Salem vs McCarthyism

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Imagine you are called in by an official of your government. He sits you down in a chair and informs you that you have been accused of something terrible, something that everyone in your city fears. You defend yourself and tell him that you had nothing to do with this crime. The official says he believes you, but in order to let you leave, you have to give him the name of someone you know who has committed this crime. You know of no one who would commit such a heinous crime, but the official refuses to let you go until you give him a name. One name. Any name. This situation sounds a little extreme, and even a bit barbaric. One would think that it would have happened a long time ago, before men were civilized and refined. They are right. This situation perfectly describes what happened with the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. One might also say that this could never happen in modern times. That is where they would be wrong. This scenario just presented not only perfectly describes the Salem Witch Trials, but it also perfectly describes the Red Scare of the 1950s and the practice of McCarthyism that went on during it. I’d like to take a look at the parallels between the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism of the 1950s. Let’s begin with the famous Salem Witch trials of 1692. It all started in the Puritan communities around the area of Salem Massachusetts. The Puritans were a very upstanding, strict, religious, and superstitious people. Everything in their lives was centered around their faith. Church and state were most definitely not separate. Almost all of the laws in New England Puritan villages were taken directly from scriptural teachings. They were a God-fearing people, who believed that anything bad that happened to them was a ... ... middle of paper ... ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism#Origins http://www.writework.com/essay/comparison-between-mccarthyism-and-salem-witch-trials http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTRIALS/salem/salem.htm http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritan#New_England_Puritans http://www.academicamerican.com/colonial/topics/puritannewengland.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Salem_witch_trials http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Scare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Un-American_Activities_Committee#Standing_committee_.281945.E2.80.931975.29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_blacklist#The_blacklist_begins_.281947.29 http://modern-persecution.wikidot.com/mccarthy http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmccarthyism.htm http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/blacklist.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism#Decline

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