastically changed their position on spectral evidence. The ministers decided in the meeting that the Devil could take on the form of innocent people. Unfortunately for Proctor, their decision would not have widespread impact until after his execution. Proctor pleaded at his execution for a little respite of time. He claimed he was not fit to die. His plea was, of course, unsuccessful. In seventeenth-century society, it would not have been uncommon for a man so violently tempered as Proctor to feel that he had not yet made peace with his fellow man or his God. In addition, it is thought that he died inadequately reconciled to his wife, since he left her out of the will that he drew up in prison. Proctor's family was given 150 pounds in 1711 for his execution and his wife's imprisonment.
Source: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_BI.HTM

After reading about Deliverance Hobbs, think (specifically) about these questions along with the ones stated on your worksheet What pattern do you see regarding family relations and accusations of witchcraft from reading about John Proctor?

Rebecca Nurse

"The Trial of Rebecca Nurse"

Rebecca Nurse was the daughter of William Towne, of Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England where she was baptized Feb. 21, 1621. Her sisters Mary and Sarah Cloyce were also accused of witchcraft. Nurse's husband was described as a "traymaker." He seems to have been highly respected by his neighbors, and more often than anyone else was called in to settle disputes. Nurse had four sons and four daughters. Nurse was one of the first "unlikely" witches to be accused. At the time of her trial she was 71 years old, and had "acquired a reputation for exemplary piety that was virtually unchallenged in the community." It was written of Nurse: "This venerable lady, whose conversation and bearing were so truly saint-like, was an invalid of extremely delicate condition and appearance, the mother of a large family, embracing sons, daughters, grandchildren, and one or more great-grand children. She was a woman of piety, and simplicity of heart." That her reputation was virtually unblemished was evidenced by the fact that several of the most active accusers were more hesitant in their accusations of Nurse, and many who had kept silent during the proceedings against others, came forward and spoke out on behalf of Nurse, despite the dangers of doing so. Thirty-nine of the most prominent members of the community signed a petition on Nurse's behalf, and several others wrote individual petitions vouching for her innocence. One of the signers of the petition, Jonathan Putnam, had originally sworn out the complaint against Nurse, but apparently had later changed his mind on the matter of her guilt. Unlike many of the other accused, during the questioning of Nurse, the magistrate showed signs of doubting her guilt, because of her age, character, appearance, and professions of innocence. However, each time he would begin to waiver on the issue, someone else in the crowd would either heatedly accuse her or one of the afflicted girls would break into fits and claim Nurse was tormenting her. At Nurse's trial on June 30, the jury came back with a verdict of "Not Guilty." When this was announced there was a large and hideous outcry from both the afflicted girls and the spectators. The magistrates urged reconsideration. Chief Justice Stoughton asked the jury if they had considered the implications of something Nurse had said. When Hobbs had accused Nurse, Nurse had said "What do you bring her? She is one of us." Nurse had only meant that Hobbs was a fellow prisoner. Nurse, however, was old, partially hard of hearing, and exhausted from the day in court. When Nurse was asked to explain her

words "she is one of us," she did not hear the question. The jury took her silence as an indication of guilt. The jury deliberated a second time and came back with a verdict of guilty. On July 3, this pious, God fearing woman was excommunicated from her church in Salem Town, without a single dissenting vote, because of her conviction of witchcraft. Nurse was sentenced to death on June 30. She was executed on July 19. Public outrage at her conviction and execution have been credited with generating the first vocal opposition to the trials. In 1711, Nurse's family was compensated by the government for her wrongful death

Source: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_BI.HTM

After reading about Rebecca Nurse, think (specifically) about these questions along with the ones stated on your worksheet What do you find most shocking about the Nurse case?