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The Crucible Act 1: The Overture

The Crucible Act 1: The Overture. a.k.a., What This is All About. Basic Historical Facts 1. Setting of the play : Salem, Massachusetts, 1692 A Puritan settlement about 40 years old . NOTE: The play The Crucible is based on historical events , but it is not history.

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The Crucible Act 1: The Overture

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  1. The Crucible Act 1: The Overture a.k.a., What This is All About

  2. Basic Historical Facts 1 • Setting of the play: Salem, Massachusetts, 1692 A Puritan settlement about 40 years old. NOTE: The play The Crucible is based on historical events, but it is not history.

  3. Basic Historical Facts 2 • Setting: Salem, Massachusetts, 1692 A Puritan settlement about 40 years old. • “Today we would hardly call it a village.”Total population no more than a few hundred people.

  4. Basic Historical Facts 3 • Setting: Salem, Massachusetts, 1692 A Puritan settlement about 40 years old. • “Today we would hardly call it a village.”Total population no more than a few hundred people. • This colony barely registered on the radar of Europe; governments there glad to be rid of “fanatics”

  5. Theocracy 1 • Definition: a form of government where religious authority and civil authority are the same. --> You WILL need to know this! • In most of Massachusetts, religious beliefs held the power of law

  6. Theocracy 2 • In most of Massachusetts, religious beliefs held the power of law • Not unknown even today: Iran, Saudi Arabia. • In this type of government, violating the Ten Commandments, (for example) can get you thrown into jail.

  7. Theocracy 3 • “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” – Exodus 22:18, the King James Bible • They took this literally, just like the rest of the Bible. • Persecutions for witchcraft a bit of a fad at the time in Europe

  8. “We Are God’s Chidren” 1 • The ancestors of Salem’s inhabitants left Europe for religious freedom; they didn’t allow any of it among their own people.

  9. “We Are God’s Chidren” 2 • The ancestors of Salem’s inhabitants left Europe for religious freedom; they didn’t allow any of it among their own people. • They willingly gave up their own freedom for two reasons: • 1) Sincere religious belief

  10. “We Are God’s Chidren” 3 • The ancestors of Salem’s inhabitants left Europe for religious freedom; they didn’t allow any of it among their own people. • They willingly gave up their own freedom for two reasons: • 1) Sincere religious belief • 2) The need to be united against outside threats to their survival

  11. “We Are God’s Chidren” 4 • Social unity + strict moral codes requiring hard work = greater chance of survival in the New World • (Arthur Miller compares them favorably to Jamestown)

  12. An “Armed Camp” • King Phillip's War – 1675-1678; killed a large percentage of the white people in New England

  13. An “Armed Camp” • King Phillip's War – 1675-1678; killed a significant percentage of the white people in New England • Hostility from Native Americans towards whites universal after this • Indian attacks common, no one very safe

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