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Comparing and contrasting salem witch trials and mccarthyism
Salem witch trials causes of hysteria
Psychological perspective of the salem witch trials
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There have been a ton of witch hunts, an event that persecutes a group of people based on ethnicity, color, or beliefs, throughout our time with some of the prominent ones being the Salem Witch Trials, Japanese Internment Camps, and McCarthyism. The Salem Witch Trials are an event that takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 and lasts until 1693. This event included people - mainly women - being accused of being a witch and were hung after they had a trial to prove if the claim of being a witch was false. This all started occurring after a group of girls faked being possessed by someone who had satanist powers. This event caused an uproar at the time because of the influence that religion played in people’s lives at the time causing them
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 the 1940 's and 1950 's, an anti-Communist movement swept the United States of America. Fueled by the anti-Communist actions of Congress, particularly a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy, the movement escalated and many people lost their jobs as a result of various blacklists. Congressional hearings, both in front of HUAC and McCarthy Senate committee were a study in organized persecution. The actions taken during the "Red Scare" were eventually given the general name McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.
Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem,¨ written by Rosalyn Schanzer, starts off with a group of Puritans from Europe who have come to settle in Salem, Massachusetts. This religion is very different from modern-day Christianity. People started being accused as witches in the 1640s. However, witch hunts aren 't as rare as people might think; there have been a few witch hunts since the 1690s.
Michelle Rodriguez 10/30/17 Mr. O. Garza 3rd Blk (A-day) Fuller The Crucible It’s 1692; the people of Salem, Massachusetts are under a government of theocracy and talk of a reverends daughter, Betty, has emerged. Rumors that Betty has been bewitched start to travel from ear to ear and her father isn’t very fond of it.
What a Horrible World In today 's day and age we have more technological, medicinal, societal, and worldly advancements than we did in either 1692 or 1947, but we are still just as easily corrupted by jealousy, power, and paranoia. The years 1692 and 1947 are perfect examples of prospering societies that became undermined through very similar processes. In 1629 the Salem Witch Trials and in 1947 the McCarthy Communist Trials- were both held unjustly, involving condemnation based on unfair trial practices. People desperately admitted to being a witch (1692) or to being a communist (1947) only because they didn’t want to die. Even if you were found innocent your life was virtually over because your career and livelihood had been destroyed
Akinola Osota Constitution Tiffany Bergman November 19, 2015 During the 1940s and 1950s era, McCarthyism was the practice of condemning others because of false activity deprived of appropriate evidence and the hunt for Communists in the government and public life. When McCarthyism started it was originated from a former senator of Wisconsin in Joseph McCarthy. McCarthyism was originated from him because of the allegation that was made on government officials. Allegations that were made were not good for some careers because it led to different kind of trial and hearing that damaged the career of others.
The word hysteria defines an exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion among a group of people. “Paranoia breeds paranoia,...” a famous quote from Arthur Miller’s essay that alludes to the use of mass hysteria that struck fear to the bourgeois of two eras that stained the face of American history. By creating and exploiting public hysteria as a means to obtain power and manipulate people as seen through the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and the McCarthy Era which lasted a little under a decade. Both calamitous events shared common factors that contributed to their beginnings as well as helping them retain momentum.
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.
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.
In 1692 The Salem Witch Trials started, it was a time when the Puritans, people who were strict to the bible, believed that there were witches living among them trying to taint their society. This ended quickly because the court concluded that the Witch Trials were a mistake after 200 people had been accused of witchcraft while 20 were executed. A long period of time after this, shortly after the end of WW2, in 1947, The Second Red Scare occured in America during the Cold War. This was a fear the Americans had for communists from Russia. The Americans feared communism because it did not allow private owned businesses or practicing religious acts.
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.
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
As time has passed, throughout history, during different periods of time there are parallels. There are three eras that we are focussed on, where there are three types of people during each era. The three different eras that we’re focusing on, are The Salem Witch Trials (1600s), The McCarthy Era (1950s), and Today (2000s); the three types of people are the people who are the reasons why there’s accusations towards the accused, the accused, and finally the accusers. In The Crucible, or during the Salem Witch Trials, the person that’s the reason why characters were accused is John Proctor. The accuser in the play, who decides to point fingers at everyone, is Abigail Williams.
Over 300 years ago, more than 100 citizens of the colony of Massachusetts were accused of the crime of witchcraft, and many executed. Although this era in history, known as the Salem Witch Trials, lasted only mere months, its impact on the American criminal justice system has lasted until present day. Although both the trials in Salem and modern America are based on a similar justice system, there are vast differences, specifically in the rights of the defense, most notable in the separation of Church and State, the standards of evidence, and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The modern American criminal justice system, in comparison to that of the time of the Salem Witch Trials, has changed drastically. No longer is the rule of law based on
