Guilty or Proven Innocent? The Salem witch trials occurred from February 1692 to May 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts. During the Salem witch trials no single person or family was safe from persecution. Once accused of witchcraft you were incarcerated and appeared at a hearing in the courts. The families of the convicted did not receive any compensation for damages and were not giving the properties of their family members. The Salem witch trials only lasted for a little over a year, but it ruined the lives of those who were convicted and their families. The McCarthy hearings, otherwise known as the red scare, began in 1954. The United States had just joined the cold war, skepticism of communists was at its peak. If any man were accused of being a communist he would be held in jail until his hearing. At the time of his hearing if the man didn’t confess and name other communists he was incarcerated for a year. I a man did confess and disclosed the names of others he would be let go and the circle would continue. Throughout the Salem Witch trials and McCarthy hearings those who were accused of a crime were regarded as guilty until proven innocent. The Salem witch trials originally started with Abigail and John Proctor having an affair. John Proctor’s wife found out and fired Abigail and told her never to step foot in her house. …show more content…
“In 1994, the Soviets tested an atom bomb of their own.” (History.com Staff, "Cold War History"). This act caused President Truman to spend more money on the army and defense of the United States and panic and hysteria spread to the minds of the people of our country. “...and the world lived under the threat of thermonuclear war for the first time.” (History.com Staff, "Soviets explode atomic bomb"). The testing of the atomic bomb scared families and caused communism to be hated at a greater