The Salem Witch Trials vs. McCarthyism

Topic: Compare and Contrast the Salem Witch Trials (1692) to the Witch-hunt during the McCarthyism era (1950s).

Question: Can history repeat itself? These two events (eras) in our history were spawned more by hysteria. Using the Topic above, determine what the religious, political, and historical implications of each event are.

Grade Level: Grade 11 or 12

Content Area: U.S. History

Tools Needed: Availability of a computer lab for approximately three to five days for the entire class in the computer lab. This computer lab must have Internet accessibility for each student to use. Besides having a web browser, each computer must have the programs Real Audio and Microsoft Media Player or Real Player installed in order to view the multimedia sites listed.

Web Sites:

Salem Witches:

Salem Witch Trials:
http://www.salemwitchtrials.com/

Timeline of the Salem Witch Panic and Trials:
http://atheism.about.com/religion/atheism/library/chronologies/bl_chron_SalemWitch.htm?terms=Salem+Witch+Trials

Chronology of Events leading up to Salem Witch Trial
http://www.salemweb.com/memorial/default.htm

Notable Women Accused of Witchcraft:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/witch.html

The Salem Witch Trials:
www.agnon.org/projects/integrated/sarahf/Salem%20Witch%20trials.htm
http://earlyamerica.com/review/summer97/carey.html

Witchcraft: A Brief History:
http://www.salemwaxmuseum.com/history.html

National Geographic's site
"http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/salem/

The Discovery Channel's site:
http://www.discovery.com/stories/history/witches/witches.html

Witchcraft in Salem (Actual documents)
http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/

"The Devil hath been raised"- introduction:
"http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/Intro.html

The Seeds of the Salem Witch Hunt:
http://socialstudies.com/article.html?article@PFF482A

20th Century Witch Hunter:
http://socialstudies.com/article.html?article@PFF482B

Historic Salem:
http://www.historyplace.com/tourism/index.html

Puritanism:

Puritans and who they were:
http://socialstudies.com/article.html?article@PFF467B

Puritanism:
http://www.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/enl310/purdef.htm

McCarthyism:

McCarthyism:
http://cbird.8m.com/history/mccarthy.htm

The Cold War:
http://www.stmartin.edu/~dprice/cold.war.html

Essay on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy:
http://www.mhrcc.org/hfcsd/essay.html

Essay on Blacklisting in Hollywood:
http://www.mhrcc.org/hfcsd/essay97.html

CNN, 50 years later:
http://gabrielmedia.org/news/blacklist.html

McCarthyism-A Multimedia Presentation:
http://webcorp.com/mccarthy/mccarthypage.htm"

McCarthyism In The 1950s:
http://www.port-aransas.k12.tx.us/HS/HIST/mcCarthy1.html

Dr. Fred Schwarz, "You Can Trust the Communists (to be Communists)":
http://dept.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/schwarz-cover.html

How to Learn From the Blacklist:
http://dept.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/learn-from-blacklist.html

Naming Names-"The Social Costs:
http://www.english.upenn.edu/%7Eafilreis/50s/navasky-social-costs.html

Hollywood Blacklist:
http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/blacklist.html
http://classicfilm.about.com/movies/classicfilm/library/weekly/aa032899.htm
http://www.gis.net/~scatt/blacklist.html
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~kemarsh/mccarthy/hollywood.html
http://www.linklane.com/h/hollywood_blacklist.htm

Implementing Lesson:

First:
Students will first break into manageable groups of three to four students depending upon class size. Each group will share in completing the worksheet below by searching the above Internet sites to answer the questions. After answering all the questions on the worksheet, it will be used by the students individually when doing the Brainstorming on the John Collins Writing.

BRAINSTORMING WORKSHEET

Second:
Completion of the John Collins Writing. A Level 3 writing can take approximately up to one week or less to complete.

RUBRIC    (John Collins Writing Assignment)