“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live…” (Exodus 22:18).

The Puritans

• Daily Routine• Dress• Diet

Historical Events

Belief System, Attitudes and Superstitions

Social Order/Political Order

Why did the Salem Witch Trials happen?

1. “the ordinary stresses of 17th-century life in Massachusetts Bay Colony, -bitter weather, sickness and death, devastating

fires, drought, insect infestations that killed crops

2. a strong belief in the devil, - HE was the one who hurt their crops; biblical

teachings said witches were real and dangerous

http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/education/index.shtml

Why did the Salem Witch Trials happen?

3. groups among Salem Village fanatics and rivalry with nearby Salem Town,

4. a recent small pox epidemic, and5. the threat of attack by warring

tribes (wanting to repossess the land the Europeans took)

All created a fertile ground for fear and suspicion”

http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/education/index.shtml

What was the effect of these causes?• “Prisons were filled with more than 150

men and women from towns surrounding Salem.

• Their names had been "cried out" by tormented young girls as the cause of their pain. They believed the girls because of “spectral evidence,” which was a testimony that apparitions resembling the accused had tormented people.

• All would await trial for a crime punishable by death in 17th-century New England, the practice of witchcraft.”

http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/education/index.shtml

The Salem Witch Trials

• Why it spread and no one stopped it…– “Not everybody was accused, after all, so there must be

some reason why you were” (Miller 3).– Turning away in fear of being identified from the

condemned was safer than standing up for the injustice that you were witnessing

– “The thought that the state has lost its mind and is punishing so many innocent people is intolerable” (Miller 4) so people felt it was necessary and made more sense to deny it.

The Red Scare

Senator McCarthy

• Established House Committee of Un-American Activities (HUAC)

McCarthyism= ANTI-COMMUNISM

The Hollywood Ten

• Refused to answer questions from HUAC

• “Unfriendly witnesses”

3 Options:1. Claim they were not or had never been

Communists (perjuring themselves)2. Claim membership and name others (lose

jobs)3. Refuse to answer (5th Amendment right)

Effects of The Blacklist• Forced pseudonyms to sell scripts• Suspended without pay (212 lost jobs)• No films about social problems

The Play

Arthur Miller• Born in New York City, New York• October 17th, 1915 – February 10th, 2005• American Playwright and Essayist• Was married to Marilyn Monroe• Controversial author• Wrote many plays including:– The Crucible- took a year to write – Death of a Salesman– A View from the Bridge– All My Sons

Basic Information on The Crucible• The Crucible is based on the Salem Witch Trials of

1692.• This trial convicted 150 people of witchcraft; they

were all falsely accused. • 20 people died because of these false accusations.• The play was first performed on Jan. 22, 1953.• While the play was being written in the early 1950’s,

there was a mass hysteria going on in America.

The Characters

Mercy Lewis Mary Warren Abigail Parris Rebecca Nurse

Abigail Tituba Danforth Putnams

Giles Corey Rev. Hale Proctors