Essay Example on Salem Witch Trials and The McCarthy Era.

Leah Zafir Mrs. Ephrati American History 12 December 2017, Salem Witch Trials and The McCarthy Era. The United States of America is filled with many historic events enriching its history. Many events that occur are compared to past events in our history. In particular, the McCarthy Era in the 1950s was compared to the Salem Witch Trials which occurred in 1692. This correlation was first made by Arthur Miller who wrote the play The Crucible. He connected the time period of McCarthy to where there was a hunt for communists to the Salem Witch Trials where there was a hunt for witches. Following that many comparisons and contrasts have been made between the two The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthy Era are both similar yet different.

 Miller The Salem Witch Trial was caused by a combination of numerous different factors and events. Firstly the people in Salem town were extremely religious devout puritans who believed in the powers of the devil. They believed that the devil would give supernatural powers to some people in response for their loyalty to harm others. This created fear amongst the colonist of witchcraft and the supernatural. Hence the scapegoating during the Salem Witch Trial was backed by the fear and anxiety that resonated amidst the colony. In addition, there was a lot of stress in the colony due to a recent smallpox epidemic and attacks from the neighboring Native Americans staff.