Fear is a dangerous tool, for it can be used in countless ways and for numerous objectives. Politics of fear is the concept that people may incite fear in the general public to achieve political or workplace goals through emotional bias. Two examples of politics of fear being used in the past to “convince” people to do something are the witch trials in Salem and the McCarthy hearings. While far apart in time, they are extremely similar in idea and process, both had an end goal of getting their respective “defendants” to incriminate themselves. The Salem witch trials were a sequence of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1690’s. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people. The time …show more content…
Joseph McCarthy produce a series of investigations and hearings during the 1950s in an effort to expose supposed communist infiltration of various areas of the U.S. government. The fear of Russia played a major factor in McCarthyism. Around those times there was a deep fear among the American people and government of Russia. This allowed for a much easier path to investigate the alleged communists without any pushback. As McCarthy built up speed there was less and less pushback and more support from pouring in from all corners of America. ‘Merica had a deep fear of Russia and Russian spies, which was caused by the feeling of impending war between Russia and America. During hearings, McCarthy often asked extremely detailed questions involving what the person did 10 years ago. When the accused persons would invoke the Fifth Amendment to protect themselves, McCarthy would say this is "the most positive proof obtainable that the witness is …show more content…
In both, majority of the people would end up lying out of fear put on them by the government or the population. In the Salem Witch trials people were accused of being witches and many were hanged. With McCarthyism people were accused of being sympathetic to and involved with russia and communism. Throughout both cases these people were accused without much evidence, and mass hysteria heavily contributed. The McCarthy Hearings were referred to as "witch-hunts" because of their similarity to the Salem witch trials. They both struck fear in the people due to the "guilty until you confess" attitude which ruled the courts. In Salem the only way to escape death was to confess and repent; in the McCarthy hearings if you were accused, whether guilty or not, you would always be viewed as a Communist. McCarthy also relates to Abigail in The Crucible, because they both made false accusations against innocent people. McCarthy accused people of being communists, whereas Abigail accused people of being
The Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy-era hearings had some events in common. In the Salem Witch Trials the town was on the hunts for witches. Nobody was safe from the accusations. This is similar to the McCarthy-era hearings. In both Situations, if one person did not like the other, they could accuse them of either witch craft or being an undercover communist.
Do you have any younger siblings who can blame anyone if they do something wrong and the person they accused will get in trouble? That's how the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism were. Neighbors and friends would be able to blame someone for something with false accusations. For instance, in the Salem Witch Trials it would be witchcraft and for McCarthyism it would be for being communist. McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials are related because they both were caused by fear and mass hysteria.
How are the Holocaust and the Salem Witch Trial similar? Although the Salem Witch Trials and the Holocaust took place in diverse time periods, they both have many corresponding themes such as the killing of innocent people, false accusations, and hysteria. In the spring of 1692, The Salem Witch Trials began in Salem Village, Massachusetts and ended in June 1692 (Miller). During this time period, many men, women, and even children were accused of witchcraft (Salem Witch Trials).
One parallel between McCarthyism and The Crucible is that immense power was given to those who accused others. McCarthy’s unsubstantiated claims ruined the lives of many people living in America, and the girls’ unsubstantiated accusations ruined the lives of many people living in Salem. Both McCarthy’s actions and the girls’ actions led to increased hostility and hysteria. In both instances, the accusers could accuse anyone they wished to accuse, and they did not have to show much or any evidence; their claims were unreliable and erratic. This is portrayed in Documents B and C.
Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" is written about the salem Witchcraft trial of 1692, these trials conssisted of women being accused of being witches, being sentenced to death, tortured, and their reputation would be forever tarnished. The similar "McCarthy" hearings were trials in which Senator JoeMcarthy accused government employees of being comunists. Both the events in 1692 and 1950 share very similar details on how they took effect on people. There was really no proof for them to go off of, but they got the consequences anyway. Which created fear in people and the will to fight back.
Everyone has heard of The Salem Witch Trials and The Holocaust, but does everyone know the true atrocities behind them? Only time separates the terrible tragedies of The Salem Witch Trials and The Holocaust. The preventable killings of innocent people, the mass hysteria, and constant false accusations made these events so similar. The Salem Witch Trials occurred in the summer of 1692. (Blumberg) It started when Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams started to act strangely.
How Paranoia and blame Affected the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy hearings In the 1690’s, a wave of fear for the devil washed over Salem, Massachusetts, resulting in the accusations of 200 supposed witches and the execution of 20. Almost 200 years later, after World War II, communists were highly feared. The strong urge to stay away from communists led to the McCarthy hearings where many innocent people were accused and tried for being communists. The Salem trials and the McCarthy hearings have many ties, the two closest being how paranoia highly affected the actions of individuals related to the cases and that the only way to save one’s self was to blame others.
In 1692 the beginning of the Salem witch trials began. A few decades later a similar occurrence happened in 1950 with the spread of McCarthyism. What started both the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism was the spread of fear and mass hysteria. Puritans during 1692 believed that the new world should be a holy place with freedom to practice your own personal religion. When witchcraft came around the puritans noticed strange behavior between the young teenage girls for example being choked by an invisible force or falling out on the floor as if possessed.
The times back then were terrible. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 about The Salem Witch Trials of 1692.McCarthyism was the “witch hunt” for the communist in 1953.the parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism are naming names,lack of proof ,and reststance. The first reason they are parallel is because of naming names. Hollywood director Elia Kazan went in front of the HUAC twice. The first time he did not confess and names.
There have been a ton of witch hunts, an event that persecutes a group of people based on ethnicity, color, or beliefs, throughout our time with some of the prominent ones being the Salem Witch Trials, Japanese Internment Camps, and McCarthyism. The Salem Witch Trials are an event that takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 and lasts until 1693. This event included people - mainly women - being accused of being a witch and were hung after they had a trial to prove if the claim of being a witch was false. This all started occurring after a group of girls faked being possessed by someone who had satanist powers. This event caused an uproar at the time because of the influence that religion played in people’s lives at the time causing them
Throughout history there have been many instances where people were put in jail and even killed for no reason. Two examples of this would be The Salem Witch Trials and The Holocaust. These two events have their similarities and differences, but is ultimately the same situation. The Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 in the town of Salem,Massachusetts (Miller,1124). It all started with a group of young girls(Miller,1124).
Did the Salem Witch Trial and the Civil Rights Movement have thing in common? They both took place in different time periods, but still had things that were the same. The most important thing people were involved in the Salem Witch Trial and the Civil Rights Movement died because they wanted to keep their beliefs. The Salem Witch Trials took place in 1692 and 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts.(Anderson)
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. So what does The Crucible and McCarthyism have in common? Throughout the course, many people are being accused of witchcraft. To be exact it was Tituba and the girls claim to have seen a total of 15 people with the devil.
McCarthyism and the Salem Witch trials relied on unfair evidence, public hysteria, and paranoia to influence and control people. An important similarity between McCarthyism and the Salem Witch
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in the 1950s as a response to McCarthyism and the things that were happening in the world around him. He used the Salem Witch Trials to connect to McCarthyism in several ways. Arthur connected the Salem Witch Trials to McCarthyism by using similarities. For example, in The Crucible there was an issue with people abusing their power and causing fear in Salem which was a parallel to what was going on in the United States with McCarthyism. A more modern event that is similar to the Salem Witch Trials is the murder of Trayvon Martin.