The Red Scare And The Salem Witch Trials And The Crucible

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a series of prosecutions of people who were accused of acts of witchcraft or of being a witch in Salem, Massachusetts through the time period of February 1692 through May 1693. This was a dark time in history as more than 200 prosecutions took place and at least 20 people were killed during this time of fear and hysteria. The accusations began as three girls Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne were accused of witchcraft from other young girls in the community. During this time period, fear of the Devil was common as people in Salem were very devoted to their religion and religious practices. As one of the accused girls, Tituba, confessed to working for the Devil and admitting to being a witch, this caused panic and hysteria as a massive witch hunt took place to find more of these witches. This confession was the main reason behind months and months of fear and mass panic as it triggered more accusations.

Fear can be a person’s strongest, or weakest, part of how we react to things considered threatening. McCarthy used people’s fear to gain power, he gained a lot by claiming that people in high government positions were conversing with a formidable enemy. In one of his speeches, McCarthy held up a piece of paper, claiming it listed 224 names of Americans that had ties with communists. Although this list was never shown to anyone but McCarthy, no one tried to get the accused people freed from their charges of treason. The reason for this was that anyone who questioned the truth, or anyone who knew the truth and tried to get it public, was accused of communism and ‘taken care of’. (spartacus education) The fear and accusations McCarthy put on people was similar to a character in Arthur

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)

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, communism was a major threat to the United States. Joseph McCarthy, a senator at the time, attempted to capitalize on this by accusing over two hundred men and women of sneaking communism into the United States government or for supporting the cause.* Among these two hundred men and women were several authors, including Arthur Miller. In explaining his reasoning for writing The Crucible, Miller said, ". . . my basic need was to respond to a phenomenon which, with only small exaggeration, one could say was paralyzing a whole generation and in an amazingly short time was drying up the habits of trust and toleration in public discourse."* After visiting Salem and researching the events of the Salem Witch Trials, Miller realized how the havoc of these events corresponded to the events in the 1940s and 1950s.*

The Salem Witch Trials were a time of paranoia and mass hysteria. In this small town of Massachusetts hundreds were accused of witchcraft and 19 people were executed. Salem was home to very devout Puritans. The worries arrived when young girls would become sick with no explanation or cure. The doctors not knowing what the cause of the illness was, quickly pronounce the girls bewitched. It spread terror through the town. The girls, as well as other residents, started accusing others of witchery. Many accusations were because of vengeance or self-interest. There were rivalries between families over land or wealth. Neighbors started accusing each other in order to gain their land. The religious community had an intensified sense of fear that the Devil was walking among them. They believed witches were out to destroy the Puritans. In order to purify the village of evil they had trials for the accused.

The Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. As a wave of hysteria spread throughout colonial Massachusetts, a special court convened in Salem to hear the cases; the first convicted witch, Bridget Bishop, was hanged that June. By September 1692, the hysteria had begun to spread and public opinion turned against the trials. Though the Massachusetts General Court later annulled guilty verdicts against accused witches and granted indemnities to their families, bitterness lingered in the community, and the painful legacy of the Salem witch trials would endure for centuries.

Throughout history, there have been many cases of discriminatory accusations of people, including the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials were a string of trials, hearings and prosecutions of many people accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts between the dates of February 1692 and May 1693. The trials ended up leading to the execution of twenty people, men and women, but mainly women. The Salem Witch Trials that took place about three hundred years ago affected the lives of everyday civilians during that time in ways such as politically, religiously, economically, fearfully, mentally, and sometimes in other various other ways.

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

The Salem Witch Trials were a series of accusations, trials, and executions based on the supposed outbreak of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. The trials began during the spring of 1692, and the last of them ended in 1693. It all started when two young girls, Abigail and Betty Parris, began experiencing violent convulsions and outbursts, which were thought to be brought about by witchcraft. Whether they were faking these symptoms, were afflicted with an actual sickness, or were experiencing them because of some sort of psychological reason is widely debated, though it is known that the sisters accused their maid, Tituba, of forcing them to participate in witchcraft with her. Some who theorize about the causes of the trials dismiss the Parris girls involvement in the beginning and instead attribute the outbreak of accusations to judgement upon the members of society who break social or religious rules, or who struck the upright members of society as ‘strange’ and ‘suspicious’, such as the homeless, the poor, and old or widowed women. The cause of the hysteria that went on in Salem after this is what is speculated by so many. There are probably hundreds of theories out there, but a few in particular are more widely known, accepted, and supported than others.

Life in New England was far more robust than in the Chesapeake. While in the Chesapeake, population growth greatly depended on new English immigrants, life in New England essentially revolved around large families. As a result, population growth was far more organic in New England, and moderate natural conditions permitted much longer lifespans for New Englanders. New England’s clean water and colder temperatures stopped the spread of disease and made building settlements easier than in the Chesapeake. Additionally, New England boasted small towns and smaller farms, with their economy largely made up of shipbuilding and fishing in the abundant rivers of the north.

Life in the New England colonies during the 1600’s proved to be harsh with the constant fear of Native American attacks, scarce food, freezing winters, and conflicting opinions about religion. From this perpetual state of distress, the Salem Witch Trials were birthed, causing a wave of hysteria in Salem Village and Salem Town. Though the exact day and month is uncertain, historians can claim that the trials emerged in early 1692 and came to a close in 1693. The Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 with more than one hundred fifty people being accused of practicing witchcraft, and the trials finally ended with the courts declaring there was no evidence in the cases being tried, and the Governor stopped the trials because his wife was accused.

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 resulted in 20 executions and 2 of them were kids. The first victims were a group of young girls that people said were possessed by the devil, that is the first people that were killed in this era.

The Salem Witch Trials took place during 1691 and 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. Over 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft resulting in 20 people being executed. Many religions during this time period believed that the Devil was able to give certain people the power to harm people. These trails ultimately began when the Reverend’s daughter, age 9 and his niece, age 11 started having “fits.” During these episodes they would scream, throw things, make strange

The Salem Witch taken place in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. Young girls that lived in the salem village made everyone in the village to believe that they were possessed by witches and accused 7 women to be the reason for their possession . for the young girl's accusation of claiming the people they have accused has put them on trial.The person who knew the young girl's secret was one of the girls Abigayle uncles Samuel Parris , who was also the minister of the town's church. Instead of confessing that his niece was faking he went along with the act just to save his career. Since salem is a very religious town they were frighten by the fact of witches. If you did not confess that you were a witch you were sentenced to death until you confess but if you did confess you will live .

In 1692, a gloomy and horrendous time in American History occurred, especially for the people in the small village of Salem. This dark time in history was known as the Salem Witch Trials. In the Salem Witch Trials more than 200 people in the Salem village were accused of practicing witchcraft and twenty innocent people were killed during the frightening time of the trials.The Salem Witch Trials was a series of cases due to witchcraft brought before local judges in the village in the Massachusetts Bay colony in the seventeenth century. The trials officially began in February of 1692, when three women named Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, were accused of witchcraft by four girls who intentionally started the “witchcraft”. The Salem Witch Trials finally ended in May of 1693, when the judges decided to let all of the inmates accused of witchcraft out of jail. Although the trials did not occur for a long period of time, the trials did have a major impact on American History.