Process Paper
Ever since I was young I have always loved history. With history came different stories and mythology about the past. I always thought that I was born in the wrong time period; I would have prefered to have been from the Middle Ages (after the plague had ended of course). I have always been great at remembering American history; I never had to study for a scoial Studies test in sixth grade. I chose the Salem Witch Trials as my National History Day project because I love learning about the early settlers in American history and the struggles that they faced. I also like to learn about the old beliefs in witchery and spells (Mainly because I can relate it to the Harry Potter series)
After I selected my topic I started to look for how the trials started. My teacher, Mr. Cimino, had my class go on the National History Archives for newspaper articalse. Sadly they did not have andy newspapers from the 1690's if any were even made back then. Looking back into the old English belief of witches seemed like a better option then hunting for a nonexistent newspaper article. I found out that witchery is actually mentioned in the Bible. Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. (Exodus 22:18) This was the reason for the hangings in the trials; the religious people believed if they allowed a convicted witch to live they would face the wrath of God. Studying the trials lead me into looking for my information in chronological order, from the confession of Tituba, to the Special Court of Oyer and Terminer deciding to end the trials, to the trials actually ending in October that year. I also have found a book called, A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi, this book is fictional, but Rinaldi has studied information about the Salem Witch Trials and has used real names of places and people in her book. I looked up some of the information that she had written and gave found out most of the facts, (besides the ones being of her own character) are true.
Originally I was going to present a documentary. Obviously that failed. I still have no idea why it did not work. So what was I to do? I could not make a poster board and making a skit would take more time to. Finally I decide to trasfer my information from my documentary to a website. With a website all of your information is saved as you types (At least on weebly.com it is).
The Salem Witch Trials are a Turning Point in history because after the trials ended Justice Systems began to look for reliable evidence before determening one's guilt. America gained the right of being innocent until proven guilty. This is because those who worked in Justice Systmes after the trials did not want an innocent person to be punished ike what happened in the Salem Witch Trials. If that happened again (as in many innocent people are convicted guilty at the same time, such like the trials.) it would be a pepeat of the trials of innocen tpeople being wrongly accused.
After I selected my topic I started to look for how the trials started. My teacher, Mr. Cimino, had my class go on the National History Archives for newspaper articalse. Sadly they did not have andy newspapers from the 1690's if any were even made back then. Looking back into the old English belief of witches seemed like a better option then hunting for a nonexistent newspaper article. I found out that witchery is actually mentioned in the Bible. Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. (Exodus 22:18) This was the reason for the hangings in the trials; the religious people believed if they allowed a convicted witch to live they would face the wrath of God. Studying the trials lead me into looking for my information in chronological order, from the confession of Tituba, to the Special Court of Oyer and Terminer deciding to end the trials, to the trials actually ending in October that year. I also have found a book called, A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi, this book is fictional, but Rinaldi has studied information about the Salem Witch Trials and has used real names of places and people in her book. I looked up some of the information that she had written and gave found out most of the facts, (besides the ones being of her own character) are true.
Originally I was going to present a documentary. Obviously that failed. I still have no idea why it did not work. So what was I to do? I could not make a poster board and making a skit would take more time to. Finally I decide to trasfer my information from my documentary to a website. With a website all of your information is saved as you types (At least on weebly.com it is).
The Salem Witch Trials are a Turning Point in history because after the trials ended Justice Systems began to look for reliable evidence before determening one's guilt. America gained the right of being innocent until proven guilty. This is because those who worked in Justice Systmes after the trials did not want an innocent person to be punished ike what happened in the Salem Witch Trials. If that happened again (as in many innocent people are convicted guilty at the same time, such like the trials.) it would be a pepeat of the trials of innocen tpeople being wrongly accused.
Sources
Enotes.com. eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserves, Sept. 2009. Web. 10 Jan. 2013.
,http:..www.enotes.com/crime-crininals-primary-sources/good-sarah?. This website article helped me gain the main outlok idea of the Salem Witch Trials. It helped explain the main ideas of what happened and what the trials led to.
"In Search Of History: Salem Witch Trials." Dir. David Gross. In Search of Hisotry. History Channel. Television. I gained much information from this documentary. I learned more about the origin of the trials and the belief of witches. It had also given me the reason my topic was a turning point in history.
Old Testiment. N.p.: Moses, n.d. Print. Ezodus 22:18. This is the written word in Christian beliefs. The Christionas in the 1690's took the words of the Bible to heart and that is why they willingly believed the girls when they cried out names, they thought they were perfoming God's will.
Ray, Benjamin, ed. "17th Century Documents." Virginia.edu. Benjamin Ray, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2012 http://salme.lib.virginia.edu/17docs.html. It was somewhat hard to find good documents that talked about the trials. But I did find Case of Conscienct by Increase Mather who was alive at the times of the tirals and had written about them in his book.
Rinaldi, Ann. A Break withc Charity. N.p.: Gulliver Books, 1992. Print. Great Episodes. Ann Rinaldi has made many stories about historical events. True the books that I know of are fictional, since she writes her own characters to the orignal stories, but many, almost all. of the facts and informaiton she gives off are true. The ones being untrue are those of her own characters.
Umkc.edu. Douglas O. Linder, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SALEM.HTM. I gained one of my primary sources from this site. The Arrest Warrant for Elizabeth Proctor and Sarah Cloyce. (Rebecca Nurse's younger sister.)
,http:..www.enotes.com/crime-crininals-primary-sources/good-sarah?. This website article helped me gain the main outlok idea of the Salem Witch Trials. It helped explain the main ideas of what happened and what the trials led to.
"In Search Of History: Salem Witch Trials." Dir. David Gross. In Search of Hisotry. History Channel. Television. I gained much information from this documentary. I learned more about the origin of the trials and the belief of witches. It had also given me the reason my topic was a turning point in history.
Old Testiment. N.p.: Moses, n.d. Print. Ezodus 22:18. This is the written word in Christian beliefs. The Christionas in the 1690's took the words of the Bible to heart and that is why they willingly believed the girls when they cried out names, they thought they were perfoming God's will.
Ray, Benjamin, ed. "17th Century Documents." Virginia.edu. Benjamin Ray, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2012 http://salme.lib.virginia.edu/17docs.html. It was somewhat hard to find good documents that talked about the trials. But I did find Case of Conscienct by Increase Mather who was alive at the times of the tirals and had written about them in his book.
Rinaldi, Ann. A Break withc Charity. N.p.: Gulliver Books, 1992. Print. Great Episodes. Ann Rinaldi has made many stories about historical events. True the books that I know of are fictional, since she writes her own characters to the orignal stories, but many, almost all. of the facts and informaiton she gives off are true. The ones being untrue are those of her own characters.
Umkc.edu. Douglas O. Linder, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SALEM.HTM. I gained one of my primary sources from this site. The Arrest Warrant for Elizabeth Proctor and Sarah Cloyce. (Rebecca Nurse's younger sister.)