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The Salem Witch Trials

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Recommended: Political aspects of the salem witch trials

many similarities to the affairs that were unfolding around the author at the time of writing, the mass hysteria aroused by the communists ‘witch-hunts’ of cold war, 1950s America. As we follow the harrowing results of released repression, the hysterical accusations of Salem bears direct resemblance to communist McCarthyism as well as other similarities that unfold as the play narrates one of the most tragic periods of American history. Amidst the apparently insipid, puritanical village of Salem there was little controversy due to its populations consent to theocratic autocracy however this apparent peaceful, holy sanctuary was rife with evils that conjured the demonic hysteria throughout Salem village; these were caused by an amalgamation …show more content…

It was during his early career as a Judge that “McCarthy made the needs of children involved in contested divorces a priority.” this extract from Thomas Reeve’s biography that suggests McCarthy experienced a troubled childhood that could have lead to desire for power. During his fist election campaign, he accused his opposition, Robert La Follette, of War profiteering despite having personally profited from WWII. His early monotonous Senate career erupted in 1950 when he produced a list of 205 suspected communists exclaiming “The state department is infested with communists…this list of names were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department.” The majority of accusations had little or no verification and is seen as propaganda aimed to exploit the fear of communism that had arose from the cold war. This act of inflammatory manipulation foreshadowed McCarthy’s evolution to become the chairman of the Government Committee on Operations of the Senate, and thus the Witch hunts

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McCarthy used this to further his career and public standing by dragging people’s names through the mud and ending their careers. Needless to say that the issue McCarthy addresses is a highly emotional subject and needs to broach with great care. McCarthy uses good and sometimes logical fallacies to argue his point, however he also uses strong bold statements to encourage the president to give him the records he wants to continue his witch hunt in America. After listing his demands McCarthy states, “Failure on your part will label the Democratic Party of being the bedfellow of international communism.

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In 1954, McCarthy turned his attention from the federal government towards exposing the supposed communist infiltration of the armed services. McCarthy launched his “Army-McCarthy Hearings,” but these hearings were different, they were broadcast on national television from April to June. Hearing after hearing, McCarthy invulnerability reputation began to disappear. First, the army services had undermined the Senators credibility by “showing evidence that [McCarthy] had tried to win preferential treatment for his aides when they were drafted” (“Army-McCarthy Hearings”). Then, the public came to notice that McCarthy used aggressive measure to interrogate witnesses, especially when he was interrogating a young Army Lawyer.

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This primary source edited by Jesse G. Cunningham and Laura K. Egendorf is a series of articles written by eyewitnesses who were called to testify in some relation to the McCarthy Trials or other court cases. The book goes into great depth to analyze McCarthy’s methods and to assess McCarthy and McCarthyism. This source was fantastic for providing more than enough eyewitness testimonies and first hand insight to the trauma caused by McCarthy in the government and society. This source added the project because it highlighted McCarthy’s tactics and gave direct insite to the court cases that went on during that time period.

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In Roberts’ view, “At the height of his power in 1953, McCarthy became chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and used the platform to make further charges of Communist spying.” (Roberts 21). Particularly, this shows the secrets the government has been hiding which leads to Americans questioning their loyalty. Moreover, this ties into Americans betraying each other because it goes to show how McCarthyism held the power to enact this action. The government 's mischievous actions led everyone not to trust them.

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The speech made McCarthy famous and led Congress to begin investigating supposed communists in the government. McCarthy later gave Congress the names of State Department employees he claimed were traitors. Those individuals lost their jobs, even though McCarthy never supplied evidence to prove their guilt” (Joseph McCarthy). McCarthy used a list he made up to gain notoriety with

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Nationwide paranoia, a witch hunt for communists, and the omittance of citizen’s democratic rights all were the result of the efforts of one person, Joseph R. McCarthy, a senator from Wisconsin. Joseph R. McCarthy made those efforts all for one reason, to gain a re-election to another term in Senate. Because of his distinct immoral behavior, Joseph R. McCarthy did not uphold his responsibilities as a senator. To explain why Senator Joseph R. McCarthy did not uphold his responsibilities as a senator, we must first examine what the responsibilities of a senator are.

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These years are often referred to as the “McCarthy era”, named after a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin who blamed many of his colleagues of Communist subversion. In many cases, defendants were pitted against their own friends, whose only evidence were their words. Cultural and racial bias ran rampant, and often those accused of a crime against the country, such as espionage or conspiracy of espionage, were not given fair trials. In one such case, a husband

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McCarthy manipulated the media, told outrageous stories about the communist conspiracy in the United States, and used his power and America’s fear to besmirch any opponents as “communist sympathizers” to make sure he remained at the top. Actually, most conservative members of Congress supported McCarthy because it helped them gain votes during elections. The majority of McCarthy 's movement attacked liberals and members of the Democratic Party and this aided anyone who was not part of those topics and organizations. Then McCarthy began to target the Army because they wouldn’t favor David Schine, one of his former investigators, who had been drafted in. “Senator Joseph McCarthy began hearings investigating the United States Army, which he charged with being ‘soft’ on communism.

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McCarthy created the uproar of having a ‘witch hunt’ on communists in America. His influence on the people gave him credibility when he accused those innocent people. “He cited 81 cases that day. He skipped several numbers, and for some cases repeated the same flimsy information. He proved nothing, but the Senate called for a full investigation.”(ushistory.org).

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Sarah van den Barselaar Review of literature Review of Literature Source A: Wilson, L. L. (1997). The Salem Witch Trials [p 27]. London: Lerner Publishing Group. Summary: Tituba confesses to being a witch. In her confession she makes reference to a lady in the Bible who used the same method to kill, this only further helps the ministers use religion to support the idea of witchcraft and start the salem witch trials.

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McCarthyism was a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the US government. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party. In these two events, many similarities

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The Salem Witch Trials in 1692, and the Fear of Communism in the 1950’s McCarthyism involves the practice of making accusations or subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. In the town of Salem, Massachusetts the majority of the ladies in salem could've gotten arrested for the threat of witchcraft but there’s no evidence placed on them that’s fully charged. “Giles: I will not give you no name, I mentioned my wife’s name once and I'll Burn in hell long enough for that. I stand mute. Danforth:

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McCarthy once said “There are today many Communists in America. They are everywhere -- in factories, offices, butcher stores, on street corners, in private businesses. And each carries in himself the germ of death for society.” This kind of talk made people fearful and caused them to point fingers at anyone they thought could be a communist regardless if they had evidence or not. McCarthy was not different from Abigail williams which falsely accused people and instilled fear throughout the town of Salem.

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The Salem Witch Trials In the summer of 1692, a series of unfortunate events occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, The Salem Witch Trials. These witch trials resulted in the deaths of a score of people, both men and women and imprisonment of more than 200 of the villages residents (Blumberg). There are endless reasons as to why the Puritan village went into hysterics, including but not limited to paranoia, the Puritan’s strict religion, conflict between residents, economic turmoil, an ongoing war, and unexplainable events(Linder).

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Paul Arrington Chartos 6 2/10/23 The True Criminal There is always two sides to every coin, good and evil but, what happens when both sides are evil? Who is more wrong and who is more right? These were the exact problems that Salem faced during the Witch Trials.

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