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Compare And Contrast Salem Witch Trials And Mccarthyism

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Mccarthyism vs Salem Witch Trials “Today we are engaged in a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity.” (Joseph McCarthy). McCarthyism is the practice of claiming without sufficient evidence that another person has committed treason ("McCarthyism" lines 1-2 ). During the Salem witch trials, the term Mccarthyism could be used accurately due to the fact that hundreds of people were imprisoned and accused of witchcraft with little to no evidence. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller is successful in representing the Second Scare of McCarthyism due to a representation of hysteria and judgment.
McCarthyism was created by a U.S Senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy. During his term he fought aggressively to expose communists …show more content…

During this time, the residency of Salem Massachusetts was not substantial enough; this factor can affect the mental health of the residents. In the text, Hale reveals his mindset as he says “I have seen too many frightful proofs in court—the Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points!”(The Crucible 498), this proves how hysteria affects the courtroom and the law system. John Proctor, father of Abigail Proctor says “A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face”, Proctor claims to see Lucifer (Satan), which is a prime example of hysteria due to the visions he is finally seeing (The Crucible 525). Throughout the text, many examples of hysteria are shown, either through accusations of the innocent or through sightings of unnatural …show more content…

Proctor is being led to his hanging until suddenly, Rebecca tells him "Let you fear nothing! Another judgment awaits us all." (The Crucible 539). Rebecca is referring to the judgment of God as Proctor is to be hanged due to the judgment of man. Deputy Governor Danforth’s unjust judgment can be perceived when he states "I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the same crime. It is not just." (The Crucible 531). These examples of judgment are similar to the judgment of the McCarthyism era due to the unjust and corrupt mindset of the court.
Some people may argue that McCarthyism is not prominent in The Crucible because of fear. Tituba, a West Indian enslaved by Reverend Parris, confessed to involvement with the Devil due to fear of the townspeople. Tituba claimed “I love God with all my bein” beforehand (The Crucible 483). This supports the fear Tituba had towards the townspeople due to the changed statements. This argument is incorrect because even though Tituba confessed due to fear, the people of Salem are still experiencing hysteria and are unjustly judging

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In 1953 Arthur Miller took out a play called The Crucible. People started to noticed that it has some similarities to Joseph McCarthy's life. Because they both were related on some subjects. So thats why The Crucible parallels McCarthyism in three significant ways:Naming names,lack of proof and resistance.

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The Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Red Scare are historical events that occurred in different time periods of history. These events share many similarities such as mass panics, hysteria, paranoia, false accusations, and incarcerations. During the mid 20th century, the United States experienced the McCarthy era. This era was a period full of paranoia, fearing communists had infiltrated the US government and American society. According to “McCarthyism”(2022) “He declared that 205 Communists had infiltrated the U.S. Department of State.

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In 1957, Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible during the McCarthyism era to show how much fear and hysteria can and has already impacted America. The Crucible exaggerates the Salem witch trials of 1962-1963 which are similar to the McCarthyism era. The parallels between the Salem Witch trials and McCarthyism include blaming others, unreliable sources, and punishment if someone refuses to testify. The first parallels between the Salem Witch trials and McCarthyism are blaming others to save

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When he first enters Salem it seems his head is held high with knowledge and determination, but he will not allow any conclusions to be made unless they are from his books that guide him through witchcraft cases. After Abigail reveals she did not see the devil, Hale immediately makes an accusation and suspiciously asks, “Why are you concealing? Have you sold yourself to Lucifer?” (Miller 1259). Because of Hale’s authority, Abigail becomes defensive and puts the blame on Tituba.

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In Salem the citizens feared that the devil

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The Crucible, an allegorical play, was written by Arthur Miller because he observed and personally experienced events occurring in America during the McCarthyism Era in the 1950s that were similar to those of the Salem Witchcraft Trials in 1692. Now, there are various ways to how the Crucible and the McCarthyism Era are similar, these reasons being the strongest ones. McCarthyism and the Crucible both contained the idea of higher status people having the most power in these situations. To illustrate, Abby accuses the wife of a government man in the Crucible movie. Danforth tells Abby that she must be mistaken and that she should rethink about it again.

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McCarthyism period took place over the years The Crucible has been written and significantly impacted Arthur Miller’s thoughts while writing the book. The Crucible was seen as a modern-day witch hunt story in the McCarthy period. McCarthyism means the practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversions without any evidence. Joseph R McCarthy made false accusations while being senator and charged people for being communism. Both McCarthyism and The Crucible by Arthur Miller are connected because paranoia is evident and innocent people are accused.

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McCarthyism is the term that came to be in 1950 when Joseph Mcarthy accused 205 people that were in the State department of being Communist. McCarthyism is falsely accusing someone of treason without proof or much reason. At the height of anti- communism Aruthur Miller wrote a play called “The Crucible”. The play was set in 1692 based on the Salem witch trials. Salem witch trials in his play was a time where everyone was falsely accusing someone else of being a witch just like McCarthyism is falsely accusing someone of treason.

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McCarthyism McCarthyism is a terrible way of thinking, creates a negative environment, and is relatable to the Salem Witch Trials. To begin, McCarthyism is making assumptions without credible evidence. McCarthy demonstrates this when he gave a speech at the Ohio County Women’s Republican Club in Wheeling, West Virginia: “Waving a piece of paper in the air, he declared that he had a list of 205 known members of the Communist Party who were “working and shaping policy” in the State Department.” (History.com) Next, McCarthy created an environment that everyone was scared to have his or her own opinions in. Everyone just conformed to what McCarthy said: “President Truman vetoed the Act (McCarran Internal Security Act)-he said it “would make a mockery

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The McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch trials accurately represent the saying, "Desperate times call for desperate measures. " In the 1950s, the McCarthy hearings tainted lives by falsely accusing those in the film industry of being associated with Communism. In the 17th century, the Salem witch trials charged innocent villagers of practicing witchcraft. Victims from the McCarthy hearings were isolated and ruined, while victims from the Salem trials were hanged and shunned.

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The crucible is an allegory for McCarthy and the red scare of the early 1950, in the early. Many Americans were afraid that communism might infiltrate the American government and cause the US government to fall. Arthur Miller, the author of the crucibles wrote about Salem witch trials, but used the story to illustrate the unsubstantiated fear, panic hysteria of looking for communist support in America. In the early 1950 Americans became fearful that their friends, neighbors, or cow-workers might be communists attempting to undermine American democracy and spread communism throughout the world. Playwright Arthur Miller, in researching the sale, witch trials and a red scare of impending communism.

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Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is an allegory for the McCarthy era in the 1950s. The McCarthy era is described as a period of fear about the potential rise of Communism, creating hysteria among the American society. Senator Joseph McCarthy holds the responsibility for stirring up the paranoia towards Communist activity in the United States, specifically making accusations for present communists within the United States government. The accused individuals were then followed up with unfair investigations that McCarthy directed. Within the investigations, people were to admit being a communist and be blacklisted, or not confess and be prosecuted.

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Yelitza Andrade Pyles English 11 Honors 6 October 2015 Witch-hunts Justification Outline It should never be necessary to target a group of people for being different. In “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, a group of girls were found dancing in the forest. Betty, the minister’s daughter, becomes sick and they believe she is possessed. Abigail, the minister’s niece, is questioned but blames it all on Tituba. Tituba confesses to have signed a deal with the devil and is seen as saved by God so then Abigail confesses to also be saved and not hung.

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The stage is set, 1953, the second red scare provoked mass hysteria through the country. Friends turned to enemies, neighbors turned to strangers, and people couldn’t even trust those in their own government. Panic ensued and at the center was Joseph McCarthy with the House of Un-American Activities Committee. Arthur Miller was a popular writer who found himself among the accused during this time. Through his own experience he used The Crucible to connect parallels of the injustice created through the trials, the abuse of power that is created by Joseph McCarthy, and Arthur Miller’s own experience.

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351 Words | 2 Pages

Arthur Miller wrote ‘The Crucible’, this play is an allegory, which is a story that can be interpreted on both a literal and a symbolic level. The author had been accused of being a member of the Communist party in the McCarthyism Red Scare Era, he uses his personal story to write this play. Arthur Miller suffered a lot during this period, he had to watch the persons close to him being arrested and himself being accused. So he wanted to write a playwright to capture the mass cultural and the political hysteria of the moment, and recreate the events he endured. He made this allegory principally to show to people that decisions made by fear can be dangerous and have bad consequences, in his playwright, he chooses the Salem witch trials because

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