Compare And Contrast Salem Witch Trial And Mc Mccarthyism

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. These trials began after a group of young girls in Massachusetts claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several other locals of witchcraft. After this broke out a special court convened in Salem to “hear and determine” (Mather 328)

History is known for having ways to replay itself, for example, the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Trials. The Salem Witch Trials were a sequence of hearings and accusations that took place between 1692 and 1693. In these trials over 200 people were accused of having contact with the Devil and around 20 were victims of false accusations and death. The McCarthy trials, extremely similar, a series of hearing were Senator Joseph McCarthy accused the U.S. of allowing communist to have a seat in their government causing over 2,000 government members to lose their employment. Both the McCarthy Trials and Salem Witch Trials display history’s repetitions with the similarities of mass hysteria, the absence of proper evidence, and accused outcasts.

The Salem witch trials and the story of Joseph McCarthy are very similar; they both accused innocent people of doing things that were “bad” at the time. The Salem Witch trials were persecutions of men and woman on account of performing witchcraft. Two girls accused a woman of doing witchcraft and then the accusations continued, people accused other people to relieve their own punishment in a last ditch effort to save their lives, but it was in vein. After the witch trials were over “19 had been killed and an elderly man pressed to death under heavy stones”(Linder). “Some accused of witch craft were burned at the stake all in the name of justice”(Brown). Others were finally let out of jail after being in imprisonment for months at a time.

If one observes the past, they will notice that history is inevitable to repeat itself, and that throughout time there have been several events that shape how we live today. Two examples of those are the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism, both of which were a string of trials that charged people with being things they were not. The trials took place in Colonial Massachusetts from 1692 to 1693, while McCarthyism lasted from 1950-1957. The Salem witch trials involved accusations against alleged witches while the era of McCarthyism consisted of investigations held against alleged communists. Despite the two being over two hundred fifty years apart, they were still caused by the same basic reasons. The Salem witch trials and McCarthyism also had many resemblances. These included false accusations against citizens, unfair trials without any substantial evidence to prove a person’s innocence or guilt, and a widespread fear in the society against the people accused of the supposed crimes.

The United States of America is filled with many historic events, enriching its history. Many events that occur are compared to past events in our history. In particular, the McCarthy Era in the 1950’s was compared to the Salem Witch Trials which occurred in 1692. This correlation was first made by Arthur Miller who wrote the play “The Crucible”. He connected the time period of McCarthy to where there was a hunt for communists, to the Salem Witch Trials where there was a hunt for witches. Following that, many comparisons and contrasts have been made between the two. The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthy Era are both similar, yet different.

The Salem Witch Trials, also know as the Salem Witchcraft Trials were legal proceedings which took place of course in the Salem Village of Massachusetts. These trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in the village, claimed to be possessed by the devil accusing several local women of practicing the craft. Victims were prosecuted and executed for reputedly practicing witchcraft, when little to no evidence of the act itself existed. This historical period resulted in twenty people, mostly women, being hung for black magic conspiracies. Neighbors accused neighbors; even church members accused other church members of witchcraft. Others were accused, but fled the area before they could be arrested. During this time

Hysteria (noun); meaning an exaggerated or uncontrolled emotion or excitement especially among other people. The Salem Witch Trial and McCarthyism’s connections run deeper than what appears on the surface. Joseph McCarthy was a U.S. senator. Joseph was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin during the early 1900’s. He was elected in 1946, four years later McCarthy came out publicly stating that there were around 205 communists that have invaded the U.S.. This makes him known for his ways of accusing those without actual factual evidence to prove his suspicions. Both of these incidents have caused a grand amount of hysteria and both happened because of suspicion and personal vendettas and both made a lasting impact on history (Brooks).

McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. McCarthyism was used to make unfair allegations and using unfair investigative techniques in order to restrict dissent or political criticism. McCarthyism was developed by Joseph McCarthy, the whole purpose of why he did it was to scare Americans in order to make them not want to be a communist. McCarthyism led to several people being accused of being part of the communist party all by people blaming them when they had no hard facts that they were even a part of communism.

Certainly there are many parallels between the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy era. The events leading up to the

Numerous things in history can apply to one another in different aspects. The comparison between the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism is a credible example of events in history that parallel one another. With an analysis of these two historical events, it can be seen that panic and chaos were ever-present in these times. It is evident that this chaos ruined the lives of many people, as people were accused of being witches and communists without reason. The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism held wild fears that witchcraft and communism would suppress society if drastic changes were not made. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory in relation to McCarthyism.

The McCarthy Trials on Communism were similar to The Salem Witch trials because in both cases people were wrongfully accused, and hurt by the accusations. The trials are different because The McCarthy Trials on Communism happened in the 1950s and hurt people’s jobs, while the Salem Witch Trials happened in the 1690s and innocent citizens of Salem were executed because people believed the devil was possessing women and men in the town. In the McCarthy Trials, McCarthy was a politician who promoted his own campaign by using biased information and accusations of the opposing candidates. Later in his career when he was running for re-election, his close friend Edmund Walsh suggested a crusade, or an organized campaign concerning a social, political,

In order to be accurate in accusing someone of a crime, you must have the appropriate evidence to back up your story. In The Crucible, many people were accused of practicing witchcraft. The ones who confessed, were sentenced to jail and the ones who denied it, were killed. The only way they had to prove what was being done, was spectral evidence. Therefore, the only person known to tell the truth was the victim. McCarthyism involved communists, like The Crucible, those who were accused were sentenced to jail time. The parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism are naming names, the lack of evidence, and rebellion against the government in which they served.

Many people often question what McCarthyism is and what it stands for but today there will be light shed on the subject and they can figure out how real it was. In the first place, The definition of McCarthyism is, “The practice of making accusations of disloyalty, especially of pro-Communist activity, in many instances unsupported by proof or based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence”(McCarthyism). The practices of McCarthyism were very unjust and many people were wrongfully accused of

McCarthyism arose in the 1950s. “It originally intended to criticize the anti-communist views of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. People were afraid of Communism influencing America 's companies and the Soviet Union spying on them. It took on a more broad but similar meaning over time and was eventually used to describe an unsubstantiated accusation of someone.” ("McCarthyism")

Many people in this world are accused of crimes so absurd that when put to trial, they name others of the same crime to redirect the focus from them to others like it happens in the actual day, every year, with minor cases. McCarthyism was one of those cases that changed history, likewise the Salem Witch Trials. McCarthyism had the same effect on people, people who were accused of communism blame others to lessen their penalty like in the Salem Witch Trials, so how the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Era can connects although the great difference in time?