The Salem Witch Trials & McCarthyism: The Motivation of Power In the past‚ certain individuals have been able to gain complete control over society and have a negative impact on it. The late 1600’s and mid 1900’s were times of chaos and political hysteria in America which were caused by rumors started by very powerful people‚ resulting in the deaths and imprisonment of several innocent citizens. Starting in 1692 in Salem‚ Massachusetts‚ a series of witch hunts and trials for those accused of witchcraft
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The Crucible McCarthyism Essay Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953‚ as his take upon a series of radical trials in a time known as McCarthyism. Following World War II‚ while United States military forces left‚ Russian soldiers stayed in Europe. Many broken countries were “adopted” into a Union with Soviet Russia and the spread of communism was alarming to politically opposed America. In 1950‚ Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy made a significant speech in which he spoke out against communism
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McCarthyism and The Crucible Arthur Miller`s The Crucible is a timeless classic of witchcraft that is rooted in accusations and political motives. The crucible is set during the Salem witch trails and it centers on a young girl‚ Abigail Williams‚ and her quest to meet all of her selfish desires. A group of girls‚ led by Abigail accuse town people of witchcraft to cover up the fact that they were dancing in the forest. She eventually blames Elizabeth Proctor for witchcraft‚ so she will have Elizabeth`s
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Englelhardt English III CP 12‚ March 2011 McCarthyism Vs. Salem Witch Trials What would your reaction be if you were accused of something and were innocent? This is what happened to many people in the Salem Witch Trials and in McCarthyism. Innocent people were being punished for crimes that they did not commit. Even though there was little evidence‚ they were being hurt simply because somebody didn’t like their personal beliefs. The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are alike in many ways including their
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happened hundreds of years apart be strikingly similar? The themes and events of the Salem witch trails and McCarthyism era are very similar but still very different. The two events happened in the US history. The Salem witch trails happened in the year 1692 ‚ while the McCarthyism era was going on in the 1950-60 . The events happened 258 years apart. In both the witch trails and McCarthyism the accusations where based on pointless facts. “They be telling lies about my wife” (miller214). People
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To start off‚ the fear and paranoia of world destruction that existed in the McCarthy Era‚ was also clearly present in The Crucible with its deeply religious nature. American society during the McCarthy Era had a great fear of the Communists because they believed that the Communists wanted nuclear war‚ which meant the destruction of America and the rest of the world. On the other hand‚ communists did not yet exist in the time period that The Crucible took place in. Instead‚ the deeply religious nature
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Joseph McCarthy was a junior senator from Wisconsin who gave a speech in West Virginia in February 1950 in which he made the threat of communism clear to the people‚ “Today‚ only six years later‚ there are 800 million people under the absolute domination of Soviet Russia - an increase of over 400 percent. On our side the figure has shrunk to around 500 million. In other words‚ in less than six years the odds have changed from 9 to 1 in our favor to 8 to 5 against us” (Document G). The Soviet Union
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As a first generation Polish American‚ I grew up believing that medicine is untrustworthy. I was taught by the Polish community to avoid doctors and only went to a clinic when necessary. I have since abandoned this conviction and wholeheartedly accept the immense benefits of preventive care. However‚ a thought remains that haunts me‚ “Why is the Polish community so opposed to healthcare?” This question can be answered by looking to the past. During the communist era‚ the Polish medical system was
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Ogarek Period 5 "The whole past is the procession of the present." - Thomas Carlyle This statement coincides with the idea that history repeats itself. A perfect example of this is the similarities between the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. The Salem Witch Trials were portrayed in the novel‚ The Crucible. Arthur Miller wrote this novel during the McCarthy era. Arthur Miller was put on trial for communism in the same fashion of many during the Salem Witch Trials. Many of the characters in Arthur
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face a conflict of either blanketly removing the unacceptable or directly confronting and conquering the incorrect behaviors through allowing independent thought. Both McCarthyism and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 manifest this conflict and ultimately realize that knowledge and independent thought need to prevail. In both McCarthyism and Fahrenheit 451 a higher power attempts to eradicate knowledge and independent thought through book burning. “In 1953 U.S Senator Joseph McCarthy recited before his
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