Yelitza Andrade Pyles English 11 Honors 12 October 2015 Witch-hunts Justification In Salem, Massachusetts 1692 the Salem witch trials began when a group of girls lied and said that they were possessed by the devil and the accusations of several innocent people being involved with witchcraft took place. Trials later took place after the accusations for the hearings of each person and to hear their story. Many people who had hearings lied to the court and said that they were possessed to not get executed and to save their lives but many did not want to lie because it was wrong and an injustice. The event led to 19 executions of all innocent people and 100 other innocent women, men, and children were put in prison because of the false accusations. …show more content…
Chris H. Lewis explained, “If your name was placed on one of these blacklists, you could lose your job and your life and reputation could be ruined.” This quote shows how those accused of communism, which was called blacklisting, had their personal lives and hard work taken and ruined. During the times of The Witch Trials, people could easily be falsely accused of witch craft by someone even without evidence. It was the same with McCarthyism and communism because if people were to act strange or differently it would be a sign that they were a communist. With the accusation of being a communist it could end someone’s career or have someone lose their job. Also, some people’s reputation could’ve been ruined and it could’ve harmed the outcome of their work and their image. Whether it was an accusation of witchcraft or communism, they both led to people’s lives being …show more content…
The History Staff explained Hitler’s idea of communists and Jews, “Most problems could be solved, he explained, if communists and Jews were driven from the nation. His fiery speeches swelled the ranks of the Nazi Party, especially among young, economically disadvantaged Germans.” The people of Salem who did not follow the Puritan ways religiously and exactly were accused of witch-like activities and considered guilty because they did not live like other Puritans. The Jews like, the accused of witch craft, were treated badly. Jews were killed, beat, and judged just like people who did not follow the Puritan ways. Jews had the same experience during the Holocaust and the quote is evidence of how they were mistreated by the Nazis. The Jews were mistreated and sent away for being Jewish and not German. In the Holocaust, Jews were sent to concentration camps where they were burned to death and had to work for Germans because they were Jews. The Nazis believed they should be excluded from the German race because they were not like them. The people who were living their lives differently, in both events, were found excluded, judged, and killed because they lived differently than
In both The Crucible and in modern day witch hunts, witch hunts are caused out of fear or for personal gain. Jill Schonebelen wrote a research paper on Witchcraft allegations, refugee protection and human rights. Throughout this article, it mentions the persecution of witches today in communities around the globe, mentioning the flashbacks of similar strategies that were used in the past, doing different types of tortures. In Modern days, recent generations have abandoned wonderful traditions. Rather, recollecting others with distasteful memories such as witchcraft.
Salem Witch Trials During the spring of 1692 a group of girls in Salem Village claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several women to be performing witchcraft.(History) Also a young 9 year old Elizabeth and a 11 year old Abigail in January in 1692 started having fits. They took this issue to a local doctor who diagnosed them with bewitchment. (History)
In fact, “The Salem Witchcraft Trials have taken on an iconic role in American history, and an unjust search for scapegoats is now commonly referred to as a “witch hunt”” (Billings). Now, during the McCarthy Era, an author called Arthur Miller wrote The crucible, a story “about witchcraft at Salem in 1692, and it was inspired by the social and political climate in the United States in the 1950’s” (Bloom 66) The 1962 Salem characters in Miller’s play represented the Americans that were accused of being communist or sympathizing with communists (Trevino).
The Massachusetts Bay Experiment was a colony founded on extreme puritan principal. It was to be a community of “Visible Saints”, for all other religions to look upon, where they could practice their puritan beliefs freely. Whenever there was a problem within the colony the puritans always looked to the church for answers. Since this was such a theocratic society, one could see just how an event such as The Salem Witch Trials could occur. Many historians attribute the cause of the Salem witch trials to various different reasons, it is evident through the various trials and reactions of the people being tried, that the Salem witch trials occurred because of the extremist views of the puritans.
A witch hunt is seen as an intensive effort to discover and expose disloyalty, subversion, dishonesty, or the like, usually based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 and recounts one such witch hunt. During this time, witches and conspiring with the devil were frowned upon by the Puritan church, and were the cause of much fear and suspicion. The Salem Witch Trials were a product of this fear and uncertainty that eventually overwhelmed the village for more than a year. Miller wrote The Crucible during the time America was concerned about the rising power of Communism in the Soviet Union on the heels of World War II.
How Paranoia and blame Affected the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy hearings In the 1690’s, a wave of fear for the devil washed over Salem, Massachusetts, resulting in the accusations of 200 supposed witches and the execution of 20. Almost 200 years later, after World War II, communists were highly feared. The strong urge to stay away from communists led to the McCarthy hearings where many innocent people were accused and tried for being communists. The Salem trials and the McCarthy hearings have many ties, the two closest being how paranoia highly affected the actions of individuals related to the cases and that the only way to save one’s self was to blame others.
The Salem Witch Trials In the summer of 1692, a series of unfortunate events occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, The Salem Witch Trials. These witch trials resulted in the deaths of a score of people, both men and women and imprisonment of more than 200 of the villages residents (Blumberg). There are endless reasons as to why the Puritan village went into hysterics, including but not limited to paranoia, the Puritan’s strict religion, conflict between residents, economic turmoil, an ongoing war, and unexplainable events(Linder).
Most people who were accused of being communist were in reality innocent. Because of these blacklistings, the accused communists lost their jobs, credibility, social status, etc. This event probably sounds familiar or similar to another. The Blacklisting of America and The Salem Witch Trials are often compared because of the similarities of the two. History often repeats itself, and thus, it happened again.
In Salem, Massachusetts, Puritans were strong believers in the Bible. The Bible states, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” The Puritans beliefs led to them accusing 20 innocent people of being a witch, this resulted in their deaths in 1692. Even though the Puritans couldn’t see it at the time, their accusations were really based off jealousy, lies, and Salem being divided into two parts. One cause of the Salem witch trial hysteria was jealousy.
Nearly anyone from the New England has heard of the famous Salem Witch Trials. A year of persecution, leading to the accusation of nearly 200 citizens of all ages. No one was safe; men, women, children, even pets stood trial and 20 were hung for the supposed crime of witchcraft (Blumberg). 1692 was a year of witch hunting. Most today blame the trials on hysteria, or perhaps a bad case of paranoia.
The Salem witch trials, which took place in the late 17th century in colonial Massachusetts, remain one of the most notorious incidents of mass hysteria and injustice in American history. Lasting from 1692 to 1693, this dark chapter claimed the lives of innocent individuals accused of practicing witchcraft. This essay delves into the origins of the witchcraft trials, the role of Massachusetts society in fueling the trials, and the eventual end and repercussions of this tragic event. Origin and First Accused: The witchcraft trials in Salem were sparked by a complex mix of religious, social, and economic factors.
Scapegoating: Taking Heat From Someone Else's Flame In an interview on Faith and Religion with Bill Moyers from PBS, Margaret Atwood once said, “Under stress, society will always scapegoat a person or a group of people.” This belief is shown in the texts The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the cartoon “It’s okay -- We’re hunting Communist” by Herb Block, and her own poem “Half Hanged Mary”.
Throughout history there have been many instances where people were put in jail and even killed for no reason. Two examples of this would be The Salem Witch Trials and The Holocaust. These two events have their similarities and differences, but is ultimately the same situation. The Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 in the town of Salem,Massachusetts (Miller,1124). It all started with a group of young girls(Miller,1124).
The Salem Witch Trials; Madness or Logic In Stacey Schiff’s, List of 5 Possible Causes of the Salem Witch Trials and Shah Faiza’s, THE WITCHES OF SALEM; Diabolical doings in a Puritan village, discuss in their articles what has been debated by so many historians for years, the causes of the Salem Witch trials. Schiff and the Faiza, purpose is to argue the possible religious, scientific, communal, and sociological reasons on why the trials occurred. All while making word by word in the writer’s testimony as if they were there through emotion and just stating simply the facts and theories. They adopt the hectic tone in order to convey to the readers the significance, tragedy, logic, loss, and possible madness behind these life changing events,
Many practicing Christians, at the time, believed that the Devil could persuade people to use the powers that he gave them to harm others. The Salem Witch Trials occurred because of resource struggles, many women were accused and tortured, and in the end the Governor realized that it was a big mistake. (“Salem Witch Trials”, 1). In 1689, English rulers William and Mary started a war with France in the American colonies which sent many refugees into the Essex County and Salem Village.