Introduction
All students are cheaters-- Never trust them with anything
Have you ever been falsely accused? It doesn't feel very good. Take a look at the pictures below; then click to read a poem Japanese Internment Camps (after reading the poem, return to this page).
Task
TASK
Arthur Miller's The Crucible, in the context of the historical Salem Witch Trials, shows many innocent people being accused of crimes/sins they did not commit. Throughout history, society has been blinded to similar occurrences, or "witch hunts." Indeed, Miller wrote The Crucible in response to one of those "witch hunts" that took place in his time period--McCarthyism.
The Question:
What should be done to keep the innocent from being accused and presumed guilty?
Your job, in a group of 3 (or 4) students, is to research the background of the Salem Witch Trials, McCarthyism, and other "witch hunts" throughout history to find their causes, evaluate their consequences, and develop a solution that would help avoid and/or prevent such "witch hunts" in the future.
You will be charting your results and collaborating in order to create a letter to the editor of a newspaper telling what society should do to prevent innocent people from being accused and presumed guilty in the future.
Process
1. First, you will separate into groups of 3 (or 4) students and will need to choose one of the following roles:
- Expert on the Salem Witch Trials
- Expert on McCarthyism
- Expert on Mass Hysteria and related persecutions of innocent people
2 . Once you have picked a role, you must begin researching your topic and summarizing/journaling on the information you read and learn. You must summarize/journal on a minimum of 4 articles. Your entries must be 1/2 a page long.
3. For your role, chart out the following: (Chart is on google classroom)
- The problem behind the situation (what is the issue?)
- The causes of the "witch hunt"
- The consequences of the "witch hunt"
- Some possible ways for that society to have avoided it
5. Compile the information (charts and summaries/ journals) your group has collected and compare:
- Causes
- Consequences
- Solutions
6. Create a Venn Diagram to show similarities of each point. You should have at least one Venn Diagram for each point.
7. Now you must begin your letter to the editor. To start, use the thesis builder and outline builder to generate your thesis and your outline. http://www.ozline.com/electraguide/thesis.php
8. Write the letter to the editor--each member contributing information on which she/he is an expert. Discuss the issues, causes, consequences, and the main solution. Write as if to a newspaper. (click here for sugestions and sample letter to the editor)
Role of Expert on The Salem Witch Trials
For this role, you must gather extensive background information related to the Salem Witch Trials, identifying
- their causes (focus on the beliefs of the people of the time),
- their consequences (both for individuals accused and accusing, and for the society),
- possible ways to have avoided them. Be sure your solutions are applicable to the people at that time period and in that situation.
Timeline of Salem Witch Trials
http://historyofmassachusetts.org/timeline-of-the-salem-witch-trials/
Puritan History
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Puritanism
List of the Accused
http://historyofmassachusetts.org/salem-witch-trials-victims/
Salem Witch Trials
https://www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-trials
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/salem.htm
Role of Expert on McCarthyism
For this role, you must gather extensive background information related to McCarthyism, identifying
- their causes (focus on the beliefs of the people of the time),
- their consequences (both for individuals accused and accusing, and for the society)
- possible ways to have avoided them. Be sure your solutions are applicable to the people at that time period and in that situation.
Research links for Expert on McCarthyism
Excellent summary of McCarthyism Era
https://www.britannica.com/topic/McCarthyism
Biography of Joseph McCarthy
https://www.biography.com/people/joseph-mccarthy-9390801
CNN coldwar Episode scripts Red
https://www.pbs.org/thinktank/transcript721.html
Congressional Committees and unfriendly witnesses (HUAC)
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/mccarthy/schrecker4.htm
HUAC and censorship
https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/huac
Victims of McCarthyism
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~lillsie/McCarthyism/Victims.html
http://mentalfloss.com/article/21953/quick-10-10-celebrities-named-communist-scare
Role of Expert on Related Persecutions
For this role, you must gather information on at least two related persecutions, and identify the following for each:
- the causes (focus on the beliefs of the society and of the leading characters),
- the consequences (both for individuals accused and accusing, and for the society),
- possible ways to have avoided them. Be sure your solutions are applicable to the people at that time period and in that situation.
Research links for Expert on Related Persecutions
Mass Hysteria: What is it?
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322607.php
Modern Day Witchhunts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_witch-hunts
36 questions and answers about the Holocaust
http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=gvKVLcMVIuG&b=394663
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Searchable site)
Simon Wisenthal Center
http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=lsKWLbPJLnF&b=6212365
Japanese Internment Camps
https://www.npca.org/articles/1316-return-to-manzanar?
https://www.uen.org/themepark/liberty/japanese.shtml
Arab Americans following 9/11
https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/texts/a-backlash-against-arab-americans
AIDS Epidemic
https://www.sbs.com.au/guide/article/2017/03/10/aids-hysteria-1980s
https://www.salon.com/2011/06/05/aids_hysteria/
Immigration Hysteria
Migration, myth, hysteria
https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/opinion/view/266
Hysteria over illegal immigration is baseless
Trump cutting legal immigration in Big Ways
Evaluation
Evaluation
|
Developing 3 |
Accomplished 4 |
Exemplar 5 |
Score |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Journal/Summary |
Less than four summaries/ journals do not include the main points, show no comprehension of the articles. | A minimum of four summaries/ journals include the main points, show comprehension of the articles. | A minimum of four summaries or journals are detailed with clear points, show excellent comprehension of the articles | |
|
Role Chart, Venn Diagram, and Thesis/Outline |
Not completely filled out. | Fully completed. | Filled out thoroughly and with much thought. | |
|
|
Summarizes less than three past "witch hunts," does not attempt to portray their causes, proposes an unclear solution to prevent such occurrences in the future, is not persuasive, and is not edited.
|
Summarizes at least three past "witch hunts," portrays their causes, proposes a solution to prevent such occurrences in the future, is persuasive, and is minimally edited. Mostly never breaks character as reporter presenting an idea for an editorial to a newspaper staff. Shows audience awareness. Mostly doesn't read off slide Everyone talks- but some more than others Slides mostly support discussion |
Summarizes at least three past "witch hunts" clearly and concisely, portrays their causes, proposes a clear, well-thought solution to prevent such occurrences in the future. Is strongly persuasive. Never breaks character as reporter presenting an idea for an editorial to a newspaper staff. Keen audience awareness. Doesn't read off of the slide at all Everyone talks Slides that support discussion
|
Conclusion
Conclusion
So, now that you have decided what should be done to keep the innocent from being accused and presumed guilty, do you think it will work? You have had to analyze society and how it works. Do you think your solutions will change society significantly? Do you think society will change and avoid "witch hunts"? Why does society tend to repeat mistakes instead of learning from them?