Compare And Contrast The Red Scare And The Salem Witch Trials

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Two Horrific Events Based on Lies The Salem Witch Trials ended with about 200 people being accused of “witchcraft”, and during the Red Scare, over a thousand people were accused of being part of the communist party. The Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials may have happened centuries apart, but were very similar in many different ways. The McCarthy hearings and The Salem Witch Trials were two very horrific occurrences in America 's’ history that were based on lies and a complete lack of facts and it is very important to learn about these events so that people can be better informed in the future. It is beneficial to learn about these topics together to gain a better understanding of each event. The Red Scare was a paranoid hunt for communists. …show more content…
The confessors only admitted their faults to save themselves from being killed or blacklisted. Mary Warren and the rest of the people who claimed they practiced witchcraft were a symbol for Elia Kazan in the McCarthy trials (U.S. History). From the beginning Mary Warren was on the fence about the whole thing. In act I, Warren states, “What 'll we do? The village is out! I just come from the farm; the whole country 's talkin ' witchcraft! They 'll be callin ' us witches, Abby! Abby, we 've got to tell.” (The Crucible). Both confessed to save themselves from a punishment (The Crucible). Kazan was expected to deny the accusations, and acquaintances states that they expected him to break the blacklist. (Westlund). Elia Kazan was later described by The New York Times as "One of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history" but this was not taken seriously by many people because of the sore spot created by the Red Scare and the McCarthy trials. Kazan told the House Un-American Activities Committee that there were 8 other Group Theatre members involved with his communists party (Elia Kazan). This move ended many friendships and ruined trust between close friends and colleagues. Kazan later made a comeback, but was never truly forgiven. He later wrote a book called Elia Kazan: The Life, which created some controversy because people had not fully forgiven him (Elia Kazan). He put others in danger for his own well-being, this is a similar situation with Mary Warren and the other confessors in The

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