It’s Thursday, October 30, 2014, and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!
Recommended Website:
Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project
Age Range: 11-17 (Grades 6-12, with parental supervision)
What better way to best understand what happened during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 than through the primary source materials provided at this website. Published in partnership with the Scholars’ Lab of the University of Virginia Library and the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, this website provides:
- Documents & Transcriptions of court records, record books, personal letters, sermons, dairies and more
- Historical Maps of Salem Village, Andover, and maps of witchcraft accusations
- Archival Collections from the Boston Public Library, Massachusetts Historical Society, Essex Institute Archive, and more
- Contemporary Books online by Cotton Mather, Robert Calef, Increase Mather, John Hale, Samuel Willard, and George Lincoln Burr all pertaining to witchcraft and the trials.
- Notable People provides biographical information and sometimes images about the people involved in the trials including the accused and the accusers.
- Literary Works provide online texts from such authors as Hawthorne, Holmes, Longfellow, and others who wrote about witches in their works
Navigating through this unintimidating website is a breeze. You may read an “Overview of the Salem Witch Trials” or view the “Various Images of Salem Witch Trials” by selecting those on the sidebar menu as well as check out the “Media Reviews” of books and movies related to the topic.
This website is a great supplemental resource in your studies of the Salem Witch Trials.
