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Mass Hysteria In The Crucible And Mccarthyism

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Mass hysteria was present in both The Crucible and McCarthyism. Mass hysteria is when people went crazy because people were accused of being communists and or witches. Mass hysteria was however started by specific people in both scenarios. In Mccarthyism Joseph Mccarthy a United States Senator and in The Crucible Abigail Williams who was accused of having an affair with John Proctor her employer were the specific ones who accused people of being communists and witches.Even though the Salem witch trials happened in the late 1690s and McCarthyism in the 1950s they paralleled each other. McCarthyism and The Crucible caused a feeling of hysteria and paranoia in all the people that were accused and others that were not accused. Abigail Williams and McCarthy had no evidence on the people accused except rumors that were …show more content…

All the attention that they got is hurting their cause. Judge Danforth believed the girls when they told him there side of the story, (The Crucible). People also started believing Joseph Mccarthy when he publicly announced his research on his communist findings. The group of girls will not stop until they proved to Judge Danforth that there are witches and Just Like Joseph Maccartney would not stop until he found all the communists. Mccarthyism, Joseph McCarthy though he would gain popularity by exposing communist people in the U.S. (McCarthyism Article). The Crucible And Mccarthyism have a lot of parallels they both used fear and hysteria to gain control over others and push their agenda. They both accused people without having evidence. In both cases people were charged and put on trial in court. In the end of both scenarios starting falling apart when the truth started coming out. Fear and hysteria can be easily spread by highly trusted individuals. Yes, these two sources serve as a warning to not let history repeat

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