Comparison Between Abigail Williams And The Red Scare

At first, he had everything going for him. He has a farm, sons, and a wife. Proctor was thought of as a man with honor and integrity. He respected himself. Then Abigail entered his life. She was seventeen and worked for the Proctors. Mrs. Proctor was very sick and could not give him the attention a man desires. Before long Proctor had an affair

In the 1950’s, Senator Joseph McCarthy turned Americans against each other by installing fear in the people regarding toward Communism. During this time, in fact, people were getting blacklisted even if they weren't communist. In an incident at the Republican Women’s Club of Wheeling, McCarthy delivered a speech. The situation involving the Senator escalated when he stated that the State Department is infested with Communist. In this point in time, due to the false allegations, people went on a decade long period of witch hunts. Sam Roberts, the author of “A Decade of Fear” stated that in fact, “...thousands of alleged Communists in the U.S. were arrested and deported during what became known as the Red Scare.”

The Red Scare, also known as McCarthyism, took place during the 1950’s when Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy was elected during a time of fear as the Cold War’s lasting effects wore on the people of America. McCarthy could twist the anger and fear of the American citizens to produce a new social phenomenon, Communism invading our politics. McCarthy was elected as the Senator in 1946 and became a household name four years later in 1950 when he claimed 205 communists infiltrated the State Department. McCarthy’s vigorous investigation for communists in the political society made him an incredibly influential political figure. Two years later in 1952, he obtained the chairmanship for the Government Operations Party while also being reelected. McCarthy began questioning

In 1680 Salem, Massachusetts Abigail Williams was born, her uncle is Reverend Samuel Parris and her cousin Elizabeth “Betty” Parris. Around 1697 at the age of 17 Abigail has made herself known as a mistress and someone who has supposedly been working with the “Devil” and interacting with witchcraft. Abigail was accused of being in an affair with john Proctor, because of their affair John’s wife Elizabeth Proctor hates Abigail with a passion. Abigail’s motives were evil and disturbing, she was accused by her uncle that she may have been dealing with witchcraft while she was with her friends. When rumors were going around Salem that women and men are working with the Devil, Abigail knew that she must do anything to make sure no one found out about her dark secret. Not only was Abigail working with the “Devil” she worked with her friends Mercy Lewis, Mary Warren, Tituba, and Betty. While Abigail and Betty not wanting their family and the town to find out about them they accused innocent men and women who were witches. As Abigail’s and John Proctors relationship ending badly, Abigail’s motive was to get rid of Elizabeth Proctor for good. Elizabeth knew

In Marion L. Starkey’s book, The Devil in Massachusetts, she tells the story of the accusations and hysteria that stirred up Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Many people were charged with being a witch or being involved with the devil. What seemed to have just started off as a “game” to a group of girls soon turned into the execution of twenty people. The major causes of the Salem witch trials involve boredom from strict Puritan beliefs, and the fear of being accused for witchcraft.

A group of young girls started to accuse several women of participating in witchcraft, or even worse that they were being possessed by the devil. But this is only an effect of where it all truly began, when these girls mentioned before, whose names were Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, started to display strange behavior which consisted of them making odd sounds abnormal screams, and contorting their bodies or in some cases throwing objects. After this occurrence both girls started to claim that an invisible being was scratching and biting them. After them many young girls started to act similarly. This event unleashed a series of merciless and callous trials, which claimed where for the hunting down of the malicious beings that corrupted their community. Most of the people accused, declared themselves as not guilty, and pleaded their innocence till their death, which was in fact a cause of such harsh

During the 1950s there was a rise in the fear of communism called “The Red Scare”. Senator Joseph McCarthy was one of the many people who contributed to people’s fear by making a list of people who he said were communists even though there was no proof in most cases. In an article by Alan Brinkley called “The 1950s Part One: McCarthy and The Red Scare”, it informs, “McCarthy was only one of many who helped create the great fear. The Red Scare was visible in almost every area of American life” (Brinkley). This quote tell us that in the 1950s even though Senator Joseph McCarthy was a huge contributor to The Red Scare. His list of suspected communists made rumors spread and the people on the list get questioned and even go to jail when in some cases they were innocent. It also says in the article by USHistory.org called “McCarthyism: Witch Hunting and Blacklisting in America”, that, “In the 1950s anyone who was considered a communist could be questioned and thrown in jail” (USHistory.org). Which means that his allegations could have easily put people in prison.

On February 9, 1950, Joe McCarthy began interrogating suspected Communists in the United States. McCarthy stated, “I hold in my hand a list of people named by the secretary of state as members of the communist party still serving in Government ”(McCarthy). What McCarthy was trying to accomplish in doing this, was to emit fear into the eyes of the people so that they would be more impressionable, and by showing them the “list” of people who were rumored to be communists, he ensured their fear and made his point. For a few years, this method worked only in limited ways, although many people were deported back to Russia, and as stated in the article, “McCarthy and the Red scare”, President

The Red Scare was a time of mass hysteria for the nation. It occurred during the Cold War, which was after World War II, when the Soviet Union and America were undergoing economic and political altercations. Due to some Americans previously helping the Soviet Union during World War II, it was greatly feared that those very Americans would commit treason by providing the Soviet Union with information that could harm American society and the security of the United States (Red Scare). Nevertheless, during the 1990’s, sources revealed that three hundred or more American communists did give Soviets information during World War II. This concludes that espionage was a legitimate threat. Furthermore, the question remains, were the actions to prevent communism taken too far? Joseph McCarthy played a large role in the second Red Scare because essentially he was responsible for the false accusations of innocent people in order to look more powerful. Consequently, McCarthy’s tactics involved many to be placed on a blacklist, or

When senator Joseph McCarthy announced the presence of communists in the United States, aroused fear in the public which led to infamous the Red Scare. Senator McCarthy used this fear to his advantage and political standing. The Red Scare took place in the late 1940s and late 1950s, as a result of the cold war conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. According to History , the Soviets had long carried out espionage activities in the U.S. with the aid of American citizens, http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/red-scare. Though there were some spies in America; the methods of searching for communists by McCarthy were not very effective or logical.

While McCarthy may have been an adept manipulator of America’s fear of communism, by the time he made his allegations, these fears were already firmly entrenched in the American consciousness. Dating back as far the first Red Scare, during which a number of labor strikes were falsely attributed to communist agitation, Americans had been lead to believe that communism not only posed a threat to their way of life, but that communist agents were actively at work within not only America, but the American government. These fears were further exacerbated by the onset of the cold war following World War II, and by Truman’s announcement in 1949 that Russia had developed nuclear capabilities roughly 10 years ahead of schedule, which had lead to allegations of soviet espionage. Additionally, the case of Alger Hiss, which had been tried concurrently with McCarthy’s allegations, had presented the possibility that there were in fact a large number of high-level American government officials who were transmitting classified documents to Russia (the fact that Hiss had was a former member of the State Department of course helped McCarthy’s cause), despite the fact that this was probably not the

Also during this time from the late 1940s to the late 1950s began McCarthyism and the scare of Communism being the United States. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin would be pushed into the public spotlight by the issue of anti-Communism. It was discovered later that the FBI had helped give McCarthy the information to help him start his campaign against Communism. For several years, McCarthy operated to seek out and destroy the lives of people whom he or others had declared as being a Communist. Lytle mentions that McCarthy charged that Communists had penetrated the United States by becoming involved in churches, the army, the CIA, and the hydrogen bomb program. Even after McCarthy’s eventual political death, McCarthyism still went on and took longer to fade away. McCarthyism was the lasting legacy of McCarthy that put the nation in a frenzy. It was characterized by false accusations of neighbors, family members, and friends and being part of the Communist party. These accusations meant that these peoples’ lives were over. They had no more authority, respect, or even career opportunities after being accused, albeit falsely.

John Proctor was married and had two boys and another child on the way. He was a family man that made some mistakes, but made up for it. John had an affair with a young girl by the name of Abigail Williams. He ended

The whole nation was in terror of the possibility of being accused of communism. The postwar Red Scare is often called “McCarthyism,” That was when the Senator Joseph McCarthy a Republican from Wisconsin took the opportunity to join in the Politics of the United States. After a great time of social and economic instability, the start of the great depression and continued by the WWII McCarthy claim that "the government is full of communists." this was exactly what the Americans citizens were seeking; a scapegoat. This caused McCarthy to become very popular really fast. What McCarty promises was to get rid of the communism in the government of the U.S. by this accusations that McCarthy claim of "205 communists in the State Department" in our own government. It could feel a security environment over the American people once again. Joseph McCarthy not only destroyed some people's lives, he also damaged the American

McCarthy accused his own people by claiming they were communists among them, even as politicians. From that, there has been great suspicion because of what McCarthy warned, to the Americans thinking their next door neighbor is a Commie. Moreover, McCarthy created a mass hysteria just by announcing, there were members of the Communist Party in America, even in the government, or the government was working with the party. Sam believe’s that from the words, McCarthy advised, which were the “State Department is infested with Communists”, he then caused an uproar from the people(A Decade of Fear 13). Next, McCarthy formed a big deal about Communism, Mr. McCarthy went ahead and started to blame citizens without evidence or proof if they were even