McCarthyism and Salem Witch Trials Many things in history can relate in different aspects. Salem Witch trials and McCarthyism are examples of things in history that are kind of similar to each other. Looking at these two events, we can see that madness existed even way back then, It is evident that this evilness and hysteria ruined people’s lives because of the accusations that were being made towards witches and communists. The most common thing that I see from these two events is that they both were irrational fears that witchcraft and communism were going to invade society if nothing was done about it. McCarthyism and Salem Witch trials contain many similarities and differences in their accusation of people who were considered criminals
Many times it has been said that if people learn from their mistakes they are doomed to repeat them. Such is the case throughout history. There are many different examples of this, but one example is the blatant similarities between the witch hunts in Salem Massachusetts and the era of McCarthyism. When looking at either one of these events separately it is hard to believe that they could have actually happened, not only once but, twice. If one takes the time to look at both events simultaneously they are able to make many comparisons and enable numerous similarities be seen.
The Crucible and McCarthyism are similar because they both name names of people,they had no clear evidence and they didn’t testify. They are both connected because in both documents A&B they named names of people and they falsely accused people of doing things they really didn’t do. For example in Document A” I did wrong to withhold these names”
It was a campaign in which innocent people were accused of communism, that occurred over 200 years after the Salem Witch Trials. McCarthyism could have been prevented had people learned about the harmful effects of the Salem Witch Trials. Many similarities are shared between McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials that occurred in The Crucible. During McCarthyism, people feared the intrusion of Communism. Similarly, people in the Salem Witch Trials feared the Devil.
Occasion’s Effect The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are very similar even though they took place such a long time from each other. If someone was accused of witchcraft in 1692 they had to confess and lose all social standing or be executed, in the 1950’s if a person was accused of being a communist they would be fired and put on trial, if they would not confess they were blacklisted until they admitted to their “crime”. Arthur Miller used the Salem Witch trials to protest McCarthyism in a somewhat discreet way that proved to be a timeless comfort to the citizens experiencing oppression from their government (“Why I Wrote The Crucible”, 911).
In times of fear and hysteria in the U.S. it is mass chaos and it only gets worse and worse. During the time of both the witch-hunt eras, whether for communist or actual witches, they prove to have many similarities between them. Both of these times were full of confusion and lying which lead to the temporary downfall of the authority at that time. Joseph McCarthy proved to be a factor in this time and add on to the chaos that was America. Arthur Miller wrote about these times in a book called The Crucible, based on the witch trial era.
Both situations spiraled out of control because of ignorance and the use mob mentality. A person who sympathized with Communists was persecuted, just as if someone tried to defend the accused witches of Salem. Parallel to the Salem Witch Trials, the McCarthy Trials accused hundreds of innocent people of being Communists without any proof. Like Salem, if the accused confessed to communism, they would be blacklisted from their community, but not jailed. Sir William Phips was the Governor of Massachusetts at the time of the salem Witch Trials, and he refused to stop the trials until one of the accusers targeted his wife.
The Salem Witch Trials can be compared to many historical events around the world. The Holocaust is one of the most compared events to the Salem Witch Trials. These events are brought together by the facts that both of them were tragic and people died horrifically. Neither of these events were handled in a way that was beneficial for their economies. The Holocaust is a modern day “Witch Hunt” that relates to the Salem Witch Trials due to instinctual prejudice and mass hysteria, but differs in religion and the scale of the executions.
The Salem witch trials and McCarthyism have an uncanny relation to one another. In Salem people were afraid of not appearing christian enough, meanwhile during the 50’s Americans feared of being accused of communism. Also during the McCarthyism era and the witch trials innocent lives were ruined when people were forced to accuse others or be accused themselves. Though The Crucible is an allegory for McCarthyism, it focuses some of its attention on the question what is more important, your honor and reputation or your life?
The Salem witch trials proved to be one of the most cruel and fear driven events to ever occur in history. Many innocent people were accused of witchcraft, and while some got out of the situation alive not everyone was as lucky. Arthur Miller the author of The Crucible conveys this horrific event in his book and demonstrates what fear can lead people to do. But the reason as to why Arthur Miller felt the need to write The Crucible in the first place was because the unfortunate reality that history seemed to have repeated itself again. In the article “Are You Now or Were You Ever”, Arthur Miller claims that the McCarthy era and the Salem witch trials were similar and he does this through his choice of diction, figurative language, and rhetorical questions.
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 is a political attitude as The Salem witch trials were just a hunt for witches. Both McCarthyism and and The Salem witch trials were big mass hysterias Mccarthy had accused three hundred and twenty people of being communists versus the two hundred that were accused of being witches during The Salem witch trials. They both had to deal with attitude in a way mostly, because everyone was terrified they were all trying to find someone guilty as the fear consumed them, they wanted to feel safe in their community safe from the Soviet union or safe from the devil, and they were not going to feel safe until all the ¨communists¨ or ¨witches¨ that are guilty were found. But in all reality these were innocent people in the McCarthyism era and during The Salem witch trials, the innocent didn't deserve to die during The Salem witch trials nineteen innocent people were hanged during The Salem witch trials simply because of other people's fear and falsely accusing them, because they didn't like the person or that other people longed for what they had. The Salem witch trials were quite the tragedy and many suffered from this
McCarthyism was a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the US government. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party. In these two events, many similarities
Mccarthyism vs Salem Witch Trials “Today we are engaged in a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity.” (Joseph McCarthy). McCarthyism is the practice of claiming without sufficient evidence that another person has committed treason ("McCarthyism" lines 1-2 ). During the Salem witch trials, the term Mccarthyism could be used accurately due to the fact that hundreds of people were imprisoned and accused of witchcraft with little to no evidence.
The McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch trials accurately represent the saying, "Desperate times call for desperate measures. " In the 1950s, the McCarthy hearings tainted lives by falsely accusing those in the film industry of being associated with Communism. In the 17th century, the Salem witch trials charged innocent villagers of practicing witchcraft. Victims from the McCarthy hearings were isolated and ruined, while victims from the Salem trials were hanged and shunned.
In the play, The Crucible, Salem, Massachusetts, along with the United States during McCarthyism, is engulfed with paranoia. Although both situations include different causes, their effects are strikingly similar. For instance, throughout The Crucible, Abigail Williams is being shown repeatedly accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Her actions begin sending the small town into a panic as they throw people into jail and hang them in an effort to try and cleanse the town from any aspect of evil. Similarly, throughout 1950-1954, Joseph McCarthy falsely accused people within the United States Government of being a member of the Communist party.