Puritans, History Levels 1&2, 10/15/13

Puritans in Massachusetts 

In 1630 the Puritans founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony.   Unlike the Pilgrims/Separatists, the Puritans wanted to establish a perfect religious community while still having some loyalty to England.   They were a theocracy (a government led by religious leaders) and were very strict in their beliefs. The Puritan colony grew quickly and, despite their intolerance of other religious groups, soon became the economic and religious center of Massachusetts. 

Unfortunately, a witch craze swept through the small Puritan community of Salem Village in 1692. It began when a group of girls suffered from convulsions and high fevers.  The doctor could find nothing physically wrong with them and suggested their condition might be the result of witchcraft.  This was not uncommon at the time.   The girls confessed that they had listened to magical stories and played fortune-telling games, which were strictly forbidden by the Puritans. With the seed of paranoia planted, a stream of accusations followed for the next few months. By the end of the trials in 1693, 24 people had been killed (19 hanged, and several others died in jail). 

In class activities 10/15/13:

• Reviewed the religious conflicts happening in England
• Added King Charles to our Leaders of England timeline and learned about his dismissal of Parliament
• Discussed the founding and growth of MA Bay Colony
• Held our own mock witch trials
• Cut out paper dolls

Optional lesson extension activities:

• Add to your colonial family paper dolls - patterns can be found at the bottom of the page.  For best results print characters on card stock and clothes on paper.
• Compare your paper dolls to the portraits of the people of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
• Consider visiting the Salem Witch Museum.  (Parents, please be aware that they glamorize the idea of witches, and this may not be an appropriate trip for all families)

Assignments:

In preparation for next week's class please review history cards #13-15, covering the 13 colonies, first great awakening, and colonial trading with England.  

Also, if you child brought their paper dolls home to complete, please ensure that they bring them back to class so that they can be added into their history notebook.