Tituba & the children Witch Trials Giles Corey was pressed to death The document discusses the Salem Witch Trials that took place in 1692 in Massachusetts. It describes how Tituba, a slave of Reverend Parris, told fortunes to Parris' daughter and niece, who then began having fits. This led Parris and the local doctor to diagnose witchcraft as the cause. Tituba confessed to witchcraft and implicated others, worsening the hysteria. Over 200 people were accused of witchcraft as neighbors sought revenge, with 19 being hanged and one, Giles Corey, being pressed to death.

1. Tituba & the children Witch Trials Giles Corey was pressed to death
Name:_______________________Pd:___ SaleM Witch Trials
1. Define scapegoat:
A person or group that bears the blame for mistakes, crimes of others, or some other misfortune;
often punished or suffers as a result
Context: When the doctor and reverend could not find the source of the girls' affliction, they
looked for a scapegoat.
2. Why is it ironic that the English settlers of the 1600s were searching for religious
freedom?
They were intolerant of others.
Seventy years later, this intolerance led to a "witch hunt" & 200 accused.
The accusations of teenage girls led to the execution of 20 innocent people (19 hanged & 1 pressed
3. Who was Reverend Parris and what was his role in the Salem Witch Trials?
Parris was Greedy, "obsessed with money," & "made demands" for excessive goods. He feared
demons and the devil & fanned the flames at his pulpit. In 1692, Parris' Indian slave, Tituba, told
the teen girls their fortunes & his 9 yr old daughter & 11 yr old niece, Abigail, had fits. The doctor
diagnosed witchcraft after finding no source for the affliction.
*Why wasn't there a scientific explanation in 1692? Ergot found in wheat- lsd effects
4. Why were people like Tituba, Sarah Goode, and Sarah Osborne the first to be accused?
Tituba, Goode, and Osborne had questionable reputations. Tituba was a slave. Sarah Goode was a
beggar who smoked a pipe. Sarah Osborne was an invalid who married her servant5.
5. Describe 1 modern day example of scapegoats?

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6. Why did people accuse their neighbors of witchcraft?
People wanted to seek revenge & the devil was an excuse to
settle old scores.
7. Define hysteria: excessive, irrational, fear, agitation,
and anxiety
8. How did Tituba's confessions make the witch "hysteria" worse?
Tituba confessed to being in league with the devil, corroborated the teenagers' story and accused
others of being witches.
8. Who were Anne Putnam and Rebecca Nurse?
Putnam was an accuser. On March 23rd, Putnam accused Rebecca Nurse, a 71 yr old & a devout
church woman, of witchcraft.
After Rebecca Nurse was found innocent, Putnam & others erupted into hysterics in the courtroom
& accused Rebecca Nurse's specter (ghost) of attacking them. The court reconsidered the case &
found Nurse guilty and had her executed & excommunicated (kicked out of the church).
9. What happened to the accused?
During the summer of 1692, 19 convicted witches were carted through the streets of Salem to
Gallows Hill. Instead of confessing, they forgave their accusers and prayed that they were the last
people convicted.
10. Why would innocent people confess to being a witch?
Those who confessed would remain in jail & those that didn't confess would be executed.
11. Provide a modern day situation when an innocent person would confess to a crime.
12. What evidence was especially questioned? Spectral evidence (cannot be seen)
13. Explain the POV of the opposition.
On October 3rd, Rev Increase Mather criticized spectral evidence.
14. Would a US court today allow spectral evidence? NO!
15. What was the significance of 1696?
The general assembly of Massachusetts ordered a fast to atone for the evil done. A judge in the
case wrote an apology for his role in the trials and executions.
16. Make a connection to a modern day or recent historical WITCH HUNT. Explain
how it is similar to the witch hunt in Salem in 1692. Respond on a separate piece of
paper.
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