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What Are The Similarities Between Mccarthyism And Salem Witch Trials

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Though centuries apart, the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism are very similar. The Salem witch trials in the 1690s are described in great detail within The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. Many innocent people are charged with witchcraft and killed if they did not confess. McCarthyism started in the 1950s when Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy started accusing people of being Communists. If people did not cooperate, they could go to jail or be put on a blacklist. In both cases, the accusers use fear to get the innocent people to falsely confess. Also, by accusing so many people of being either witches or Communists, other people begin to actually believe the accused are guilty. Mass hysteria emerges in both the Salem witch trials and …show more content…

For example, when Mary Warren tries to stand up against Abigail and comes close to proving that Abigail was lying, Abigail is able to use the Deputy Governor Danforth’s trust in her to convince him that Mary is the one lying. By making up a story about a yellow bird, and with her friends going along with it, Abigail persuades the judge to believe her. Danforth says to Mary, “Do you know who I am? I say you will hang if you do not open with me!” (51). Danforth reminds Mary of his power and threatens to kill her if she does not admit to participating in witchcraft. This scares Mary and leads her to falsely confess to witchcraft in order to save her own life. Similarly, McCarthy uses his position as senator and then his position of chair on the Senate’s committee of investigation to get people to agree with his views and believe his outlandish claims. McCarthy would publish lists of people who are suspected of being Communists. As a result, these people are blacklisted, fired, or possibly even jailed. People oppose both the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism, but they do not publicly confront the problem for fear of what would happen to them. Since no one challenges them, Abigail and McCarthy continue to accuse innocent

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Power can turn people into liars and make them greedy for more power which might take away some people’s freedom The Crucible took place in Salem, Massachusetts 1692 innocent people were being falsely accused of doing Witchcraft. McCarthyism took place in the 50s Wheeling,West Virginia in the era influential celebrities in the entertainment industry were particularly targeted for being communist.

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The Salem witch hunt is similar to the holocaust in many ways. Both have events that resemble each other. The holocaust started in 1933 and the Salem witch hunts started in 1692. According to history.com The holocaust started in 1933 when the nazi party took over in Germany.

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Occasion’s Effect The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are very similar even though they took place such a long time from each other. If someone was accused of witchcraft in 1692 they had to confess and lose all social standing or be executed, in the 1950’s if a person was accused of being a communist they would be fired and put on trial, if they would not confess they were blacklisted until they admitted to their “crime”. Arthur Miller used the Salem Witch trials to protest McCarthyism in a somewhat discreet way that proved to be a timeless comfort to the citizens experiencing oppression from their government (“Why I Wrote The Crucible”, 911).

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Everyone has heard of the Salem Witch Trials and the Holocaust right? The Salem Witch Trials and The Holocaust are very alike in numerous ways. Both of these tragedies happened in two different eras but they shared common elements such as false accusations, the killing of innocent people, and hysteria.

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The Salem Witch Trials; Madness or Logic In Stacey Schiff’s, List of 5 Possible Causes of the Salem Witch Trials and Shah Faiza’s, THE WITCHES OF SALEM; Diabolical doings in a Puritan village, discuss in their articles what has been debated by so many historians for years, the causes of the Salem Witch trials. Schiff and the Faiza, purpose is to argue the possible religious, scientific, communal, and sociological reasons on why the trials occurred. All while making word by word in the writer’s testimony as if they were there through emotion and just stating simply the facts and theories. They adopt the hectic tone in order to convey to the readers the significance, tragedy, logic, loss, and possible madness behind these life changing events,

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In the Crucible those who were accused of being guilty, put on trial, and who are expected to confess. Unsuccessful to that led to death. In McCarthy, the media were not disposed to stand up to Senator McCarthy for the fear of being accused of being a Communist. Fear is the main factor playing in both situations, terror of being accused or what people might say, or think.

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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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Both events occurred around the 1950’s. The Crucible was a play written by Arthur Miller that was related to the movement led by Senator Joe McCarthy. Trying to seek and identify members of the communist party, a movement that hunted and ruined innocent people’s lives. When it came to the Witch Trials even if you were accused of witchcraft you

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Mass hysteria was present in both The Crucible and McCarthyism. Mass hysteria is when people went crazy because people were accused of being communists and or witches. Mass hysteria was however started by specific people in both scenarios. In Mccarthyism Joseph Mccarthy a United States Senator and in The Crucible Abigail Williams who was accused of having an affair with John Proctor her employer were the specific ones who accused people of being communists and witches. Even though the Salem witch trials happened in the late 1690s and McCarthyism in the 1950s they paralleled each other.

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People were so full of fear that they would do anything to eliminate their anxiety. The McCarthy hearings of the 1950s reenacted the hysteria of the Salem witch trials of 1692 by spreading mass fear of prosecution, creating false accusations, and blacklisting people. The Salem witch trials were considered to be America 's most notorious episode of witchcraft hysteria. Many innocent people were killed as a result of false accusations, and many other women were put through trials to determine if they were witches.

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The 1600’s and 1950’s are two completely discrete generations, but they are more alike than people would think. The church is meant to heal, not to kill. The government is meant to provide for their people, not to turn them against one another. Both the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism were bizarre events that frightened people to the point of extreme panic. Arthur Miller believes that the witchcraft trials in 1692 and the effects of Communism in the 1950’s are greatly similar because they both contain the themes of hysteria, accusations, and penalties.

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In the play, The Crucible, Salem, Massachusetts, along with the United States during McCarthyism, is engulfed with paranoia. Although both situations include different causes, their effects are strikingly similar. For instance, throughout The Crucible, Abigail Williams is being shown repeatedly accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Her actions begin sending the small town into a panic as they throw people into jail and hang them in an effort to try and cleanse the town from any aspect of evil. Similarly, throughout 1950-1954, Joseph McCarthy falsely accused people within the United States Government of being a member of the Communist party.

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906 Words | 4 Pages

However, during the time of McCarthyism, people suddenly believed if a person went against the government thoughts, they were a communist. Similarly, this is like a time in The Crucible when a mass amount of women were arrested for witchcraft. After Mary Warren comes home from watching the witchcraft trials, John Proctors asks if it is true if only fourteen women arrested. Instead Mary Warren replies, “No, sir. There be thirty-nine now” (Miller, Act II).

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466 Words | 2 Pages

The Salem Witch Trials can be compared to many historical events around the world. The Holocaust is one of the most compared events to the Salem Witch Trials. These events are brought together by the facts that both of them were tragic and people died horrifically. Neither of these events were handled in a way that was beneficial for their economies. The Holocaust is a modern day “Witch Hunt” that relates to the Salem Witch Trials due to instinctual prejudice and mass hysteria, but differs in religion and the scale of the executions.

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Period4 The Crucible Essay Communism and Witchcraft have the same effect on humans, that effect is fear, when you hear fear you think of your worst nightmare or someone hiding in your closet, during the McCarthyism era and the salem witchcraft people had fear about whether their life is on the line or not. It all depended on one person in their community whether or not they choose to save their life. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red Scare in the McCarthy era because the girls feared Abigail just like everyone feared J.McCarthy, Elizabeth being accused is similar to McCarthy accusing the US Army, they are innocent just like Elizabeth.

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