From Salem, MA to Stanley Milgram

As part of her studies on Colonial American History, Casia has been learning about the early settlements. Our first stop was Roanoke. She read a couple of books on the lost colony and then watched a movie. Casia was intrigued by the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the colony with the cryptic clues left behind.

Next, Casia learned all about the first permanent English settlement of Jamestown. We spent a couple of weeks on this unit and then followed it up with a trip to the historic Jamestown Settlement. We then moved on to Williamsburg. A benefit to living near Williamsburg is that the library is packed with books on the historic town. There was no shortage of reading material available. I couldn't find a movie on this topic, but we did spend a day in Historical Williamsburg and had a marvelous time.

We then moved further North and started a unit on the Plymouth Colony. Again, she read several books and we followed it up with, you guessed it, a movie. Combining history with literature, we also read Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter together, and Casia wrote an essay on the symbolism in the novel, and then, naturally, we watched the movie. I opted for the less steamy, but slower version staring Meg Foster. Having seen the R-rated Demi Moore version, I felt it was not appropriate for Casia. Honestly, I'm not a fan of either versions and think this could be made into a much better movie.

We are currently finishing up our unit on the Salem Witch Trials. I found this excellent website from the  University of Missouri at Kansas City Law School with links to transcripts of the original court records including arrest warrants and examinations. It's a treasure trove of primary sources on this dramatic period of our history. We've also read Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the movie from Netflix.

As Casia and I compared the historical aspects of the Salem witch trials with the fictional versions, we enjoyed speculating on the true causes of the panic and hysteria that swept through the town. We talked about the religious climate of that era, political issues going on in the town and possible personal motives and influences on the young accusers. We talked about why it is so important to always think for yourself, question authority and act always as your conscience dictates. Then we started talking about the repercusions of people just following the crowd or doing things because their leaders told them they must. Our conversation then led to Nazis Germany. We haven't studied this period specifically but Casia is familiar with Holocaust having read The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.

I was reminded of a study I once read, and so I looked it up to discuss it with Casia. It was Stanley Milgram's Experiment, in which he studied individuals' responses to being asked to inflict pain on another person. The disturbing results showed that the people in his study readily complied with such a request. It was a very stimulating conversation and while I ruminated on how we got onto the topic of Stanley Milgram whilst discussing Salem, MA, I was glad to have had the flexibility in our schedule to allow for such interesting tangents. 

Books and Movie Resources:

Roanoke

• Roanoke: The Mystery of the Lost Colony by Lee Miller
• The Lost Colony of Roanoke by Jean Fritz
• "Digging for the Truth: Season 2" (the part on Roanoke)

Jamestown

• The Starving Time by Patricia Hermes
• You Wouldn't Want to Be an American Colonist by Jacqueline Morley
• "History of Jamestown" from the Historic Jamestown Website
• "Pocahontas Revealed" by Nova 

Williamsburg

• Lady Maragaret's Ghost by Elizabeth McDavid Jones
• Traitor in WIlliamsburg by Elizabeth McDavid Jones
• Williamsburg: Cradle of the Revolution by Ron Goor
• Colonial Williamsburg by William Coleman
• Williamsburg by Judy Alter
• Williamsburg: Cornerstone of Freedom by Zachary Kent

Plymouth

• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• The Mayflower Compact by Judith Llyod Yero
• Don't Know Much About the Pilgrims by Kenneth Davis
• The Daily Life in the Pilgrim Colony by Paul Erikson
• A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple by Kathryn Lasky
• You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Mayflower by William Cook
• "Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower"

Salem

• "The Salem Witch Trials" by the University of Missouri at Kansas City
• "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller
• The Salem Witch Trials by Judith Bloom Fradin
• History Channel's "The Salem Witch Trials"
• I Walk in Dread by Lisa Rowe Fraustino