In Search of History – The Salem Witch Trials
1. Why did people believe in the concept of witches? From where did the idea come?
2. Name two methods used to identify a witch?
3. The first witch trial was in the town of ________________________________________,
in the year _________________________.
4. What two primary dangers did the Puritans believe were contained in the woods?
5. What is “predestination”? Why did it cause extreme stress in the Puritan community?
6. Why were Puritan women considered more likely to become witches than Puritan men? Name at least
two reasons.
7. How many cases of witchcraft were brought to the court in Salam in 1692?
8. In whose home did the accusations of witchcraft in Salem begin?
9. Who is Tituba? Where was she from?
10. Why was Tituba a focus of the first accusations of witchcraft?
11. Name two ways that children who were affected by witchcraft were said to have acted.
12. Name the next two women accused of witchcraft. Why were they considered candidates for
witchcraft?
13. Explain the concept of “spectral evidence.” What is the problem with this type of evidence?
14. What was the “Devil’s Book”?
15. Why did the accusation of Rebecca Nurse split the town community?
16. How old was the youngest accused witch?
17. Why were people afraid to speak out against the witch trials?
18. What happened to those who confessed to witchcraft?
19. For what reasons would the girls have made so many accusations, despite the deadly consequences of
their actions?
20. How many Salemites were accused of witchcraft? How many people died as accused witches?
21. What was the most common way to execute a witch in Salem?
22. How did Giles Corey die?
23. How could a person profit by accusing a neighbor of witchcraft?
24. How did the Salem Witch Trials change the judicial system?