Hysteria Through History (Expository)

Throughout history, it has been shown time after time that people will not risk their own safety to spare another’s life. In 1692, the Salem witch trials were the starting point of hysteria and executions. The “red scare” and McCarthy trials ruined the reputations of many and took lives as well. Despite their different time periods, sizes, and locations, these two major “witch hunts” focused on eliminating a certain group of individuals and relied on unsupported claims to do so.

The Salem witch trials stem from a mixture of economic conditions, congregational strife, and personal jealousies. This caused many accusations, trials, and executions to happen during the time of this madness. The villagers in Salem went berserk as they couldn’t determine who was a witch or not. Everyone went crazy over the littlest things they’d imagine, whether if they “witnessed” someone saying curses or brewing potions. Nobody could be trusted after a certain amount of trials had happened. Life changed after the trial of Bridget Bishop.

Bridget Bishop was the first person to be brought to trial for witchcraft and was about sixty years of age (Linder). She was a tavern owner, who had lived with her husband before she married him, and who often played shuffleboard, but was also critical to her neighbors and reluctant to pay her bills. She seemed like a normal old lady who had some flaws, but one accusation lead her to her death. Bishop’s trial was based on a farmer who testified that she was stealing eggs from him and “transformed” her figure into a cat (Linder). Another villager accused her of tormenting him in his bed. Soon she was ordered by the judge to be hanged for all the mayhem she brought. This one trial was the beginning of multiple yet to come.

Economic disparity was a cause of the hysteria in Salem. Initially, the poor and marginalized citizens were accused. However, the poor also accused the citizens who lived in the South of Salem because they were generally able to live better financially (Linder). Accusers just wanted to own property of the ones they accused. They also wanted to get bribes so that they can say it was a “misinterpretation” and let the accused not get hanged. Blackmailing became a popular method of getting whatever the citizens wanted in Salem. There wouldn’t be any evidence and still everyone would believe their accusation. The ones who were found guilty got hanged.

Accused citizens of Salem were either hanged or sent to jail because nobody wanted witches roaming around the streets of Salem. There were a total of nineteen men and women who were sentenced to be hanged at Gallow Hills (Linder). One man, Giles Corey, who was over the age of eighty, was pressed to death by heavy stones because he refused to submit to witchcraft charges. The rest of the “witches” lived in seclusion.

Unlike the Salem Witch Trials, the "red scare" focused on the elimination of possible communists within the United States. The “red scare” intensified the fear of communism (“House”). As a result, HUAC, the House of Un-American Activities Committee, was created to abate the communism issue and any potential threats. HUAC, the committee created by Congress in 1938, identified and eliminated suspects of the communist party. HUAC targeted those who are in the entertainment industry due to their liberality, which was an assumed trait of a communist. This led to the creation of the Hollywood Blacklist. Because of the Hollywood Blacklist, many celebrities have been accused of being associated with the communist party, which took a major toll on their careers (“House”). A Wisconsin senator, Joseph McCarthy,was determined to identify and demolish anyone who may be a communist (“House”).

In order to attend to McCarthy's desires to abolish communism, he demanded that Joseph Welch investigate and search for those who were accused of communism. In the McCarthy/Welch Exchange of June 9, 1954, McCarthy claimed that Welch was unknowing of the communist party, and that Welch has not recognized the aptitude of this issue. Even though McCarthy was willing to provide evidence, such as the citation that showed the legal arm of the communist party, Welch refused to view any claimed evidence. Yet, Welch was convinced that McCarthy was full of nonsense, and he refused to prolong the conversation any further. Therefore, he dismissed McCarthy and asked for the next witness (Army-McCarthy).

A witch hunt is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the act of unfairly looking for and punishing people who are accused of having opinions that are believed to be dangerous or evil”. This is evident to be true during the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy hearings. People during both events are falsely accused without hard evidence and are quickly tried for committing acts or activities that some deem as "unAmerican" or "non Puritan". In both cases, there is an unrelenting uncovering of the culprits, but many of those who are blamed are actually innocent.

When citizens in Salem begin getting accused of performing witchcraft, there is no probable cause to blame them for said acts. Although at the time these false accusations are not seen as a problem because the people actually believe witchcraft is taking place, in present times this is an issue. Abigail Williams from The Crucible is the one who blames the innocent for partaking in these acts, but because of the community’s strong belief in the Devil and any essence of impurities, they do not have a second guess on whether or not these accusations are factual. As the allegations for witchcraft intensify, so does the search for those responsible. “Witches” that are found in Salem are accused for the slightest anomaly or plainly pointed blame without real evidence of sorcery.

While the era of fear of communism arose, Joseph McCarthy became the Abigail Williams of his time. McCarthy asserted several people for having ties with communism, causing this panic from the witch hunts to escalate. In both occurrences, the witch hunt for those “guilty” points blame on those who are in fact responsible. The term “witch hunt” is also displayed as the pursuing of those whom a higher power deemed either “un-American” or participating in witchcraft. This alleged involvement with a feared party or coven brought many of the families of those accused to a deep level of distress.

During the Salem witch trials starting in 1692, an entire town went bonkers after just one false allegation of witchcraft. A farmer’s unsupported allegation caused Bridget Bishop her life and sparked hysteria that continued for years, taking the lives of possibly innocent women and creating a milieu of bribery and blackmail, causing some to use their false allegations to gain land, money, and property. Unfortunately, people capable of giving up a another’s life for personal gain did not disappear over time.

Senator Joseph McCarthy’s famous speech in early 1950 announcing his knowledge of communists infiltrating America fed into the “red scare”, beginning the hunt for members of the communist party in the United States and attempting to eliminate them completely.

The “red scare” resembled the Salem witch trials in many aspects. Both the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and the people of Salem, Massachusetts relied on evidence-free accusations to eliminate communism and anyone in the communist party. The accusations in both rounds of trials sparked “witch hunts” and created reputations for those accused that landed them on blacklists in their communities.