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). The Salem witch trials took place in Salem Village, Massachusetts. The group of girls claims to have seen magic or witchcraft. Years later, people began speculating the actual reality of the actions witnessed and believe it was actually caused by wheat and rye during that time that had a type hallucinatory fungus growing on it. This fungus is called Ergot, it has a byproduct similar to the drug Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). The side effects of this fungus after progression include: convulsions, spasms, vision problems, confusion, and death of not treated …show more content…
Nineteen were hung, one was pressed and tortured to death, hundreds were imprisoned, and five had died while waiting to be trialed in prison. They were just a victim of being someone’s personal vendetta. The witch trials were revolved around a group of women that were said to of witnessed witchcraft. These young women were thirsting after their enemies to get the type of justice they thought to believe was reasonable for things certain people had done in the past that enraged them. Witch hunts like these root back far, all the way back to New England. During the 17th century europe was swarmed with accusations of
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.
"Our job as Americans and as Republicans is to dislodge the traitors from every place where they 've been sent to do their traitorous work."(McCarthy, Joseph R.)
In 1692 women were accused of being witches. This resulted in the execution of twenty
John Mellencamp once said, “When you live in hysteria, people start thinking emotionally.” Arthur Miller's drama The Crucible expresses many themes including the dangers of pride and envy. However, out of many themes conveyed in The Crucible the most applicable, that relates to Puritan America and the McCarthy Era, is the role that mass hysteria plays in tearing down a community. In The Crucible, hysterical fear becomes a senseless means of declaring the bitterness and anger subdued by Puritan society.
The Salem Witch trials and what caused them is very debatable. Some theories lead to Rye poisoning from bread to even people faking it. The most believable claim is that people were faking it. Everyone had a motive and they all just wanted to save themselves. It was a time when people were selfish and only cared for themselves.
include persecution of the accused, large-scale scares in the involved communities, and the incarceration of many innocent people. People in Salem, as well as the United States during the Red Scare, were always on edge for any hints of these offenders.
The Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 when a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the Devil, Which was essentially being a witch. The punishment of being a witch was death. After the girls trials were done they were all hung at the Salem gallows. After That 150 women and children were accused. But in the end only 18 people were killed by the state of Massachusetts.
Mc McCarthyism was the practice of making accusations of subversion or reason without proper regard for evidence Senator Joe Mc carthy and chief counsel Roy Cohn interrogating suspected communists. At a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, on February 9, 1950, Mc carthy proclaimed that he was aware of 205 card-carrying members of the Communist Party who worked for the United States Department of State.
Many years ago before I was born, history was made .There were two major events that made history which where the “Salem witch trials” and “McCarthyism”. One started in the late 1600’s while the other started in the 1900’s. In these two events they had a lot of similarities, but they also had some differences as well. As years go by we can see what actually sparked these events and what made them go down in history. The Salem witch trials started in the 1692 in Massachusetts Bay Colony.
What is The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism? Well, The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are somewhat similar. Both happened around the same time and in the same year. The Salem Witch Trials had to do with witches. Girls committed sins by dancing in the woods and drinking blood, while guys had affairs and tried lying for the girls in the courthouse.
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of accused witches in Massachusetts during the year 1692. It is notorious for being a dark time in American history because 20 innocent people were killed. Today, many people know about the actual outcome of the witch trials; but many people don’t know how the trials even started.
Psychologist Caporael did some research into the Salem witch trials and noticed a connection between the unusual symptoms that the accusers reported and symptoms of the hallucinogenic effects of a drug like LSD. LSD is a derivative of ergot, a fungus that affects rye grain which is caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea. This fungus can affect rye, wheat, and other cereal grasses which were all in popular demand in Salem at the time of the witch trials. Toxicologist found that eating ergot-contaminated food could lead to violent muscle spasms, vomiting, delusions, hallucinations, crawling sensations on the skin, and a host of other symptoms. This was very ironic due to the fact that these symptoms were reported by the accusers in the witch trials. Majority of the accusers lived in Salem Village which was a region of swampy meadows and would be a perfect place for the fungi to grow. The accusers could have easily been contaminated by the large quantities of ergot which would explain their symptoms.
In American history there were two significant events known as the Salem witch trails and McCarthyism. Theses events that took place were dreadful and overwhelming. The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft. On the other hand McCarthyism is a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the US government. In the Salem Witch Trails people were being indicted just like in McCarthyism; furthermore did not have a lot of confirmation to accuse. In either events people faced serious and harsh consequences if accused. McCarthyism and Salem witch trials both are a popular and rich topic. Peoples lives were being destroyed when convicted. Other ways these to things compare is the anger that
In the spring of 1692 the Salem witch trials began. During this time in history women accused of being witches often faced being torture, testing, and trials. Most of the time witches experienced executions if not that, put in jail. The townspeople tortured the accused witches in the most inhumane ways. This is considered a very dark and eerie time of the Puritans in Salem, Massachusetts (P., Shaunak).
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of men and women accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts starting in the winter of 1691-1692. The last of the trials were held in January of 1693. Several hundreds of men and women were accused and by the end of 1692, 19 men and women had been put to death for their actions as if the devil were in Salem. Ergotism was the cause of the Salem Witch Trials. Ergot, which grows on the rye crop, when eaten the fungus can cause symptoms that the early colonists considered to be witchcraft. Symptoms of ergotism were compared to those of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and were found very similar to the symptoms of hysteria. The climate that the rye grows in either promotes or demotes the growth of the fungus.