ECIS Reading workshop

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To Secure These Rights was a milestone. Truman’s commitment to the cause of ‘civil rights’ – a phrase that sounded more innocuous, and less inflammatory, than ‘racial equality’ – marked a historic shift in the policy of the federal government. The Roosevelt administration had enunciated a general principle of non-discrimination, but it had condoned racial segregation. The Truman administration not only withdrew its support from segregation but also proposed a comprehensive program to integrate blacks into the mainstream of American life. It took twenty years, and relentless pressure from the Civil Rights Movement, to induce Congress to enact that program. Nevertheless, To Secure These Rights had set the agenda.

Adam Fairclough: Better Day Coming, p209

After they had discussed their own view of the significance of To Secure These Rights students were given this passage as a lesson conclusion. I wanted them to think about what kind of change the report really was.

One word really jumped out as being analytically interesting – which one? Why is it such an interesting word in the context of a change and continuity enquiry?

How might you use this passage in a lesson conclusion?

the repercussions of such mismanagement were not only

economic but also social

they eroded still further the thin base of Bolshevik support

turning followers into enemies and enemies into rebels.

the repercussions of such mismanagement were not only

economic but also social

they eroded still further the thin base of Bolshevik support

turning followers into enemies and enemies into rebels.

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The women who came knocking on Elizabeth Clarke’s door on Friday 21 March 1645 were Mary Phillips, Grace Norman, Frances Mills and Mary Parsley. Goodwife Parsley was especially eager, her daughter having died in circumstances that suggested witchcraft. Searching bodies was women’s work: as well as witches, they investigated suspected plague deaths, murder victims and criminals claiming they were pregnant. ‘Juries of matrons (women)’, which usually included a midwife, had both special experience and rights which meant they could search out medical proof in delicate cases. Witchcraft was female power, and belonged to the female sphere of running a household. People’s image of a witch tended to be that of an extremely disobedient and destructive mother or wife. Other women were thought to be the best detectors of such failings. It is not recorded whether Elizabeth Clarke protested, but there were many hands to restrain her if she did. The search-women found three devil’s marks which they thought to be unnatural. Next came the task of waiting for the imps. In this the women searchers were assisted by two men. Widow Clarke was kept under house arrest, seated in the middle of the room. The watchers gathered round, drawing closer as the sun went down and shadows cast by rushlight, candle and hearth loomed like ghostly spectators. They yawned and nudged each other awake, but by dawn had nothing to show for their efforts. They repeated their watch on Saturday night, again without success. On Sunday, they probably took a break. A few weeks earlier, a new prayer book had been published. It said that Sunday was to be spent in piety, charity and mercy. Presumably this did not include subjecting witches to ordeals.

On Monday, the watchers went back to work; but the results were the same. By Tuesday night, the patience of the watchers was wearing thin. It was the third and final day of watching and still no imps had appeared. After dark that evening they were waiting and watching as they had on previous evenings, the atmosphere still crackling with anticipation, when the cottage door opened. Outlined in the gloom was the cloaked figure that might have been the devil himself, but for his familiar voice. In walked Matthew Hopkins, accompanied by his greyhound.

As his eyes adjusted to Clarke’s figure – an old dame in rags balanced on a stool, crutch in hand – Hopkins began his threatening demands that she tell him the names of the other witches. Widow Clarke said nothing. But just as Hopkins reached the door the widow spoke up, her voice faint with fear but hopeful. Asking only that they should not hurt her, Clarke begged him to stay, adding, “I will show you my imps, for they be ready to come.”Nothing happened and nobody moved. For the next half hour an air of tense expectation hung in the room. Then Hopkins and the other watchers became aware of another presence. Before their eyes crept a white creature, like a cat, which silently greeted its mistress before retreating into the shadows. Next she called ‘Jeremiah!’. According to Hopkins, there appeared “an Impe like a dog, which was white, with some sandy spots and seemed very fat with very short legs, then vanished away.” Were there more? Asked Hopkins. Clarke said there was another who had not yet appeared: a black beast called Sack and sugar, still out at work. It would be home soon she promised, and would tear master Hopkins into pieces for trying to have her swum in the river. But when Sack and Sugar finally arrived, it seemed to be no more than a harmless rabbit. None the less, Clarke told Hopkins he was lucky it had not leapt onto his face, squeezed itself down his throat, and deposited a feast of toads in his belly. Anyone found with marks like hers was a witch she declared. She went on to describe meetings with the Devil and how he had pestered her until she gave him permission to kill Robert Taylor’s horse and Richard Edwards’ pigs. The next day Clarke was woken and taken before the magistrates. They encouraged her to start at the beginning, and a miserable tale unfolded. About six months earlier she had been gathering firewood near her house when Anne West passed by. Anne showed pity for Clarke’s disability and poverty, telling her there were ways and means for her to live much better than she did, and promising to lend her a kitten that would bring her food. Several nights later, two imps visited her and promised if she made an agreement with the Devil, he would look after her forever. Elizabeth was overjoyed.

Enquiry question:

What can stories about witches tell us about?

Lesson question

Aims and objectives Content/activities

Lesson 1: Who was a witch?

To identify key features of seventeenth century beliefs about witchcraft to evaluate how far popular stereotypes of witches are grounded in a historical reality

ISM: pupils draw a picture of a stereotypical witch Main activity: pupils interrogate a database constructed using stories from Witchfinders in order to make generalisations about the kinds of people who were accused of witchcraft and the ‘powers’ they possessed. Conclusion: pupils compare the generalisations they have constructed with their original picture and identify similarities and differences between them.

Lesson 2: What can Elizabeth Clarke’s story tell us about?

To identify and describe the different ways witchcraft was identified. To identify ‘big stories’ about seventeenth century beliefs and society

ISM: pupils read an extract from Witchfinders in order to identify how witches were ‘spotted’ in the seventeenth century. Main activity: pupils are read an extended extract from Witchfinders on the watching of Elizabeth Clarke. They use the text to draw a picture of the watching and then compare this to a contemporary woodcut of the scene. Pupils underline anything interesting about life in the seventeenth century that the text tells us about. They then annotate the underlined sections in order to show what it tells us about. Conclusion: pupils consider why Malcolm Gaskill might be interested in the witch crazes

Lesson 3: What can John Rivet’s story tell us about?

To identify seventeenth century beliefs about the causes, nature and treatments for sickness. To identify ‘big stories’ about seventeenth century beliefs and society

ISM: pupils are given a diagnosis for Goodwife Rivet, and four possible treatments. They have to decide which treatment would have been used in the seventeenth century. Main activity: pupils read independently an extract from the Witchfinders. They use the extract to identify beliefs about the causes of sickness, and the treatments used. Pupils then underline anything interesting about life in the seventeenth century that the text tells us about. They then annotate the underlined sections in order to show what it tells us about. Conclusion: pupils return to their initial ideas about why Malcolm Gaskill might be interested in the witch crazes, and add any new ideas.

Lesson 4: What can the story of Manningtree tell us about?

To characterise the nature of seventeenth-century Manningtree. To identify ‘big stories’ about seventeenth century society

ISM: pupils are shown some ‘big questions’ that the stories of Elizabeth Clarke and John Rivet could help address. Pupils come up with a ‘big question’ of their own. Main activity: pupils read independently an extract from Witchfinders that describes Manningtree, the town where Elizabeth Clarke and John Rivet live. Use the text to construct a picture map of the town. Discuss where they think the characters they have encountered would have lived, and add them to their map. Read an extract describing the mood in the town when the witch crazes broke out, but with the key word (joyless) missing. Pupils suggest what word could go in the gap. The suggested words are added to pupils’ picture maps. Conclusion: Discuss why the story of Manningtree might be interesting to Malcolm Gaskill.

Lesson 5: Why do stories about witches matter?

To evaluate the historical significance of the witch crazes To explain the historical significance of the witch crazes in terms of what they reveal about the seventeenth century

ISM: Pupils are shown five individuals from contemporary society, and a group of aliens. They have to select five individuals who they think the aliens should take back on their space ship to find out about life in twenty-first century Britain. Pupils are then shown five characters from seventeenth century Britain, including Elizabeth Clarke, and are asked which of the characters could tell the aliens most about life in the seventeenth century. Main activity: Pupils discuss what kinds of history they learn at Comberton, and what kinds they think they should learn about. Discuss the usefulness of the ‘Five R’s’ as criteria for deciding what matters in history. Write a letter to the head of department justifying the inclusion of the witch crazes in the curriculum, by explaining why the stories in Witchfinders are so revealing.

Enquiry question: What makes a bad history book?

Lesson question Aims and objectives Content/activities

Lesson 1: When and where was it most dangerous to be a European Jew?

To Identify patterns of change and continuity in the nature (religious, racial) and degree of persecution of European anti-Semitism.To evaluate European anti-Semitism at the end of the nineteenth century in order to identify where it was most dangerous to be Jewish.

Anti-Semitism washing line provides an overview of European anti-Semitism.Case studies of French, German and Russian anti-Semitism at the end of the C19th – pupils identify when and why it was most dangerous to be a European Jew.

Lesson 2: Was German anti-Semitism ‘pregnant with murder’?

To Identify Goldhagen’s key arguments.To analyse and critique the relationship between Goldhagen’s claims and his evidence.

Investigation of the type and extent of German anti-Semitism before 1933.

Lesson 3: Were the Nazis’ policies just ‘common sense’ to Germans?

To analyse the evidence and counter-evidence used to support and attack Goldhagen’s claims.To critique and modify the language of Goldhagen’s claims.

Living graph provides an overview of the nature and extremity of Nazi anti-Semitic policies after 1933.Matching of Goldhagen and other historians’ evidenceEditing a short extract to make the claims better fit the evidence.

Lesson 4: Was there ever a master plan to kill the Jews?

To identify and characterise changes in the direction, degree and goals of Nazi policy from 1939 to 1942.To evaluate the functionalist / intentionalist debate.

Stepping stones activity – a diagram that shows the size and direction of the ‘steps’ taken towards genocide.

Lesson 5: In what ways were the killers of Police Battalion 101 ‘ordinary men’?

To identify the characteristics and background of a typical policeman. Creation of a picture of a typical policeman using an extended extract from Christopher Browning’s Ordinary Men.

Lesson 6: How far were the men of Police Battalion 101 ‘willing executioners’?

To identify and compare the similarities and differences between two historical accounts of the same event.

Extended reading (Goldhagen and Browning).of two accounts of the massacre at Jozefow.

Lesson 7: How can we find the argument lurking in the story?

To evaluate the persuasive techniques used by historians within narrative texts.

Persuasive techniques bingo helps pupils identify key techniques used in the texts.

Lesson 8: Why did ordinary men kill?

To explain why the policemen voluntarily participated in the Holocaust. Pupils are introduced to Milgram’s ‘obedience’ experiment.Four case studies of individuals are used to identify their evolving response to killing and reasons for participation.

Lesson 9: How should historians use evidence?

To critique Goldhagen’s treatment of the evidence.To evaluate the implications of their findings on the credibility of his claims.

Pupils use other historians’ critiques of Goldhagen to identify examples within a selection of extracts.

Lesson 10: What makes a bad history book?

To evaluate the criticisms and merits of Hitler’s Willing Executions. Pupils complete a little book that explains why some historians think Goldhagen’s book is a ‘bad book’.

Explaining why the Holocaust occurred requires a radical revision of what has until now been written. This book is that revision. This revision calls for us to acknowledge what has for so long been generally denied or obscured by academic and non-academic interpreters alike: Germans’ anti-Semitic beliefs about Jews were the central causal agent of the Holocaust. They were the central causal agent not only of Hitler’s decision to annihilate European Jewry, but also of the perpetrator’s willingness to kill and brutalise Jews. The conclusion of this book is that anti-Semitism moved many thousands of ordinary Germans – and would have moved millions more, had they been appropriately positioned – to slaughter Jews. Not economic hardship, not the coercive means of a totalitarian state, not social psychological pressure, not invariable psychological propensities, but ideas about Jews that were pervasive in Germany, and had been for decades, induced ordinary Germans to kill unarmed, defenceless Jewish men, women and children by the thousands, systematically and without pity.

Millions of Germans would have killed Jews if they had had the opportunity.

Germans did not kill Jews because they were forced to by the Nazis.

Germans did not kill Jews because they were pressured to do so.

Anti-Semitism made Germans (the perpetrators) willing to kill Jews.

The anti-Semitic beliefs that caused the Holocaust had been present in Germany for a long time.

Germans did not kill Jews because they were killers by nature or personality.

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Hitler was adored by the vast majority of the German

people… Whatever else the Germans thought about Hitler

and the Nazi movement, however much they might have

detested aspects of Nazism, the vast majority of them

subscribed to the underlying Nazi model of Jews… There

can be no doubt that the German people understood the

purpose and radicality of the anti-Jewish measures

unfolding before their eyes in the 1930s.

Goldhagen’s account of Major Trapp giving the order to shoot the Jews of the Polish town of Jozefow

Major Trapp assembled his battalion. The men formed three sides of a square around Trapp in order to hear his address.

‘He announced that in the locality before us we were to carry out a mass shooting and he brought out clearly that those whom we were supposed to shoot were Jews. During his address he bid us to think of our women and children in our homeland who had to endure aerial bombardments. In particular, we were to bear in mind that many women and children lose their lives n these attacks. Thinking of these facts would make it easier for us to carry out the order during the upcoming action. Major Trapp remarked that the action was entirely not in his spirit, but he had received this order from higher authority.’

Some of the men testify that Trapp justified the killing with the transparently weak argument that the Jews were supporting the partisans. …

Trapp also seemed to be expressing his genuine emotions. He was shaken by the order. Trapp was later heard to have exclaimed, upon seeing the battalion’s doctor: ‘My God, why must I do this.’

Browning’s account of Major Trapp giving the order to shoot the Jews of the Polish town of Jozefow

The time had come for Trapp to address the men and inform them of the assignment the battalion had received.

Pale and nervous, with choking voice and tears in his eyes, Trapp visibly fought to control himself as he spoke. The battalion, he said plaintively, had to perform a frightfully unpleasant task. This assignment was not to his liking, indeed, it was highly regrettable, but the orders came from the highest authorities. If it would make their task any easier, the men should remember that in Germany the bombs were falling on women and children.

How can we find the argument lurking in the story?

Emphasises details in the story that support

the argument

Downplays details in the story that don’t

support the argument

Appeals to the reader’s emotions (e.g. where the

writing makes us sympathetic, where it makes us disgusted)

Use of powerful or morally loaded language – i.e.

language that has a moral dimension (CLUE:

look for what words he uses to describe the

men)

Use of powerful images Use of horror to numb

the reader into agreement

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