Repeatitious History - Accusations of Witches in the 1960’s and Communist in the 1950

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the parallels between the ringleader of the Red Scare, Joseph McCarthy to that of the witch trials as undermining and manipulative.

The witch trials and the communist scare both were encouraged with the incriminations of the community. McCarthy used the threat of a list that had over 200 names of alleged communist within the government, Hollywood, and private citizens. His book, labeled the Blacklist, shocked the nation once published on multiple newspaper fronts. McCarthy had found the publicity he desperately wanted in the severe hoax of communist. The list had many flaws. McCarthy could never remember the original number of name he had given to the public and often changed it within speeches (201). When in court cases he always brought a briefcase containing “secret information” given to him by a source that wished to remain anonymous and that no one else could see. This allowed for no one to actually know the evidence in which he was basing his arguments against. His accusations led to a well known trial, the Rosenberg trial in which both Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of conspiracy against the nation and sentenced to death of electric chair (212). The Blacklist caused more than public scare, it caused for the death of innocent people. Just as McCarthy, Abigail Williams based her allegations on invisible evidence such as set out spirits. She then would cause bruises upon herself to support her claims. Abigail and the girls would call out the names of women, men, and children within the village that they disliked them, desired their husbands, or the girl’s family desired their land. When the person accused had their trial the girls would faint, scream, and make up lies to make the congregation believe the accused to be a witch. Their hoax sent many innocent people to their deaths. Abigail did not realize her words killed. She told herself and the others their actions were of helping to God in cleansing Salem. Abigail finally understood the error of her ways once she was called out on accusing a priest’s wife as well as when the love of her life, John Proctor was to hang for witchcraft. She would not take responsibility for the loss of life she caused; she fled to the coast to get onto a ship. Arthur Miller’s young girl characters demonstrate the parallel in the “list” of names given in Salem and America, that allegedly to be a threat to society were killed or their lives were ruined with social rejection.

In Salem Village 1690’s and American 1950’s the atmosphere was fear of the unknown and fear of who was the unknown. One person in each case took advantage of the hysteria to promote their self fame and to gain their motives. In Salem Village, teenage girls accused anyone in the community of witchcraft causing twenty deaths and even more with their lives ruined due to allegations. In American, Joseph McCarthy accused government officials, people within Hollywood, and private citizens of being associated with communism causing hundreds of deaths with even more lives ruined just as in the witch trials. Arthur Miller’s parallels: the extreme hysteria, one main leader, and the listing of name in The Crucible, correctly exposes the repetition within history during the Red Scare.