How was your break?!

1
How was your break?!
2
Individual Rights

• To what extent should the government be able to
  monitor our activities?
• What might be the benefits of government
  intervention in private affairs?
• What might be some of the dangers/pitfalls?

3
Puritanism

• What do you remember from the first semester?
• What do you already know about the Salem Witch
  Trials?
• How excited are you to go to Boston?!

4
Puritanism
5
Puritanism is Calvinism

• Founded by John Calvin
• Calvinism is based on interpretations from the
  Bible
• Puritans were discontent with English Church
• So they came to the New World (the Americas)
• Bible is Gods word and should be followed word
  for word.

6
Puritanism

• 1620s- 1730s
• Trust in God regardless of circumstances
• Religious Life and secular life are connected
• Knowledge highly valuedbut all comes from Bible

7
Puritanism Timeline
Puritans begin Massachusetts Bay Colony 1630
Protestant reformation 1517
Calvinism forms denominations 1570
1535 Jean Calvin begins teaching Calvinism
1620 Pilgrims land in Plymouth
1734 Great Awakening
8
God is All Powerful

• God has supreme authority over man
• They were to pursue both moral purity down to the
  smallest detail as well as salvation to the
  highest level
• The Bible has power of all earthly laws
• Puritans believed in predestination
• God chooses the people he wants to save (Not all
  were welcome!)

8
9

• Puritan thought on Mankind
• Evil is originated and maintained by man (its
  our fault we have problems!)
• Adam and Eve (1597) by Peter Paul Rubens
• (artist raised by Calvinist parents)

10
Puritan thoughts on Mankind

• Mans purpose is to worship and glorify God.
• Man must worship through Clergy (organized
  church) Why?
• Distrust of individual ability.
• Everything done as a community.
• Man has a predetermined destiny leading to
  Salvation or reprobation

10
11
Puritanism

• Puritans chosen by God and came to New World
  on divine mission to build the City on a Hill
  (Mathew)
• Thought of themselves as the new Israelites in
  the Promised Land

12
Nature is Wild

• Believed in a literal (word-for-word) Genesis
  creation (In the beginning)
• Everything uncontrolled is dangerous and
  therefore sinful.
• Believed Supernatural (metaphysical), the Seen
  and the Unseen worlds co-exist
• Strong society keeps out Devil
• Church represses evil.

13
More on Puritanism

• Puritan society lasted one hundred years
• The Salem Witch Trials began the collapse of
  society

13
14
The Salem Witch Trials

• When Where
• Salem, Massachusetts (now Danvers)
• March-October 1692

15
Salem, Massachusetts
16
What Happened?

• Puritans in the 17th century believed in three
  different kinds of witchcraft
• White magic the use of charms and spells to
  bring good luck
• Black magic uses spells and incantations
  (chants) to harm others
• Satanic servitude dedicating ones life to the
  service of the devil

17

• The girls suffered from delirium, convulsions,
  incomprehensible speech, trance-like states, and
  odd skin sensations.
• Several young girls accused other town-folk of
  magically possessing them and therefore being
  witches working with Satan.

18

• The worried villagers searched desperately for an
  explanation, and concluded that the girls had
  been bewitched by members of their own pious
  community.
• ? The community sentenced the accused to either
  confess to being witches or be hanged. Such a
  confession would have spared their lives, but,
  they believed, condemned their souls.

19

• ? All cases that were heard ended with the
  accused being sentenced to death for witchcraft
  no one was found innocent. Only those who
  pleaded guilty and supplied names of others to
  the court were spared execution.

20

• Sometimes the accused would be tested by
  extreme and irrational measures. For example,
  they would tie a rock to an accused persons feet
  and throw him or her into the water. If the
  person sank, he/she was innocent. If the person
  floated, he/she was surely a witch.

• Hmmsee the problem here?

21

• The witch trials led to the death of over 20
  people and the imprisonment of many more.

22
How Did It End?

• A man named Thomas Brattle wrote a letter
  criticizing the witch trials and the use of
  spectral evidence.
• The letter had a strong influence on
  Massachusetts Governor William Phips, and on
  October 29 he ordered that the witch trials be
  officially ended.

23

• A period of atonement began in the colony
  following the release of the surviving accused
  witches. Samuel Sewall, one of the judges, issued
  a public confession of guilt and an apology.
  Several jurors came forward to say that they were
  "sadly deluded and mistaken" in their judgments.
  Reverend Samuel Parris conceded errors of
  judgment, but mostly shifted blame to others.

24
Why Did It Even Happen?

• 1. Strong belief that Satan is acting in the
  world. --"The invisible world" disease, natural
  catastrophes, and bad fortune attributed to work
  of the devil.
• 2. A time of troubles, which made it seem likely
  that Satan was active and created a fertile
  ground for fear suspicion (Smallpox,
  congregational strife in Salem Village, rivalry
  with nearby Salem Town, frontier wars with
  Indians )

25

• 3. Convulsive ergotism, a disease caused by
  eating infected rye that can produce
  hallucinations, causing strange behavior 
• (Interesting theory, but unlikely.)

26

• 4. Teenage boredom create their own drama!
• --No television, no technology, and lots of
  Bible reading --Strict and humorless Parris
  household

27

• 5. Old feuds (disputes within congregation,
  property disputes) between the accusers and the
  accused spurred charges of witchcraft

28
Stand Up for a Cause

• For five minutes, write about a cause thats
  important to you.
• Share out.
• To what extent are you willing to stand up for
  that cause?
• Now, stand up!

29
Homework

• Act 1 by next time Thursday/Friday.
• Be ready for a quiz!

30
Further Salem Witch Trial Information..

• http//www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/s
  alem/salem.htm
• And for fun https//www.youtube.com/watch?vj6oZR
  Zj4eXA