A few summers ago, my family traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia. While we were there we learned a lot about the witch trials there. Between 1626 and 1730, around two dozen trials were help throughout Virginia, and multiple people were convicted at each. We saw where they would be hung if they were convicted and the courthouse where they would be tried, and in many cases, found guilty.
We read several stories about the lives of the people convicted. We learned that many people would do almost anything to save their own lives, even turning on their own neighbors. Many people would turn on their friends and other people in the town, because as long as they could pretend to have information on the accused person, they would be kept alive.
One night while we were there, there was actually a mock trial that you could sit in. It was very interesting to watch. We sat behind the "jury" and they brought in young women one at a time and questioned them. There were three in total, and they were all accused of getting together and saying spells. There were witnesses who all claimed to have seen smoke coming out of one of their houses while they were saying the spells. The jury found all three women guilty and were all sentenced to be hung.
When we learned about the witch trials in History class, I immediately remember the mock trial I went to. It was very interesting for me to be able to experience a trial in person and it helped me to better understand the information we learned in class. Also, the play we read was very similar to the trial I saw. The witch trials in Europe and America were my favorite topic to learn about this year. It seems crazy to me that anybody could be convicted and found guilty without any actual evidence! I'm glad I wasn't alive then!
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I thought you did a great job on this piece! I really liked how you were able to relate your own personal experiences to what we learned in class. I liked how you had many different facts about the witch trials, but you also talked about what the people during that time period had to do to stay alive, to give some insight into the environment they were living in. I'm also glad you mentioned that it was in Virginia, because I think many people, including myself, thought that the witch trials only occurred in the Massachusetts Bay Colony region. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThis blog post is very well written. I like how you were able to connect your vacation so closely to what we learned in class. I felt like I was there with you! I enjoyed reading your blog and it was really easy to keep reading it. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting to learn that the witch trials occurred in other places in America besides Massachusetts. It's cool that you could learn about the trials by watching a mock trial! You did a good job of connecting your trip to history class. I couldn't see your picture on my computer, but other than that your blog post was really good!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Molly! You have a nice title that really makes the reader want to read more. I loved how you told about what it was like actually sitting in on a mock trial. You also did a really good job on connecting your family vacation to what we learned in class. Also your blog was very well written and made it enjoyable to read! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI think that tis was a very interesting topic. like how well you connected your vacation with what we learned in a block im a little frightened by the witch trials so it must have been a little scary. I really liked it though. stellar job
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