What do the Salem Witch Trails and McCarthyism have in common?

Answer 1

I'm assuming you are reading Arthur Miller's play, "The Crucible" -- a favorite in high school English lit classes this time of year, but NOT a solid piece of history. Of course, that wasn't it's main intent. Miller wrote to criticize the McCarthy hearings, and used the Salem witch trials as a vehicle. In the process he changed (sometimes for dramatic purposes or to strengthen his point, sometimes because he probably believed he was being "true to" the basic happenings at Salem).

So the "parallels" Miller draws between the two are deliberate --and many of them are HIS parallels, which might be historically questionable or even outright wrong. The question then should read, "How does Miller, in his play "The Crucible' draw parallels between the McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch trials. (That's a LITERARY question, not a historical one.)
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Frankly, I think other folks, along with online sources like "sparknotes" can probably explain those LITERARY parallels. But in the interest of HISTORY (which is the subject head you asked under!) I wish to point out a few things that I hope help you begin to get a more accurate picture of what we know about both these events.

To begin with, note the importance to Miller's version of the adulterous affair between a 40ish John Proctor and 17-year old Abigail Williams. Minor historical problem -- there WAS no affair! When you discover that not only is there no historical evidence of such, but that Proctor was actually in his 60s, Abigail was on older than 11 in 1692 (and the affair would have happened earlier), it's all pretty obvious.

That's not to mention numerous other errors (deliberate or not) on very substantial matters, such as those about the beliefs of the Puritans (who were generally well-educated), esp. about their views on witchcraft (not a specifically Puritan belief but something common in Europe at that time), how such affairs were handled in New England (Salem was an aberration, charges were usually NOT lightly accepted, and deliberately false accusations were dealt with severely), and the role of Cotton Mather (who was not ever in Salem during the matter) and of the clergy in general. (Miller suggests the affair was an expression of "theocratic rule" --controlled by the clergy. But it was more a result, as witchcraft trials often were, of an fringe area NOT in control.)

Miller seems also not to have known about, or to have ignored such important matters as how the matter ended (when they stopped paying attention to "spectral evidence", partly at the urging of Increase Mather --Puritan pastor, father of Cotton) and all the work of apology, restoration and restitution to the families of those hurt, much of it by those who made the accusations ..

As for the McCarthy hearings -- the Senator himself was a self-aggrandizing, irresponsible blow-hardc. and brought disrepute on himself. But that does NOT mean that ALL of those looking into Communist sympathizers and agents in the U.S. government, etc. were simply paranoid. In fact, once the Soviet Union fell we found from their archives the names of people accused of being Soviet spies ... they actually WERE!!

So, based on what REALLY happened... well, the HISTORY parallels aren't quite so neat as Miller's STORY parallels.

Answer 2

The Crucible is a robust protrayal of what got here about on the Salem witch trials regardless of if, as you suggested, there is so a lot more suitable too it. in case you do not opt for to study, there's a very exciting movie version with Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder. although i might want to strongly recommend, even in basic terms scanning, the plethora of info it really is accessible on the challenge. The once you've performed all that, get a large piece of paper, and placed a itemizing of keyword phrases that come to concepts about the challenge. Then write what you remember about each and every key be conscious, this may help retention. once you've a real pastime contained in the challenge, that is going to be confusing to provide up studying.

Answer 3

The aspect common to both situation is that people were quick to believe in a great ill defined and unseen evil. Once the populace accepted that this evil was preying on their society they became hysterical and were willing to cast aside reason and normal legal protections.

Answer 4

The Crucible. Google for more info.

Answer 5

this sounds like a homework question.....