WITCHES AND WITCH HUNTERS: THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS

Satan Unleashed…

April, 1692: Several young girls in the town of Salem begin accusing people of witchcraft Many of the accusers included Abigail

Williams and Betty Parris

Led by Reverend Samuel Parris, Reverend John Hale, and Thomas Putnam, several people are arrested and charged with witchcraft

Law and Order

The Court of Oyer and Terminer (hear and decide) accepts spectral evidence: evidence based on dreams and visions to convict

Convicted witches are almost always hanged (not burned at the stake) in America

22 people would be hanged, and over 400 imprisoned in Salem alone Among those hanged were John Proctor and

Rebecca Nurse

Legacy of the Trials

The accused families spent decades attempting to clear their names The General Court formally apologized and reversed

the convictions …in 1711. The churches reversed their excommunications in 1712 The state of Massachusetts formally cleared those

accused of wrongdoing…300 years later

It is possible that many of the Founding Fathers studied the actions of the Court of Oyer and Terminer in determining their charges against King George III in the Declaration of Independence and in creating the Bill of Rights

The Crucible, 1953

In 1953, playwright Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, a play about the Salem Witch Trials Intended to be an allegory for the “Red

Scare” in 1950’s America where many prominent civilians were accused of being communists

The Backstory

In the play… John Proctor is 40 (not 60 like the real

one) Abigail is 21 While we don’t know the cause of the

actual trials… …In the play, John had an affair and

cheated on his wife Elizabeth with Abby! When John tries to avoid Abby, she

begins accusing people of witchcraft in order to kill Elizabeth!

Abigail Williams

Had an affair with John Proctor

Still in love with him

Was caught dancing in the woods with her cousin and friends

John Proctor

Married to Elizabeth, he cheated on her with Abigail

Really tries to do the right thing

Elizabeth Proctor

John’s wife, and fiercely honorable

Caught him having an affair, but decides to stay with him

Never tells a lie

Samuel Parris

Minister of Salem

Abby’s uncle, and Betty’s father (His wife died years ago)

Owns a slave from Barbados named Tituba

Tituba

A slave from Barbados

Has knowledge of voodoo chants

Is accused of “bewitching” Betty who lies in a coma

Mary Warren

Mary knows why Abby is accusing people of witchcraft

She’s determined to tell the truth…but at what cost?

John Hale

Minister of Beverly, the lead witch hunter and investigator

Believes the girls of Salem are possessed

Thomas and Ann Putnam

The wealthiest people in Salem, all but one of their children have died

Ann and Thomas are willing to believe witches are responsible and side with Parris and Hale

Thomas Danforth

Judge of the general court and deputy-governor of Massachusetts Bay

Has no problem hanging people to defend the state

Thomas Danforth

Danforth is the lead judge and the deputy-governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony Completely loyal to his position and the

law A devoted theocrat…believing the state

and the church are supreme Concerned with doing what is best

politically (not always with what is right) Arguably the true villain of the play… …he was portrayed by Mr. Staten!!!