The Salem witch trials PDF
Preview The Salem witch trials
Number of Words: 1,093 PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS Cover© New York Historical Society, New York, USA/Bridgeman Art Library Back Cover © Time Life Pictures/Getty Images; 1 © North Wmd Picture Archives; 2 © North Wind Picture Archives; 3 © Mary Evans Picture Library; 4 © Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA, USA/Bridgeman Art Library; 6 © North Wmd Picture Archives; 7 © North Wind Picture Archives; 8 © Peabody Essex Musemn, Salem, Massachusetts, USA/Bridgeman i\.rt Library; 9 © North Wmd Picture Archives; 11 © Bettmann/Corbis; 13 I © The Granger Collection, New York; 13 r © North Wmd Picture Archives; 14 © New York Historical Society, New York, USA/Bridgeman Art Library; 15 © Lee Snider/Corbis Copyright© 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written pennission of Houghton Mifflin Company unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Address inquiries to School Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Company, 222 Berkeley Su·eet, Boston, MA 02116. Printed in the U.S.A. ISBN: 0-618-48467 -1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 B 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 ,· - ' . By Jeffrey Wallis ~ HOUGHTON MIFFLIN BOSTON Chapter 11 Pt~ritctn ViLlct~e In 1692 in Sale1n Village, M assac11t1setts, life was serious business. T he Pt1ritan families who lived tl1ere raised their own food. They 1nade their own cloth.u1g. Everyone was expected to work hard in order to survive. Puritans were serious about tl1eir religion, too. It ,vas against the law not to attend church. Everyone was e},,_rpected to co11forn1 to, or agree upo11, the church's ideas. T hinki11g or acting differently was not acceptable. Puritans believed all sins sl1ould be pm1ished. If s0111ething bad happened to a perso11, they believed it was a punishment from G od. Puritan home in Salem Village, Massachusetts 2 Woodcut engraving of Puritan family The devi1 ~ras real to Puritans. T hey beljeved he was always trying to get people to do evil. T l1ey felt l1e tried hardest to get weak people to do his work. Those vvho did were considered vvitches. W itchcraft, or tl1e use of magic and spells, was a terrjbJe si11 to Purita11s. It was punishable by death. Puritan childre11 were like little adults. T hey were sent to school, but after school, they had to work. Playing was also forbidde11. l11stead, childre11 read the Bible and books that war11ed them agai11st evil. , 3 • Samuel Parris In 1689 a 11ew minister had co1ne to Salem Village. His name was San1uel Parris. Son1e were glad he had con1e. Others did not want hi1n there at all. This split led to bad feeling·s. Ofte11, Farris's salary was not pa.id. Parris preached sermo11s warning that the devil was at work in tl1e co1nmU1uty. T he Puritans were worried, too. Tl1ere had been Indian attacks. S111allpox, a serious disease, l1ad broken out recently. Crops faiJed. The Pt1ritans feared God was angry with them. 4 Farris's daughter Betty was 9. His 11-year-old 11iece Abigail \Alillian1s also lived with tl1e fa111ily. '"fhe g·irls and some friends met to practice fortu11etelling·. They listened to stories of an enslaved West Indian wornan named Tituba (TIII too buh). Parris l1ad broug·ht Tituba from the island of Barbados (bahr BAY dohs). Tit11ba s tales of witchcraft a11d den1ons were exciting to Pl1ritan girls. Betty, Abigail, and their friends began having strange fits, or spells. Sometimes tl1ey fell to the floor squirming and screa1ning. The village doctor examined tl1em , but fom1d no illness. He said they were bewitched, or under a spell. Tituba with Betty and Abigail , 5 Chapter Witchcrctft! Witchcraft was a cri1ne. The girls were asked to tell who had bewitched them. At first, they did not want to speak. Then tl1ey admitted tl1at tl1ree won1e11 l1ad bewitched the1n. The girls named Titt1ba, Sarah Osborn.e, and Sarah Good as witches. People folmd it believable that these vvome11 could be witches. None were thought to be respectable. Sarah Osborne was a11 old woman who had not bee11 to church in a year. Sarah Good was a ho1neless won1an who mumbled under her breath . So1ne thougl1t her 111utteri11gs were Cl1rses. Many people were accused of witchcraft during the trials. 6 A woman is arrested for witchcraft. The three vvon1en were questio11ed by mag·istrates, or judges. The suffering girls screamed and tumbled on the floor. In spite of this, Saral1 G ood and Sarah O sborne said tl1ey were innocent. Tituba, on the otl1er ha11d, confessed. All three acct1sed wo1ne11 were take11 to jail i11 nearby Boston. J ail conditions were ]1arsh. 1wo months later, SaraJ1 O sbor11e died. • 7 Chapter The TriaLi More a11d 1nore accusers came forward. More and more people were accused of witchcraft. Some of them were important people in the commtmity. They were well liked a11d respected. For example, 71-year-old Rel)ecca Nurse was accused. She was ki11d a11d generous. George Burroughs, who was also accused, had been a minister in Salem Villag·e. Some people began to have doubts about the accusations, or charges. Were all these people truly witches? People accused of witchcraft were brought to trial. 8
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