American Studies and U.S. History Classes Engage with the Legacy of Salem

Students in American Studies and U.S. History at Governor’s recently traveled to Salem, Massachusetts, to deepen their understanding of the Salem witch trials and explore how the city remembers and commemorates this haunting chapter of American history.

Leading up to the trip, U.S. History students examined the Jamestown and Puritan settlements as part of their Colonial America unit. Over a 100-year span, they analyzed how each colony lived up to—or fell short of—its founding ideals.

In American Studies, students studied John Winthrop’s vision of a “City upon a Hill” as a foundation for understanding Puritan society and its moral aspirations. They then read Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, a dramatized account of the Salem witch trials that serves as an allegory for the anti-communist hysteria of McCarthyism in the 1950s. The play’s exploration of fear, justice, and truth offered a powerful lens for examining how ideals of community and morality can be distorted in times of crisis.

“Both classes culminated this unit with the Salem witch trials and the question of how otherwise reasonable people could hang 19 of their neighbors for the crime of being a witch,” said History Department Chair Erin O’Connell. “The Salem trip connects to one of our larger themes—historical memory—and ties into the work we do locally in Newburyport.”

During their visit, students toured historic sites and memorials throughout Salem, photographing key locations to later create maps and reflections on how the city chooses to remember the tragedy. They examined what is emphasized, what is omitted, and what those choices reveal about collective memory and moral reckoning.

The way people were so quick to turn on their neighbors out of fear or spite was fascinating.

“I really liked learning about the people accused and how the witch mania spread throughout the town,” said Mmamoon Kandji '27, a U.S. History student. “The way people were so quick to turn on their neighbors out of fear or spite was fascinating.”

The historical context of the trip also tied back to broader lessons about the colonies’ shifting ideals. Over the course of a century, both Jamestown and the Puritan settlements evolved from idealistic visions into pragmatic, prosperous societies—successful in worldly terms but far removed from their founding aspirations. Jamestown, founded for economic opportunity and English expansion, achieved prosperity through tobacco and governance reforms but relied on slavery and inequality. The Puritans, intent on building a godly “city upon a hill,” established cohesive, faith-driven communities that later gave way to religious rigidity and material ambition.

For many students, the most powerful moment came at the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, where 20 granite slabs bear the names of those executed. “Visiting the memorial and seeing each name carved into stone really put into perspective how brave these individuals were and the struggles they faced during such a dark time in history,” said Parker Baker '27.

Through this field experience, students connected the ideals and failures of early America with the moral complexities of collective memory—learning not just how history is written, but how it is remembered.

Photos for this story by Mmamoon Kandji '27