INTRODUCTIO N TO THE CRUCIBLE The Crucible is

INTRODUCTIO N TO THE CRUCIBLE

The Crucible is. . . Puritanism + Witchcraft + Mc. Carthyism + Arthur Miller

Puritanism n n n Christian faith that originated in England during the early 1600 s They were a religious group in England who had very strict rules about how people should behave. Eventually, the English people got sick of them, and so many Puritans fled to the US to escape religious persecution. They settled in North America in 1620. Their radical beliefs flourished in the new world. They split from the Church of England in 1633.

Puritan Beliefs • They firmly believed: • in the Bible; they felt that it revealed the Lord’s word, and only through it does he directly communicate to people. • They believed man could do nothing to be saved – salvation was a gift that could only come from God • Your soul was predestined from birth – you were either going to Heaven or Hell. They constantly searched for hints as to what path they were on. • Women were considered subservient to men, and women were more likely to consort with the Devil than men • The church was the centre of society • They also wanted to purge evil from the world. One way to do this confront and eradicate witchcraft.

The Salem Witch Trials

Salem, Massachusetts

Witchcraft in Salem n n n Like all Puritans, the residents of Salem Village believed in witches and in witchcraft. They believed that witchcraft was “entering into a compact with the devil in exchange for certain powers to do evil. ” They considered witchcraft both a sin and a crime; it was a very serious accusation, which was carefully and thoroughly investigated.

Witchcraft in Salem n n n The witchcraft hysteria began in Salem, Massachusetts, in early 1692. Reverend Samuel Parris’ daughter and Abigail Williams started having fits of convulsion, screaming, and hallucination. A doctor examined the girls and concluded that the only explanation for these bizarre behaviors was witchcraft.

Witchcraft in Salem n n A recently published book of the time detailed the symptoms of witchcraft; the girls’ fits were much like those described in the book. Therefore, the Puritans of Salem were quick to believe the doctor’s diagnosis.

Witchcraft in Salem n The girls pointed fingers at Tituba (the Parris’ slave), Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborn, which sparked a witch hunt.

Witchcraft in Salem n n n During the next eight months of terror, more than 150 people were imprisoned for witchcraft. By the time court was dismissed, 27 people had been convicted, 19 hanged, and 1 pressed to death. The hysteria that snowballed in Salem reveals how deep the belief in the supernatural ran in colonial America.

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS RELATING TO THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT TRIALS http: //law 2. umkc. edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/sale m/ASAL_CH. HTM

� � � 1629: Salem is settled. 1641: English law makes witchcraft a capital crime. 1684: England declares that the colonies may not self-govern. 1688: Following an argument with laundress Goody Glover, Martha Goodwin, 13, begins exhibiting bizarre behavior. Days later her younger brother and two sisters exhibit similar behavior. Glover is arrested and tried for bewitching the Goodwin children. Reverend Cotton Mather meets twice with Glover following her arrest in an attempt to persuade her to repent her witchcraft. Glover is hanged. Mather takes Martha Goodwin into his house. Her bizarre behavior continues and worsens. 1688: Mather publishes Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions November, 1689: Samuel Parris is named the new minister of Salem. Parris moves to Salem from Boston, where Memorable Providence was published. October 16, 1691: Villagers vow to drive Parris out of Salem and stop contributing to his salary. January 20, 1692: Eleven-year old Abigail Williams and nine-year-old Elizabeth Parris begin behaving much as the Goodwin children acted four years earlier. Soon Ann Putnam Jr. and other Salem girls begin acting similarly. Mid-February, 1692: Doctor Griggs, who attends to the "afflicted" girls, suggests that witchcraft may be the cause of their strange behavior. February 25, 1692: Tituba, at the request of neighbor Mary Sibley, bakes a "witch cake" and feeds it to a dog. According to an English folk remedy, feeding a dog this kind of cake, which contained the urine of the afflicted, would counteract the spell put on Elizabeth and Abigail. The reason the cake is fed to a dog is because the dog is believed a "familiar" of the Devil. Late-February, 1692: Pressured by ministers and townspeople to say who caused her odd behavior, Elizabeth identifies Tituba. The girls later accuse Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne of witchcraft. February 29, 1692: Arrest warrants are issued for Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne.

� � � � March 1, 1692: Magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin examine Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne for "witches teats. " Tituba confesses to practicing witchcraft and confirms Good and Osborne are her co- conspirators. March 11, 1692: Ann Putnam Jr. shows symptoms of affliction by witchcraft. Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and Mary Warren later allege affliction as well. March 12, 1692: Ann Putnam Jr. accuses Martha Cory of witchcraft. March 19. 1692: Abigail Williams denounces Rebecca Nurse as a witch. March 21, 1692: Magistrates Hathorne and Corwin examine Martha Cory. March 23, 1692: Salem Marshal Deputy Samuel Brabrook arrests four-year-old Dorcas Good. March 24, 1692: Corwin and Hathorne examine Rebecca Nurse. March 26, 1692: Hathorne and Corwin interrogate Dorcas. March 28, 1692: Elizabeth Proctor is accused of witchcraft. April 3, 1692: Sarah Cloyce, after defending her sister, Rebecca Nurse, is accused of witchcraft. April 11, 1692: Hathorne and Corwin examine Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor. On the same day Elizabeth's husband, John, who protested the examination of his wife, becomes the first man accused of witchcraft and is incarcerated. Early April, 1692: The Proctors' servant and accuser, Mary Warren, admits lying and accuses the other accusing girls of lying. April 13, 1692: Ann Putnam Jr. accuses Giles Cory of witchcraft and alleges that a man who died at Cory's house also haunts her. April 19, 1692: Abigail Hobbs, Bridget Bishop, Giles Cory and Mary Warren are examined. Deliverance Hobbs confesses to practicing witchcraft. Mary Warren reverses her statement made in early April and rejoins the accusers. April 22, 1692: Mary Easty, another of Rebecca Nurse's sisters who defended her, is examined by Hathorne and Corwin also examine Nehemiah Abbott, William and Deliverance Hobbs, Edward and Sarah Bishop, Mary Black, Sarah Wildes, and Mary English. April 30, 1692: Several girls accuse former Salem minister George Burroughs of witchcraft.

� � � � May 2, 1692: Hathorne and Corwin examine Sarah Morey, Lyndia Dustin, Susannah Martin and Dorcas Hoar. May 4, 1692: George Burroughs is arrested in Maine. May 7, 1692: George Burroughs is returned to Salem and placed in jail. May 9, 1692: Corwin and Hathorne examine Burroughs and Sarah Churchill. Burroughs is moved to a Boston jail. May 10, 1692: Corwin and Hathorne examine George Jacobs, Sr. and his granddaughter Margaret Jacobs. Sarah Osborne dies in prison. May 14, 1692: Increase Mather and Sir William Phipps, the newly elected governor of the colony, arrive in Boston. They bring with them a charter ending the 1684 prohibition of selfgovernance within the colony. May 18, 1692: Mary Easty is released from prison. Following protest by her accusers, she is again arrested. Roger Toothaker is also arrested on charges of witchcraft. May 27, 1692: Phipps issues a commission for a Court of Oyer and Terminer and appoints as judges John Hathorne, Nathaniel Saltonstall, Bartholomew Gedney, Peter Sergeant, Samuel Sewall, Wait Still Winthrop, and Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton. May 31, 1692: Hathorne, Corwin and Gednew examine Martha Carrier, John Alden, Wilmott Redd, Elizabeth Howe and Phillip English and Alden later escape prison and do not return to Salem until after the trials end. June 2, 1692: Bridget Bishop is the first to be tried and convicted of witchcraft. She is sentenced to die. June 8, 1692: Eighteen year old Elizabeth Booth shows symptoms of affliction by witchcraft. June 10, 1692: Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill. Following the hanging Nathaniel Saltonstall resigns from the court and is replaced by Corwin. June 15, 1692: Cotton Mather writes a letter requesting the court not use spectral evidence as a standard and urging that the trials be speedy. The Court of Oyer and Terminer pays more attention to the request for speed and less attention to the criticism of spectral evidence. June 16, 1692: Roger Toothaker dies in prison. June 29 -30, 1692: Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Sarah Wildes, Sarah Good, and Elizabeth Howe are tried, pronounced guilty and sentenced to hang. July 19, 1692: Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe, Sarah Good and Sarah Wildes are hanged at Gallows Hill.

� � � August 5, 1692: George Jacobs Sr. , Martha Carrier, George Burroughs, John Willard and John and Elizabeth Proctor are pronounced guilty and sentenced to hang. August 19, 1692: George Jacobs Sr. , Martha Carrier, George Burroughs, John Willard and John Proctor are hanged on Gallows Hill. Elizabeth Proctor is not hanged because she is pregnant. August 20, 1692: Margaret Jacobs recants the testimony that led to the execution of her grandfather George Jacobs Sr. and Burroughs. September 9, 1692: Martha Corey, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Dorcas Hoar and Mary Bradbury are pronounced guilty and sentenced to hang. Mid-September, 1692: Giles Cory is indicted. September 17, 1692: Margaret Scott, Wilmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, Abigail Faulkner, Rebecca Earnes, Mary Lacy, Ann Foster and Abigail Hobbs are tried and sentenced to hang. September 19, 1692: Sheriffs administer Peine Forte Et Dure (pressing) to Giles Cory after he refuses to enter a plea to the charges of witchcraft against him. After two days under the weight, Cory dies. September 22, 1692: Martha Cory, Margaret Scott, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Willmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell, and Mary Parker are hanged. Hoar escapes execution by confessing. October 3, 1692: The Reverend Increase Mather, President of Harvard College and father to Cotton Mather, denounces the use of spectral evidence. October 8, 1692: Governor Phipps orders that spectral evidence no longer be admitted in witchcraft trials. October 29, 1692: Phipps prohibits further arrests, releases many accused witches, and dissolves the Court of Oyer and Terminer.

� � � � November 25, 1692: The General Court establishes a Superior Court to try remaining witches. January 3, 1693: Judge Stoughton orders execution of all suspected witches who were exempted by their pregnancy. Phipps denied enforcement of the order causing Stoughton to leave the bench. January 1693: 49 of the 52 surviving people brought into court on witchcraft charges are released because their arrests were based on spectral evidence. 1693: Tituba is released from jail and sold to a new master. May 1693: Phipps pardons those still in prison on witchcraft charges. January 14, 1697: The General Court orders a day of fasting and soul-searching for the tragedy at Salem. Moved, Samuel Sewall publicly confesses error and guilt. 1697: Minister Samuel Parris is ousted as minister in Salem and replaced by Joseph Green. 1702: The General Court declares the 1692 trials unlawful. 1706: Ann Putnam Jr. , one of the leading accusers, publicly apologizes for her actions in 1692. 1711: The colony passes a legislative bill restoring the rights and good names of those accused of witchcraft and grants 600 pounds in restitution to theirs. 1752: Salem Village is renamed Danvers. 1957: Massachusetts formally apologizes for the events of 1692. 1992: On the 300 th anniversary of the trials, a witchcraft memorial designed by James Cutler is dedicated in Salem.

The Dead Nineteen accused witches were hanged on Gallows Hill in 1692: June 10 Bridget Bishop July 19 Rebecca Nurse Sarah Good Susannah Martin Elizabeth Howe Sarah Wildes August 19 George Burroughs Martha Carrier George Jacobs John Proctor Sr. Martha Corey Mary Parker September 22 Mary Eastey Ann Pudeator Wilmott Redd Margaret Scott John Willard Alice Parker Samuel Wardwell One accused witch (or wizard, as male witches were often called) was pressed to death on September 19 when he failed to plead guilty or not guilty: Giles Corey Sarah Osborn Other accused witches died in prison: Roger Toothaker Lyndia Dustin (As many as thirteen** others may have died in prison. ) **sources conflict as to the exact number of prison deaths Ann Foster

Frequently Asked Questions How was the practice of witchcraft viewed in 17 th century New England? Under British law, the basis for Massachusetts Bay Colony legal structure in the 17 th century, those who were accused of consorting with the devil were considered felons, having committed a crime against their government. The punishment for such a crime was hanging.

What was the difference between the "afflicted" and the "accused"? The "afflicted" were those supposedly "possessed" and "tormented"; it was they who accused or "cried out" the names of those who were supposedly possessing them.

What caused the girls' behavior? This is a complex question. There are many theories to explain the "fits" of the young girls who accused so many of practicing witchcraft. Among theories are adolescent hysteria and ergot poisoning; however, there is no definite answer.

What role did Tituba play in the Salem witch trials? Tituba, an Arawak or Carib Indian from Barbados, was Reverend Samuel Parris' slave. Her documented role in the witch trials includes arrest and confession of witchcraft on March 1, 1692. Her influence on the afflicted girls' behavior is unclear.

Were only women accused of practicing witchcraft? Actually, men were accused as well. Five men were convicted and hanged, and one man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to cooperate with the court.

Where are the victims buried? This question remains unanswered. Because of the nature of their alleged crime, victims were not allowed to be buried in consecrated ground. Tradition has it that families came to Gallows Hill to claim their relatives and buried their bodies privately. A memorial honoring the victims of the witch trials was built in Salem in 1992.

How long did the witch trials era last? The witch trials era lasted less than a year. The first arrests were made on March 1, 1692 and the final hanging day was September 22, 1692. The Court of Oyer and Terminer was dissolved in October of 1692.

What was the aftermath of the trials? Jurors and magistrates apologized; restitution was made to the victims' families and a Day of Fasting and Remembrance was instituted. Little is known of the lives of the afflicted girls. Tituba is believed to have been sold and taken out of the Salem Village area. The 300 th anniversary of the trials served as an opportunity to bring a sense of reconciliation and an appreciation of the lessons of that time.

What are contemporary perceptions of witchcraft? It is widely understood that witchcraft is a pantheistic religion that includes reverence for nature, belief in the rights of others and pride in one's own spirituality. Practitioners of witchcraft focus on the good and positive in life and in the spirit and entirely reject any connection with the devil. Their beliefs go back to ancient times, long before the advent of Christianity; therefore no ties exist between them and the Christian embodiment of evil. Witchcraft has been confused in the popular mind with pointy black hats, green faces and broomsticks. This is a misrepresentation that witches are anxious to dispel. http: //www. salemwitchmuseum. com/education/faq. php

Arthur Miller n n n 1915 -2005 American Playwright and Writer In 1953 he wrote The Crucible, which uses the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 to attack the anti-communist “witch hunts” of the 1950 s. He believed the hysteria surrounding the witch craft trials in Puritan New England paralleled the climate of Mc. Carthyism – Senator Joseph Mc. Carthy’s obsessive quest to uncover communist party infiltration of American institutions. After the publication of the The Crucible, Miller himself was investigated for possible associations with the communist party. He refused to give information regarding his colleagues and was found guilty of contempt of court. His sentence was later overturned.

n He also wrote Death of a Salesman. n He is also famous for one of his marriages (he had a few). In 1956 he married Marilyn Monroe. They divorced in 1961.

Why did Arthur Miller, almost 400 years after these events took place, decide to write about them?

Basically, he saw a strong parallel between the witchhunts in Salem, and what was happening in America in the 1950 s. However, this time, the hunt was for Communists.

The Cold War l l Back in the 20 th century, there were two world superpowers: the USA and the USSR. In 1946, the USSR acquired nuclear weapons. This was effectively the start of the Cold War between the USSR and the USA – an undeclared war not of bloody fighting but of threat and counter threat.

Capitalism v Communism l l America represented the ideology of capitalism, while the USSR represented communism. In 1949, China became a Communist country, and American paranoia about Communism reached crisis proportions.

Fear of Communism l l In America, and in Australia to a lesser extent, the common perception was that the Communists were “an empire of Evil”. The struggle was for control of trouble spots. On one side were the good (the US, with it’s freedom loving, democratic traditions), while on the other, was the bad (the USSR and China, with repressive police states, human rights abuses and lack of freedom). This is how it was portrayed in the Western media.

Mc. Carthyism n n Mc. Carthyism is the term used to describe a period of intense suspicion in the United States during the early 1950 s. It began when Senator Joseph Mc. Carthy, a U. S. senator from Wisconsin, claimed that communists had infiltrated the Department of State. A special House Committee on Un-American Activities was formed to investigate allegations of communism. During this period, people from all walks of life became the subjects of aggressive “witch hunts” often based on inconclusive, questionable evidence.

Mc. Carthyism Persons accused of being communists were often denied employment in both the public and private sector. n In the film industry alone, over 300 actors, writers, and directors were denied work in the U. S. n American writer, Arthur Miller, was one of those alleged to have been “blacklisted. ” n

Mc. Carthyism n n Mc. Carthy’s influence finally faltered in 1954 when a famous CBS newsman, Edward R. Murrow, aired an investigative news report which revealed Mc. Carthy as dishonest in his speeches and abusive in his interrogation of witnesses. The public was finally made aware of how Mc. Carthy was ruining the reputations of many individuals through false accusations of communism. Edward R. Murrow

What does “crucible” mean? 1. 2. 3. a vessel of a very refractory material (as porcelain) used for melting and calcining a substance that requires a high degree of heat a severe test a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development