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To What Extent Were The Salem Witch Trials Justified

1049 Words5 Pages

Yelitza Andrade
Pyles
English 11 Honors
12 October 2015
Witch-hunts Justification
In Salem, Massachusetts 1692 the Salem witch trials began when a group of girls lied and said that they were possessed by the devil and the accusations of several innocent people being involved with witchcraft took place. Trials later took place after the accusations for the hearings of each person and to hear their story. Many people who had hearings lied to the court and said that they were possessed to not get executed and to save their lives but many did not want to lie because it was wrong and an injustice. The event led to 19 executions of all innocent people and 100 other innocent women, men, and children were put in prison because of the false accusations. …show more content…

Chris H. Lewis explained, “If your name was placed on one of these blacklists, you could lose your job and your life and reputation could be ruined.” This quote shows how those accused of communism, which was called blacklisting, had their personal lives and hard work taken and ruined. During the times of The Witch Trials, people could easily be falsely accused of witch craft by someone even without evidence. It was the same with McCarthyism and communism because if people were to act strange or differently it would be a sign that they were a communist. With the accusation of being a communist it could end someone’s career or have someone lose their job. Also, some people’s reputation could’ve been ruined and it could’ve harmed the outcome of their work and their image. Whether it was an accusation of witchcraft or communism, they both led to people’s lives being …show more content…

The History Staff explained Hitler’s idea of communists and Jews, “Most problems could be solved, he explained, if communists and Jews were driven from the nation. His fiery speeches swelled the ranks of the Nazi Party, especially among young, economically disadvantaged Germans.” The people of Salem who did not follow the Puritan ways religiously and exactly were accused of witch-like activities and considered guilty because they did not live like other Puritans. The Jews like, the accused of witch craft, were treated badly. Jews were killed, beat, and judged just like people who did not follow the Puritan ways. Jews had the same experience during the Holocaust and the quote is evidence of how they were mistreated by the Nazis. The Jews were mistreated and sent away for being Jewish and not German. In the Holocaust, Jews were sent to concentration camps where they were burned to death and had to work for Germans because they were Jews. The Nazis believed they should be excluded from the German race because they were not like them. The people who were living their lives differently, in both events, were found excluded, judged, and killed because they lived differently than

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In both The Crucible and in modern day witch hunts, witch hunts are caused out of fear or for personal gain. Jill Schonebelen wrote a research paper on Witchcraft allegations, refugee protection and human rights. Throughout this article, it mentions the persecution of witches today in communities around the globe, mentioning the flashbacks of similar strategies that were used in the past, doing different types of tortures. In Modern days, recent generations have abandoned wonderful traditions. Rather, recollecting others with distasteful memories such as witchcraft.

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