A Puritan Way, a thirty-minute videotape from the Public Broadcasting System, deals with Massachusetts between 1620 and 1660. Somewhat more superficial in treatment is The Witches of Salem: The Horror and the Hope, a thirty-five-minute videotape from Coronet/MTI. PBS Video also offers English Colonization, a thirty-minute treatment of the difficulties of early colonists in the Chesapeake Bay region.

Several dramatic renderings deserve mention. A feature film, Black Robe, made in 1991 by Bruce Beresford, tells the story of a French Catholic missionary trying to convert the Iroquois and Huron tribes in the Great Lakes region of upstate New York beginning in 1634. Relentlessly realistic, the film carries an R rating. Anne Hutchinson: Profile in Courage is a fifty-minute television dramatization of that remarkable woman's career. Starring Wendy Hiller, it is available from Social Studies School Service. Also available from the same source is Three Sovereigns for Sarah, a dramatization of the story of Sarah Cloyce, who was imprisoned during the witchcraft furor in Salem. PBS offers in four one-hour episodes The Scarlet Letter, a television adaptation of Hawthorne's great novel.

In addition, consider Terry Coleman, Thanksgiving (1981), the story of a woman who leaves Puritan New England in the seventeenth century for New Amsterdam. The novel gives a good view of both regions. A third novel of interest is John Barth, The Sot-Weed Factor (1960), an irreverent, often hilarious story dealing with the Chesapeake region. Arthur Miller's drama The Crucible (1952) focuses on events in Salem but by implication deals with universal themes of repression and hysteria. Students must, of course, be cautioned that these literary works take liberties with historical evidence; but students can profit from being asked to identify and debate the validity of such divergences.

Available from Films for the Humanities and Sciences is a twenty-minute video, El Camino Real, that shows the royal road from what is now Mexico City to Santa Fe, New Mexico, following the trail first established by the Spanish in 1598. The video tells the story from those early days to contemporary times.
Document Set 3-1

The Clash of Cultures: The Pequot War

1. Connecticut and Rhode Island, 1637
2. A Puritan Account of the Pequot War, 1637
3. An Indian's Fears of Puritan Expansion, 1642This chapter focuses on early cultural clashes between Indians and whites and raises questions about their meaning for American colonial history. The extended excerpts from Mason's narrative reveal the excitement, fear, and tragedy of the confrontation.Mason's introductory statements indicate a desire to be objective. Instructors might use his account in connection with a lecture or discussion about the problem of objectivity in writing history. Such attention can sensitize students to problems in historical methodology and promote a critical approach to the study of source materials. Mason intended to be impartial, speak the truth, and remain open to evidence; yet it is clear that he interpreted the war from a limited perspective and did not attain impartiality.The war also raises questions about responsibility and causation. Mason's comments on the Puritan grounds for war provide a starting point for discussion. Were the Pequots responsible for the war and the Puritans forced to conduct an offensive war of extermination? His own narrative reveals that this explanation was inadequate. Alden T. Vaughan's balanced article "Pequots and Puritans: The Causes of the War of 1637," William and Mary Quarterly 21 (April 1964): 256-269, is particularly helpful here, as is Ronald David Carr, "'Why Should You Be So Furious?' The Violence of the Pequot War," Journal of American History 85 (December 1998): 876-909.Students might also discuss religion's role in the war. Were Mason's references to God and Providence mere rhetoric or sincere conviction? Did a war psychology encourage irrational metaphysical clichés, or did deeply felt religious beliefs help motivate destructive action? Questions of this sort do not produce easy answers, but they can stimulate thoughtful discussion and offer instructors an opportunity to cultivate historical consciousness in students.European expansion to the New World in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries did not consist of the civilized penetrating the lands of the noncivilized; rather, the frontier was the meeting point of different cultures adjusting to and influencing each other. The text (see Chapter 2) develops the theme of cultural exchange, describing the complex, sophisticated nature of Indian societies. The interaction of Puritans and Pequots in war further establishes the point. Instructors may find Adam J. Hirsch's article, "The Collision of Military Cultures in Seventeenth-Century New England," Journal of American History 74, no. 4 (March 1988): 1187-1212, valuable as background for discussion of "civilization" and "culture." For discussion of the environmental dimension of the exchange, see William Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England and Neal Salisbury, Manitou and Providence: Indians, Europeans, and the Making of New England, 1500-1643.The Pequot War was only one of several Anglo-Indian wars. Students could be assigned research projects on the Virginia colonists and the Powhatan Confederacy in the 1620s or King Philip's War in the 1670s. Comparison of these conflicts can provide insight into cultural clashes between Native Americans and whites in colonial America. Comparative analysis can also help students to better understand the long-term consequences of early cross-cultural contacts.

Recommended Readings for Document Set 3-1


James Axtell. The Invasion Within: The Contest of Cultures in Colonial North America (1985).

Alfred A Cave. The Pequot War (1996).

William Cronon. Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England (1983).

Adam J. Hirsch. "The Collision of Military Cultures in Seventeenth-Century New England," Journal of American History 74, no. 4 (March 1988): 1187-1212.

Francis Jennings. Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism, and the Cant of Conquest (1975).

Ronald Dale Karr, "'Why Should You Be So Furious?' The Violence of the Pequot War," Journal of American History 85 (December 1998): 876-909.

Patrick Malone. The Skulking Way of War: Technology and Tactics Among the Indians of New England (1991).

Neal Salisbury. Manitou and Providence: Indians, Europeans, and the Making of New England, 1500-1643 (1982).

Alden T. Vaughan. New England Frontier: Puritans and Indians, 1620-1675 (1979).

------. "Pequots and Puritans: The Causes of the War of 1637." William and Mary Quarterly 21 (April 1964): 256-69.
Audiovisual Resources for Document Set 3-1


American Indians. American History Slide Collection, Group C. Instructional Resources Corporation, 1819 Bay Ridge Avenue, Annapolis, Md. 21403.
Document Set 3-2

Witchcraft at Salem: The Social and Cultural Context

1. Samuel Parris Sets a Tone, 1692
2. Martha Corey's Testimony, 1692
3. Ann Putnam's Deposition, 1692
4. Salem Village, 1692
5. The Geography of Witchcraft in Salem Village, 1692
6. Factionalism and Wealth in Salem Village, 1695
7. Witchcraft in Salem: Analysis by Age and Sex, 1692
8. Ann Putnam's Confession, 1706
9. The Conclusions of the Massachusetts Bay Elders, 1695An important theme in Chapter 3 is the decline of Puritanism that accompanied the expansion of New England in the late seventeenth century. By focusing on the Salem witchcraft episode, this unit encourages students to explore the myriad social and economic changes that transpired as the Bay Colony matured. Moreover, it introduces students to the community studies that form such an important part of the current historiography of colonial history. Finally, students are again asked to become historians, as they attempt to unravel the tangled web of explanation and causation.It is essential that instructors prepare students for the analytical exercise. Building on text coverage of the failure of the New England Way, instructors could provide lecture background on the economic and religious developments that revolutionized life in Massachusetts Bay as the century drew to a close. It might also be helpful to sketch the interpretive debate over the explanation for the witchcraft outbreak. Alternatively, some instructors may prefer to confine themselves to a lecture on the development of Salem town and Salem village, with some attention to the events of 1692. Students could then be asked to use the evidence to develop a logical interpretation of the episode.One important topic is the world view and philosophical/religious outlook of the Western world in the seventeenth century. Students might discuss the contemporary belief system in which the invisible spirit world played a part, including the role of the supernatural in a society prepared to accept divine intervention and judgment. How different was Salem from other communities in this regard? By grappling with this question, students may learn to exercise caution in tearing historical occurrences out of their social/cultural context.Another approach to these materials would emphasize the insight to be gained from the analysis of statistical and cartographic evidence. The maps and data in this set offer instructors the opportunity to help students interpret nontraditional sources. Through leading questions, it will be possible to increase students' critical faculties as they learn to read the numbers and maps. This exercise can produce significant discussion of social and economic conflict, both town-village tension and internal dissension within Salem village itself.In the final analysis, then, this exercise centers on the interpretive process. Students are provided with the source material that will permit them to develop conflicting hypotheses on the causes and significance of the Salem episode. As they frame an argument and defend a position, they will become engaged in the historian's task and immersed in the process of "doing history." Moreover, the unit enables students to better understand the late-seventeenth-century trends described in the text, as revealed by detailed examination of one community's experience.

Recommended Readings for Document Set 3-2


Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum. Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft (1974).

John Putnam Demos. Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England (1982).

------. "Underlying Themes in the Witchcraft of Seventeenth-Century New England." American Historical Review 75 (June 1970): 1311-1326.

Frederick C. Drake. "Witchcraft in the American Colonies, 1647-1662." American Quarterly 20 (Winter 1968): 694-725.

David B. Hall. Worlds of Wonder, Days of Judgment: Popular Religious Belief in Early New England (1990).

Chadwick Hansen. Witchcraft at Salem (1969).

Peter Hoffer. The Devil's Disciples: Makers of the Salem Witchcraft Trials (1996).

Carol F. Karlsen. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England (1987).

Edmund S. Morgan. The Puritan Family: Religion and Domestic Relations in Seventeenth-Century New England (1966).

Bernard Rosenthal. Salem Story: Reading the Witch Trials of 1692 (1993).
Audiovisual Resources for Document Set 3-2


The Reproach of Egypt (audiotape--30 min.). Audiotape Program 2, Annenberg/CPB Project American History Series, Part 1. Annenberg/CPB Project, 1111 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.

Witches of Salem: The Horror and the Hope (film, videotape--35 min.). University of Illinois Film Center, 1325 S. Oak Street, Champaign, Ill. 61820.
Document Set 3-3

Men and Women in A Developing Society: Rights and Responsibilities in New England and The Chesapeake

1. Massachusetts Defines the Rights of Women, 1641
2. A Massachusetts Wife Ensures Her Economic Stake in Marriage, 1653
3. Gender Differences in Life Expectancy at Plymouth, ca. Seventeenth Century
4. Anne Bradstreet Reflects on Family Relationships, ca. 1650s
5. A Puritan Prescription for Marital Concord, 1712
6. Maryland Husbands Fulfill Their Obligations to Widows, 1640-1710
7. Virginia Law Acknowledges the Social Consequences of a Labor-Short Economy, 1705
8. Divorce in Maryland, 1678
9. A Virginia Gentlewoman Crosses Class Lines, ca. 1730This unit builds on the textbook's strong coverage of both the Puritan family and domestic relations in the Chesapeake colonies and help students to develop an understanding of the importance of gender in shaping social, political and economic relationships. Although several approaches are possible, the source material lends itself to comparative analysis.By its very nature, the topic provides an excellent opportunity for instructors to introduce students to the idea of social history, perhaps with a lecture focusing on the changing boundaries of the historical discipline. The sources have been selected with an eye to the importance of day-to-day life as a legitimate area of scholarly inquiry. Moving from the general to the specific, instructors might initiate discussion of the rights guaranteed to colonial women as partners in the marriage relationship. This topic may easily be related to the larger issues of Puritan theology and the social pressures created by a labor-short plantation economy in which a gender imbalance existed. Students might be asked to make judgments concerning the extent to which colonial societies enforced legal guarantees and matched rhetoric with reality. This discussion also enables instructors to emphasize past-present linkage by emphasizing the origins of modern assumptions about gender roles within marriage.One related topic that might be addressed through the documents is the theme of reciprocal obligations. In contrasting ways, the sources provide evidence of reciprocity in family, social, and economic relationships. Students would profit from a discussion of the sexual division of labor, marital responsibilities, and distinctions between gender roles, including examination of the reasons why these patterns existed. A comparison might be drawn between European and Indian concepts of reciprocity.On another level, a useful discussion could develop from a close examination of the joys and trials of everyday life in the two societies. More specifically, instructors might emphasize the human qualities of the people who created the documents that now provide students with a window into the past. One viable approach to this problem would be to ask students why Anne Bradstreet selected the topic she did and why the Virginia legislature found it necessary to codify the social relationships entered into by residents of the colony. Still another avenue of inquiry that should provide insight into private experiences and personal relationships would be an assignment requiring students to assume the identities of an indentured servant or a Puritan wife and to write a letter or diary describing events that occurred in a single week.Whatever technique is employed, the result of work with these documents should be greater student appreciation of the importance of personal relationships, daily life experiences, and ordinary people as elements in the mosaic that is the story of historical development in any era. Moreover, discussion of these materials should also contribute to a good sense of the differences between northern and southern colonies in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

Recommended Readings for Document Set 3-3


Lois Green Carr and Lorena Walsh. "The Planter's Wife: The Experience of White Women in Seventeenth Century Maryland." William and Mary Quarterly 34 (1977): 542-571.

John Demos. A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth (1970).

Elizabeth Fox-Genovese et al., ed. Restoring Women to History: Materials for the U.S. Survey (1984), Vol. I.

Lyle Koehler. A Search for Power: The Weaker Sex in Seventeenth Century New England (1980).

Edmund Morgan. The Puritan Family: Religion and Domestic Relations in Seventeenth-Century New England (1966).

Mary Beth Norton. Founding Mothers and Fathers: Gendered Power and the Forming of American Society (1996).

Darrett B. Rutman and Anita H. Rutman. A Place in Time: Middlesex County, Virginia, 1650-1750 (1984).

Marylynn Salmon. Women and the Law of Property in Early America (1986).

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Good Wives: Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England, 1650-1750 (1982).

Paula Treckel. To Comfort the Heart: Women in Seventeenth Century America (1996).
Audiovisual Resources for Document Set 3-3


"A Little Commonwealth": Family Life in 17th Century New England and From Servitude to Slavery: The 17th Century South (audiotapes--30 min. each). Audiotape Programs 2 and 3, Legacies Series. Annenberg/CPB Project, 1111 16th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.

The Chesapeake Planter (videotape--28 min.). Films for the Humanities and Sciences, P.O. Box 2053, Princeton, N.J. 08543-2053.

Home Away from Home (videotape--52 min.). Episode 2, American Series. Time-Life Films, 110 Eisenhower Drive, P.O. Box 644, Paramus, N.J. 07652.

A Midwife's Tale (videotape--90 min.). PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Va. 22314-1698.

Virginia Plantations (videotape--30 min.). University of Illinois Film/Video Center, 1325 S. Oak Street, Champaign, Ill. 61820.