Essay On Salem Witch Trials Vs Mccarthyism

Like Abigail, McCarthy had no evidence against the people he blamed of being communists. His list contained 205 names of communists and “[was] mainly based on a vague report” (1). Although there was not evidence against the accused communists, the American people were ready to believe that communists had infiltrated their country because the communist Soviet Union had already taken over other countries, including China, Korea, and North Vietnam (“Domino Theory” 1). Like the American people, the town folk of Salem were willing to believe that there were witches in their town since witchcraft had just been discovered in nearby Andover, where forty people were accused of witchcraft ("Andover, Massachusetts” 1). Both McCarthy and Abigail were able to take advantage of the atmosphere of hysteria during their time period to get what they so desperately wanted. Yet their reigns of power did not last long. When Abigail accused highly respected people such as John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse, the townspeople were not so willing to accept that the people they respected were practicing witchcraft. Abigail’s credibility wavered. Likewise, when McCarthy accused officials in the United States Army of being communists and innocent children like Shirley Temple, people began doubting his credibility, especially with the lack of evidence (“The Red Scare: McCarthyism” 1). Although the periods that Abigail and McCarthy controlled people’s fear was

In both The Crucible and McCarthyism, people are accused of being either witches or communists. The accused are placed in such a dire situation where they are either forced to lie to save themselves, or to remain honest, at the risk of their social or physical lives. In The Crucible, John Proctor is accused of practicing witchcraft, and when asked if he is a witch, he responds,“Why it is a lie, it is a lie; how may I damn myself? I cannot, I cannot.” (Act IV pg. 140) He refuses to confess to something he did not do, even if lying means that he can save his life. During the McCarthy trials, people who were accused of being communists refused to confess that they were, although it hurt their reputation. In both

“Arthur Miller made the play called “The Crucible” during the 1950’s as a response to McCarthyism and the U.S. Governments blacklisted people.”(Blakesley). Miller was then question and accused of “Contempt of Congress” for not identifying people that were at meetings he attended. McCarthyism and The Salem Witch Craft Trials have been two very wrong things that have happened in the history of the United States for a lot of reasons. First off they both wrongfully accused innocent people of performing not accepted actions of those times. In America you have a right of free will and in both cases they were denied this right just because of someone else’s opinion. In both cases of the Salem Witch Craft Trials and McCarthyism people were being accused of acts with little evidence. People pointed fingers at others so they wouldn’t get blamed for anything, so there was a scare factor taking place. Large groups of people supported these acts maybe because of a get on board everyone’s doing it theme, and if you disagreed you were considered a witch or a communist. Our country supported McCarthy until later we soon regretted it. During the 1940’s and 1950’s communism was a scare in the U.S. so McCarthy capitalized on the subject and said two hundred card carrying communist were in the U.S(PBS). With the Salem Trials people capitalized on the scare of witches and everyone starting accusing the “weird” people. Accusations weather true or false can

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 hysteria of the public lead to lists being revealed during these events. Senator Joseph McCarthy kept a list of people who were named by the secretary of state as both communist and government members.(Brinkley2). There was also another list revealed during The Red Scare by The HUAC that lead to the trials of the Hollywood Ten. The Hollywood Ten were a group of ten screenwriters charged with communist leanings.(Brinkley3) A list was also created during The Salem Witch trials. The list during The Salem Witch Trials was a petition of 91 names of innocent people who were being accused of witchcraft. Another similarity between both of these events is that if someone were to not confess they would punished. During The Red Scare not confessing lead the being placed on the Black List. The Black List effected people's life's forever by preventing them from having a career. (History)In The Salem Witch Trials when people would not confess, they would be hung. People were often upset because there was no proof of people doing such acts. During The Red Scare the only proof Joseph McCarthy could provide was the list of the accused communist and government members. During The Salem Witch Trials the only proof they had were a group of girls who were accused of witchcraft. It was later revealed that those girls lied about the spirit they saw.

The “communist” scare was causing people to go ballistic and the government had to try and find some means of controlling the public. They began to prosecute and imprison anyone who they suspected of being involved with communism. The government gave people very little chances to prove their innocence and instead just wanted to get rid of them. They had to show that they were in charge and make the American people feel safe in their own country. This account in the McCarthy era is very similar to that of the Salem Witch Trials. The government persecuted anyone they thought to be a “witch”. They had very little to no evidence that these accused people were ever even involved in witchcraft, but they wanted the fear to cease among the people. The occurrences in both the McCarthy era and the Salem Witch Trials mirror each other. Both governments wanted their people to feel safe and for them to know that they were in

In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” it tells the tale of the Salem Witch Trials. At the time of the play, the McCarthy trials, named after Sen. Joseph McCarthy, were underway. Though, instead of hunting for witches, they were hunting for communists. These two trials may have happened at different points in history, but were in many ways the same. Whether it was death to job loss a lot of lives were changed on account of these trials. “The Crucible” and the McCarthy trials have become historically important because they show the process of power, fear, and turmoil.

in the McCarthy trials more than three-hundred twenty people were falsely accused of being communists and in the Salem witch trials more than 100 people were falsely

Innocent people were accused and blamed for witchcraft, in The Crucible and with McCarthyism, people that didn't practice communism were accused anyways. In The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor was accused by Abigail, the reason she did so is because she wanted to be with John Proctor, Elizabeth’s husband. The proof they used was, ¨´Tis hard proof! I find here a poppet Goody Proctor keeps. I have found it, sir. And in the belly of the poppet a needle’s stuck¨ (Miller 78?). The truth of the matter, is that Mary Warren is the one that put the needle in the poppet. They used false and wrong evidence to say that Elizabeth was a witch. This was also shown in the article

     The ruination and deaths of various people of the McCarthy trials and the Salem witchhunt are appalling. Multitudinous amounts of people are affected by these trials. Over 2,000 people are accused and fired by their government positions by the end of the McCarthy trials. During the Salem witchhunt, at least twenty people are hung and 150 others are jailed. The lives of these people, being changed after the trials had to rebuild a new life for themselves. People's careers are destroyed and property is taken away, as a result. The ruination and deaths of various people are a result of Joseph McCarthy's and the girls' unfounded accusations.

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.

The evidence of witchcraft and related works has been around for many centuries. Gradually, though, a mixture a religious, economical, and political reasons instigated different periods of fear and uncertainty among society. Witchcraft was thought of as a connection to the devil that made the victim do evil and strange deeds. (Sutter par. 1) In the sixteenth, seventeenth, and twentieth century, the hysteria over certain causes resulted in prosecution in the Salem Witch Trials, European Witchcraft Craze, and the McCarthy hearings. These three events all used uncertain and unjustly accusations to attack the accused.

In this process essay the reader will learn how the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are similar. Both situations ended up taking on a mob mentality. The Salem Witch Trials started in 1690s when the Trials began, and by the end, over 200 people were accused of witchcraft. The people had a strong belief of the devil and were very religious. The outside threats that were surrounding the people of Salem had created a fear and suspicion within the town. Eventually, the people in Salem realized their mistakes.

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?

“The hunt for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions,” Dwight D. Eisenhower. You can see from this that he is trying to relay the message that when you’re looking for blame, there are many people to cast it on. This idea is relative to the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy trials because the supposed “witches” and “communists” were just scapegoats for the fear that the common man had. In the Witch Trials, there were 19 people hung, guilty of not confessing and naming names of other people preforming witchcraft. Joesph McCarthy of McCarthyism blacklisted hundreds of Americans, those who failed to name names were later accompanied by unemployment. Arthur Miller depicted the McCarthy Era as the Salem Witch Trials through the