...Witch-Hunts, Then and Now Witch-Hunts, Then and Now, is the topic I have chosen for my research paper, which will define similarities and differences between the “Salem Witch Trials” and “The Second Red Scare”. The actions that took place during both events played on the fears of citizens to further the personal, political and social agendas of those individuals that conducted the trials. These two events are just two examples of how history repeated itself, where hysteria of the masses has been used as justification to trample on the basic rights that we, as humans, have come to believe as essential to our lives. I chose this research project because the effect of the McCarthy era tactics that infringed on the Constitutional rights of many Americans can be seen today in the policies and actions implemented since September 11, 2001. As an American, I am disturbed to see that we as a people and our government appear not to have learned from our past. During the eras of the Salem Witch Trials and that of McCarthyism, there existed a fear that the values of each society were being threatened from both internal and external entities. During the Court of Oyer and Terminer, influential members of the Salem community used the trials to punish ministers with in the colony who were seen as tolerant to other religions. There was a movement within the colony to relax the strict customs of the Puritans, but the community leaders wanted to maintain a tight control on their spiritual beliefs...
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...The Salem Witch Trials The Salem Witch Trials were a series of court hearings and prosecutions of people accused of performing witchcraft and other supernatural abilities in colonial Massachusetts. These occurred between February 1692 and May 1693. Although they are referred to as the Salem witch trials, the preliminary hearings were done in various towns: Salem Village, Ipswich, Andover, and Salem Town. These trials had a lasting effect on a multitude of things in the formation of the United States of America and its colonies. The trials brought about warnings of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations, and profiling based off of social class. Thanks to these trials, America was able to take caution in them to help them eventually form the great country it is today. In order to completely understand the effect of the trials it is necessary to have a little information from the trials. Salem was originally founded in 1626 by a group of European fisherman. Over the years it had gotten a little larger of a town, but never too big. Overall in the incident, around 24 people died because of their accusations of being a witch; whether from being executed, tortured in order to get information, or being killed while in prison. Isolationism really added in influencing the mass hysteria of the people of Salem. They were all so far away from everyone else they essentially had no ways of communicating with anyone at all and they rarely got any news of anything. They...
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...A Representation of the Accused Witches of Salem The Salem Witch Trials were a series of executions that took place in Salem, Massachusetts during the years 1692-1693. These executions took place due to a large number of people in Salem being accused of witchcraft. The amount of tried witches primarily consisted of women, although men were also accused. This paper argues that a specific pattern can be found with regards to how the women accused of witchcraft were viewed in their society. In particular, women who stood out in a negative manner were often the victims of public accusations, especially those represented as religious heretics, deviant members in society, and social outcasts. In order to interpret the Salem Witch Trials, one must...
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...Three Sovereigns for Sarah A notorious event in U.S history was the witchcraft hysteria that had mesmerized Salem, Massachusetts, had a few contributing factors. The village Salem, Massachusetts, had many trials for people who were believed to practice witchcraft. The accused people were sentenced to cruel deaths and the awaiting people were jailed and waited for trail. Some ways people were killed were by hanging, laying bricks upon them, and the rest died in prison. In total, 20 people were killed. Prison in those days were held in terrible condition which caused a mother and her son to die. The Salem witch trials would take place between February 1962 and May 1963. A possible contributing factor to the witch hysteria that took place in Salem, is the town was already a troublesome community. The town would...
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...Is the horrifying myth about witches really true? If they actually roam the earth, when exactly did they first exist and where do they live? In the 17th century, Abigail Williams insisted there were witches living in Salem, Massachusetts. Williams evoked the Salem Witch Trials after numerous suspects were convicted for Satanism; however, many were faulty accused and Abigail was blamed. Is there a catastrophe worse than the Devil’s spawn? McCarthyism was established after Senator Joseph McCarthy convinced the colonists of communism in the United States; as a result, innocent people were imprisoned and McCarthy was appointed to the court for witch trials. Although the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism occurred at different centuries in time,...
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...that some of us would never imagine doing today. Or maybe some of us would, but only to an extent. One of the most known events more than likely known by this was the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The Salem Witch Trials were caused by many other things as well. However, the main causes of the trials were town division, lying girls, and jealousy. As above, the first reason for the Salem Witch Trials was town division. “The people in the western half of Salem Village farmed poorer land and lost political power” (Document E). What this means is that ultimately the poor were accusing the rich of witchcraft because they felt threatened and wanted to hold more power than they did. Most think that it was because the women of the town wanted to get to the men for the money, but the accusations were not only made by women. In Document B it is shown that approximately 20% were male, but the majority were still female. So what did the men want? Land? Or perhaps the wives? Since nobody alive was actually a witness, all there is, is historical information that is hoped to be accurate....
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...perhaps it was inevitable that the villagers of Salem would jump to the conclusion that Satan was behind the mysterious behaviors of the young girls. When Griggs was unable to diagnose a physical source for the girls’ symptoms, he relied on his religion to find the origin. Based on what his beliefs taught him, he drew the only logical conclusion: witchcraft caused the illnesses. Because of his verdict, the problem with the girls transformed from a disease to a crime. Witchcraft was a legal matter instead of a medical one. However, rather than pursuing...
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...reflects the outcomes of this ironic process. The Crucible depicts the reality of the Salem Witch Trials in a time of hysteria and fear. Miller uses a past event to emphasize the effects of unnecessary fear imposed by McCarthyism, indirectly relating to the Salem Witch Trials. Miller’s, The Crucible, is one of irony in which it obliquely equates to the consequences of fear and blaming others by relating the Salem Witch Trials to McCarthyism. Abigail’s intentions regarding John Proctor are nothing if not ironic, you can see this perfectly in which Abigail acted out in a complete façade so that she could be...
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...The Salem Witch Trails were a time in which people believed in the supernatural. This belief began in Europe during the 14th century. It would eventually spread throughout colonial New England; due to increase fears of outsiders and resentment of fellow townspeople which were fueled by the smallpox epidemic and fears of Native American attacks, as well as a rival with the community of Salem Town. In January of 1692, two girls by the name of Betty Williams and Abigail Williams began to have fits. These fits consisted of violent contortions and uncontrollable outbursts of screaming and yelling. William Griggs, a local doctor, diagnosed the girls with bewitchment. As time passed other girls- Ann Putnam Mercy Lewis, Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Walcott,...
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...Myths and Reality of Crime Sociology 305 - Crime and Society June 4, 2013 Myths and Reality of Crime Crime and its definitions vary across time and space. Shaped the cultural values and ideas, norms and practices of the society in question and the political sphere’s interpretation of such, one society’s definition of crime may be incongruent with another (Morrison, 2009). Not surprisingly then crimes, as perceived by society members significantly differ from that of officials. In fact, these differences are portrayed in the mainstream media and serve as main components of popular television shows like Law and Order, Criminal Intent, NCIS, and Burn Notice. Given the popularity of these shows and their focus on violent criminal acts, these biased media forms appeal to prevailing thought that violent crimes in America are commonplace (Morrison, 2009). By extension, these shows call into question ideas about criminal propensity, the conditions that induce each criminal participation or even vigilant justice (Stark, 1993). However, these television shows fail to highlight the real increase in white collar crimes in scale and incidence and in many ways reinforce the myths of crime and violence (Holtfreter, Van Slyke, Bratton, & Gertz, 2008). Defining Crime through Myth and Pseudoscience Without question the notions of crime, of one’s inclination to commit such and the avenues for redress within American Society have changed dramatically since America’s beginning...
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...Dylan Gates Mr. Woody 4 November 2012 Accelerated English 2 Crucible Essay Straying from Puritanism The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, was produced in 1953. To this day, the play remains very popular. In this play, Miller talks about a witch-hunt that took place in 1962 which compares to the “Red Scare” that went on in Washington, D.C. in the 1950s. Miller writes about a Puritan village with a Christian religion that seems to be forgotten when under pressure. Puritans are taught to stick to their Christian beliefs, and in The Crucible, they simply stray away from the beliefs and violate them to save their own life. One instance where they go away from their puritan beliefs is that the people of Salem drift away from each other and turn on each other. One very strong belief of Puritanism is that unity among them strengthened their community. In a Puritan community, they take care of each other’s needs and look out for their neighbors. In The Crucible, they certainly do not take care of one another. In fact, it is the complete opposite. Almost everyone in the play becomes very egocentric. This is all the effect of the accusations of witchcraft in Salem. Another instance where they stray from their Puritan religion is that they break many of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the ten basic rules that shall not be broken by any means by a firm Christian believer. One of the ten commandments they break during the play is killing. The bible clearly states in...
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...Puritanism B. Salem Witch Trials III. America in the 1950’s A. Communism B. Joseph McCarthy IV. McCarthyism A. McCarthy Trials (HUAC) B. Blacklisting C. Elia Kazan D. Arthur Miller V. The Crucible A. The Summary B. The theme VI. The Allegory A. Danforth and the HUAC B. Danforth and Joseph McCarthy C. Elia Kazan and Abigail Williams VII. The conclusion The Connection The Crucible written by Arthur Miller has a symbolic meaning. It is an allegory, “a story in which people, things, and events have a symbolic meaning, often instructive.” (Agnes 17). The setting, the Salem witch trials of the 1600’s is similar to the McCarthy trials of the 1950’s. The people, the events, the details relate to one another. Miller purposely wrote his story to instruct the fact that the mentality of the people in the 1950’s was no different than the mentality of people in the 1600’s. In the 1600’s people followed a strict religion known as puritanism. The Puritans believed they were sent by God to purify the world of sin and evil. Because of this they believed they were superior to others. Consequently, when they did sin, they tended to feel guilty and blame others for their faults. This blame and guilt led to one of the most fearful times in America. The Salem witch trials happened during the 1600’s and at a time where everyone was supposed to live a life of pureness. The people from the Salem witch trials whom named names were quickly disliked in the community because of...
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...The Salem Witch Trials A true test of faith History 2111 The people who resided in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts never realized that they would be the center of controversy and paranoia that would go down in history in the year 1692. The witch trials left residents and historians with more questions than answers, the trials caused the death of 20 individuals, and left others to perish imprisoned well after. The Salem witch trials easily became one of the countries’ most fascinating and controversial stories. History of Salem, Massachusetts The town of Salem was founded in 1926 at the mouth of the Naumkeag River. The town was originally named “Naumkeag,” and it became settled in 1629. The name was later changed to Salem, named after Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace. It was originally governed by John Endecott, who was appointed by the Massachusetts Bay Company. In 1630, a large group of English puritans came and settled in the area. Over the next ten years, there was a major migration of puritans to the Massachusetts area. The Puritans were a group of people who became dissatisfied with the Church of England and worked towards religious, moral and social reforms. For the Puritans, there was a belief that the devil was roaming and active on the earth. Puritans had always thought that they were the new chosen people, abandoning a land of sin and oppression to establish the Promised Land of New England. The Puritans believed that the Bible was God's true...
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...Miller’s The Crucible is less about the tale of the witch hunt and trials. Subsequently, it is more about how the witch hunt and trials take an effect on the communities. Throughout the course of time, when a situation that causes a mass hysteria, people will force themselves to conform in order to place themselves in a safe spot. For instance, during the Salem witch trials, people admitted to “crimes” that they never actually committed, or began accusing others who were once allies (ex. neighbors, friends, etc.) in order to keep themselves in the clear and safe from being hanged or jailed. If one was doing what they could in order to maintain the safety of the community, they earned themselves a safe spot. It was the individuals who were not pointing fingers in order to help out the “witches” that were soon assumed to be subject to the Devil’s influence and were eventually either jailed or hanged (sometimes both). Arthur Miller utilizes John Proctor’s protagonist character in order to show not just what he believed was the right thing to do in a situation such as this one, but to show how difficult it is to sometimes play the role of a nonconformist tackling a much larger group of people. Also, The Crucible shows how mass hysteria can eventually allude to violence. The Crucible was not only a terrific story of a historical event, but it also demonstrated the psychological consequences of mass hysteria, how once tight-knit communities fall apart as a cause of it, and how conforming...
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...The Witch of Blackbird Pond, written by Elizabeth George Speare, was set in a Puritan settlement, in Connecticut, during the 17th century. In this book, a young woman named Katherine Tyler, “Kit”, sailed to Connecticut on a ship, “the Dolphin”, from Barbados to her aunt’s house soon after her grandfather had passed away. During the 17th century, the belief in witchcraft was common and considered a serious crime which often resulted in a number of females being executed. Throughout the book, Kit faces various challenges in order to fit in this new community and is also accused to be practicing witchcraft. As Kit moved into Connecticut, she had to say goodbye to her lavish life back in Barbados. Now, she had to start working for the family, cook, make her own clothes and...
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