Puritan Literature and Thought

1. Comunicación y Gerencia Puritan Literature and Thought Examining the influence of Puritan writing on the Salem Witch Trials Mrs. Shantazio Honors English 10 & Regular English 10 A Webquest Click to add Text

2. The Puritans • Thisunit activity will focus on Puritan literature in early America. As a class, we will examine how Puritan writing  reflected Puritan beliefs and social mores. • During the following activities, you will examine how Puritan writing influenced current American culture. You will also learn about the Salem Witch Trials. You will investigate the causes of the Salem Witch Trials, and you will evaluate the role of Puritan religious writings in the Salem Witch Trials.

3. Essential Questions • Ask yourself the following questions as you research: • How does the Puritan writing style reflect Puritan values? • What aspects of Puritan thought still exist in American society today? • Does Puritanism continue to influence our values and beliefs as Americans? • What types of persuasive appeals did Jonathan Edwards use in his famous sermon " Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" ? • What were some of the causes of the Salem Witch Trials?

4. Essential Questions (Cont.) • How might early Puritan writing have influenced the hysteria over witchcraft? • Are there any modern American examples of "witch hunts"? What causes people to become hysterical and hyper-judgmental of certain subgroups? • Why do groups of people sometimes feel threatened by "difference"? • E:\essentialquestionswksht.doc

5. The Puritans

6. Puritan Leaders in the New World

7. Rebel in the Puritan World • Anne Marbury Hutchinson (1591-1643) arrived with her husband in Boston in 1634. She too challenged the unity of New England by questioning the basis for authority, not of government, as Roger Williams had done, but of the church. An admirer of John Cotton, she held prayer meetings in her house to discuss Cotton's sermons with other women, arguing that inner changes in the soul of a believer were more important than outward behavior such as church attendance and modest dress. (Photo of a statue in the Boston Public Library.)

8. Anne Hutchinson (Cont) • By 1636, many others were coming to her meetings, including merchant friends of her husband. When questioned by authorities about her teachings, Anne Hutchinson replied that the Holy Spirit spoke directly to the souls of believers, a view which challenged the Puritan doctrine that God had spoken to men through the Scriptures, and which therefore endangered the Biblical foundation of the colony. In 1638 she was tried for sedition and was excommunicated. In March of that year, with her family and a few followers, she fled to Roger Williams' Rhode Island area, and founded the village of Portsmouth.

9. Puritan Literature • Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was the most influential theological writer and thinker of the Great Awakening and perhaps of mid-18th century America. A revival he began in Northampton in 1734 brought the Great Awakening to New England; his preaching gained a wide following, and he published an important Calvinist argument, The Freedom of the Will, in 1754. He died soon after accepting a call to be the president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).

10. Sinners in the Hands of an angry God • Sinners.pdf • Unlike some earlier prominent Puritans, Jonathan Edwards uses the “fire and brimstone” approach to confront his congregations with what he feels to be the rage of God. The sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was meant to make Edward’s listeners aware of the fact that their behavior and conduct on earth was far more important than anything else and that certain punishment in hell awaited those who did not adhere to proper religious values as expressed in the Bible.

11. Sinners in the hands of an angry god • While he clearly wished to have an impact on the increasingly different behavior of the colonists, Edwards considered it most effective to discuss God’s wrath with rampant sin rather than offer gentle protestations about sinful behavior. To achieve his end of making his congregants aware of their precarious position on earth (as they could be cast into hell at any time) he reminded them of the power of God and his capacity for doing away with sinners.

12. Induce Abhor Contrivance Inconceivable Abominable Complete the vocabulary worksheet to learn the meanings of these words. Sinners-pg.3744[1].pdf Vocabulary for “Sinners” Sermon

13. Mary Rowlandson • crmmr.pdf Mary (White) Rowlandson (c. 1637 – January 1711) was a colonial American woman who was captured by "Indians"[1] (Native Americans[2]) during King Philip's War and endured eleven weeks of captivity before being ransomed. After her release, she wrote a book about her experience, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, which is considered a seminal work in the American literary genre of captivity narratives.

14. entreated melancholy decrepit savory affliction bewitching Complete the worksheet packet on Mary Rowlandson before continuing the project. maryrowlandsonhandout.doc Vocabulary for Mary Rowlandson’s Narrative

15. Background: The Salem Witch Trials The Salem witchcraft events began in late February 1692 and lasted through April, 1693. All told, at least twenty-five people died: nineteen were executed by hanging, one was tortured to death, and at least five died in jail due to harsh conditions. Over 160 people were accused of witchcraft, most were jailed, and many deprived of property and legal rights. Accused persons lived in the town of Salem and Salem Village (now Danvers) and in two dozen other towns in eastern Massachusetts Bay Colony. Nearly fifty people confessed to witchcraft, most to save themselves from immediate trial. Hundreds of other people in the Bay Colony -- neighbors, relatives, jurors, ministers, and magistrates -- were caught up in the legal proceedings of the trials. In October 1692, Governor William Phips ended the special witchcraft court in Salem. Accusations soon abated and eventually stopped. In January, the new Superior Court of Judicature began to try the remaining cases and eventually cleared the jails. After Salem trials, no one was convicted of witchcraft in New England. During the Salem trials, more people were accused and executed than in all the previous witchcraft trials in New England.  • (http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/salem/overview.html) 

16. The Salem Witch Trials

17. Your Task • You are an investigative reporter, and you are researching the possible causes of the Salem Witch Trials and the mass hysteria and violent persecution that accompanied this period in history. • You will be reading a variety of Puritan texts to evaluate the effect of Puritan beliefs on the witchcraft hysteria of the early 1600's. It is your job to determine the possible cause(s) of the Salem Witch Trials, and to write about how Puritan writing and thought might have influenced the Witch Trials. • As you investigate, think about what you have learned about Puritan culture. Ask yourself if there are any modern American examples of "witch hunts". Examine why people tend to single out those they believe to be "different". Have you ever been perceived as an "outsider"? If so, how did this experience affect you?

18. Watch videos on the Puritans and the Salem Witch Trials. Take notes on what you learn. Read “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. ( Answer worksheet questions) E:\Sinners-pg.3744[1].pdf Complete Vocabulary Mapping Activity BAVSample.doc Read Mary Rowlandson’s Captivity Narrative Complete Vocab. Mapping worksheet BAVSample.doc 6. Complete the Compare and Contrast Graphic Organizer using both puritan texts.compcon_chart.pdf 7. Answer the end of unit questions. 9. Using the links provided in the webquest, begin gathering facts about the Salem Witch Trials. Use the essential questions to guide your research. 10. Create your presentation ( Options for project on the next slide) Instructions

19. Option 1: Write a newspaper article on the causes of the Salem Witch Trials. Include information on how Puritan writing and beliefs may have contributed to the hysteria. Option One Instructions.doc Option 2: Create a power point presentation on the causes of the Salem Witch Trials. Include information on how Puritan writing and beliefs may have contributed to the hysteria. Option 2 Instructions.doc Project Options and Instructions

20. Option 3: You may create a documentary video on the Salem Witch Trials in Windows Movie Maker. Option 3.doc Option 4: You may create a historical scrapbook detailing the events of the Salem Witch Trial Option 4.doc Project Instructions and Options

21. Fire and Ice Puritan and Reformed Writings.mht The Advantages of Pleasing God Rather than Men.mht The Ten Marks of a Flesh-Pleaser.mht National Geographic Salem Witch-Hunt--Interactive.mht The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692.mht Helpful Research Links

22. Works Cited • Citation (APA)Discovery Education. (2005).Anne Marbury Hutchinson (1591-1643). [Image]. Available from http://www.discoveryeducation.com/ • Citation (Chicago Manual of Style)Anne Marbury Hutchinson (1591-1643).. From Discovery Education. Image. 2005. http://www.discoveryeducation.com/ (accessed 27 January 2011).