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Comparing The Salem Witch Trials And The Red Scare

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In 1692 The Salem Witch Trials started, it was a time when the Puritans, people who were strict to the bible, believed that there were witches living among them trying to taint their society. This ended quickly because the court concluded that the Witch Trials were a mistake after 200 people had been accused of witchcraft while 20 were executed. A long period of time after this, shortly after the end of WW2, in 1947, The Second Red Scare occured in America during the Cold War. This was a fear the Americans had for communists from Russia. The Americans feared communism because it did not allow private owned businesses or practicing religious acts. The Americans believed that communists had made their way into the U.S government to make it a …show more content…

In both events, The Salem Witch Trials and The Second Red Scare, people were accused of crimes without evidence. During the Salem Witch Trials people were allowed to accuse others of witchcraft based on “Spectral Evidence”. Spectral evidence is a dream that the accuser may have had or how the accused may have attacked the accuser in spiritual form. This type of evidence was valid in the court and was the cause of executions that took place. Abigail Williams, was a 17-year-old girl got away with accusations that started an investigation in Salem because of the lies she told about having ties with the devil. Her lies led to the accusations of 200 people and the executions of 20. During the Second Red Scare there was something similar, it was called …show more content…

One of the major things that ties into one of the main topics of my essay is evidence when accusing someone of a crime. In Modern Day America, a person is no longer allowed to accuse someone of a crime without having evidence to prove them guilty. After the events like The Red Scare and The Salem Witch Trials, Modern Day America has learned a lesson on a new way to accept valid accusations, rather than spiritual or dream evidence and McCarthyism. With the new way of accusing people of committing crimes, this will make sure that only the criminal will receive punishment for

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Sermon of Rae My people, I am here to inform you that our neighboring city of Salem, has discovered a witch. It was late last night when the news broke out. Strange behavior was seen in the children of Salem village early this morning. They described it as an attack, being choked, and thrown to the ground. The witch has escaped their village and is now lost somewhere in Massachusetts.

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747 Words | 3 Pages

At the end of the seventeenth century, specifically in 1692 in the village of Salem, located in the state of Massachusetts Bay colony, there were hearings for the accused in witchcraft cases were where the provisions of the execution of the accused, and there is no enough evidence Except spectral testimony of the bewitched. The key point to know how did the use of spectral evidence make it hard to defend the charges and facilitate the widespread accusations of others? Which they are relate the key question on how to use spectral evidence makes it difficult to defend their duties and ease the charge on a wide range of other it is the history of the spectral evidence, how effect did spectral evidence on governance and its impact on the rest of the trials. Salem witchcraft outbreak in 1692 in one of the most tragic events in American history and was the first such of its kind for the American colonies, which directly influenced the political, social and

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Neal Mick Essay about 911 vs the salem witch trials compare and contrast. During 911, many people were killed, about 2996 people died because of the hijacking. The u.s. looked to blame someone, The ethnic group that ended up getting blamed where the muslims. During the salem witch trials, about 200 people were found guilty, and killed for being a witch or conveying activity with the devil.

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One of the most troubling aspects of the judges' role in the Salem Witch Trials was their reliance on spectral evidence as a determining factor of guilt or innocence. Spectral evidence, which is witness testimonies claiming to have seen the spirits of people accused of engaging in acts of witchcraft, was highly subjective and lacked any actual proveable basis. Despite the questionable nature of this evidence, the judges accepted it as valid proof of guilt, leading to numerous wrongful convictions and executions. The use of spectral evidence not only undermined the integrity of the judicial process but also contributed to the creation of fear, hysteria, and injustice in Salem during that tumultuous year. In addition to their reliance on spectral evidence, the judges of the Salem Witch Trials were also complicit in the use of coercive tactics to extract confessions from the accused.

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In the late 1600’s, in Massachusetts, The Salem Witch Trials began. According to a young group of girls who claimed to be possessed by the devil accused women in the village of witchcraft. “There was series of hearings and prosecutions of innocent people” (Salem Witch Trials). “The hysteria concluded around 150 people thrown in witch jail” (Salem Witch Trials).

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888 Words | 4 Pages

Salem, Massachusetts in 1691 and 1692 was a frightening place to be. In January 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris became ill, beginning a several-months-long crusade against the devil and those who were believed to be in league with him, including Parris’ Indian slave, Tituba. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 was a prime example of what happens when religious fanaticism and rampant hysteria combine with superstition about the religious rituals of those outside of Christianity. The effects of the Salem Witch Trials continue to interest people over three-hundred years later, spawning several movies and television shows incorporating some aspect of the trials within them.

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During the 1692 Salem Witch Trials and 1950 McCarthyism Era, various societies under a great amount of tension and injustice introduced the idea of formal hearings in which the citizens of these societies accused others of violating social standards. These “social standards” included the experimentation of witchcraft, and the defiance to the beliefs of the United States of America’s government. The Salem Trials and Red Scare created a display of terror which permitted the government to have increased powers over the rest of the American population. Throughout the course of history both men and women, such as Abigail Williams and Senator Joseph McCarthy, have led a revolt that used society's fear for their own individual advancement. During

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What a Horrible World     In today 's day and age we have more technological, medicinal, societal, and worldly advancements than we did in either 1692 or 1947, but we are still just as easily corrupted by jealousy, power, and paranoia. The years 1692 and 1947 are perfect examples of prospering societies that became undermined through very similar processes. In 1629 the Salem Witch Trials and in 1947 the McCarthy Communist Trials- were both held unjustly, involving condemnation based on unfair trial practices. People desperately admitted to being a witch (1692) or to being a communist (1947) only because they didn’t want to die. Even if you were found innocent your life was virtually over because your career and livelihood had been destroyed

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Fear, it causes people to be blinded by the truth. People can’t tell right from wrong. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to show how no one could see what was right. During the 1950’s communism was spreading throughout Europe like a wildfire, then it slowly made its way over to the U.S. This was known as The Red Scare.

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To explain why she was doing this, Abigale would say Tituba, who is a slave, was conjuring spirits that one night in the woods. They would start accusing many people and the town would have extreme hysteria. Joseph McCarthy would do the same thing to get to a high governing position, and everyone believed him because Soviet spies were known to be in

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884 Words | 4 Pages

Racism and Vengeance Humans judge others on how they look, where they come from, or just plainly who they are; it is human nature. Everyone judges someone at some point in their lives, but how far are people willing to take their judgement. In the 1930’s, at a time when racism was at its peak, nine black boys got in a freight train fight with a couple white vagrants. The boys’ consequences were fatal.

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In times of fear and hysteria in the U.S. it is mass chaos and it only gets worse and worse. During the time of both the witch-hunt eras, whether for communist or actual witches, they prove to have many similarities between them. Both of these times were full of confusion and lying which lead to the temporary downfall of the authority at that time. Joseph McCarthy proved to be a factor in this time and add on to the chaos that was America. Arthur Miller wrote about these times in a book called The Crucible, based on the witch trial era.

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989 Words | 4 Pages

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 Salem Witch Trials and The Freedom Riders You're walking in front of all your neighbors, friends, and even strangers and you can see the noose that will take your life. You are not the only one who has had this punishment nor will you be the last one for they are punishing people who have done nothing wrong. They think you are a supernatural creature, a witch to be exact. You know for a fact that you do not have any supernatural powers and that you definitely would not use those powers to hurt children.

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This means that unlike in the times of the Salem Witch Trials, accusations and witness testimony is not enough to convict, especially for a capital crime. The prosecution must prove that there is no other reasonable or logical conclusion for that has transpired other than the the accused has committed the crime in which they are accused. Similarly, and perhaps most important of all, in the modern criminal justice system one is considered innocent until proven guilty; whereas, during the Salem Witch Trials a presumption of guilt was almost immediate. Similar to the accused having to present evidence in their defense, the accused

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