Mass Hysteria In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

Mass hysteria is a condition on a group of people caused by paranoia, anxiety, and fear. The Lynching Era in the United States between the 1880s-1930s caused major paranoia for newly freed African Americans. Lynching was a form of killing done by a mob of people typically through hanging. The Ku Klux Klan, also known as the KKK, were a group of people with hatred towards the African American race. The KKK terrorized African Americans even after they gained legal equal rights in America out of pure hatred. Africans went into a mass hysteria, scared that they would be hung and used as display; many feared every white male especially in the southern states believing that they could possibly be part of the KKK and kill them. The KKK, specifically during the Lynching Era, created mass hysteria on newly freed African Americans by terrorising them using violent techniques such as hangings and cross burnings. Since the founding of the United States, African Americans were used as human machines to work on agricultural fields. After the Civil War ended in 1865, African Americans were granted civil rights due to the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and were no longer identified as white man’s property. The South, as its whole economy was based on the legality of slavery, was extremely upset with the decision to free the slaves …show more content…
The recurring theme of mass hysteria emerges through the main characters of the play: Abigail Williams, Tituba, and Mary Warren. Abigail WIlliams, a selfish teenage girl who is a skilled liar, turns her back on other characters in order to save herself and ultimately gets them killed by claiming they were witches. When she is accused of being a witch, she gets everyone to believe Tituba, a slave, is the real witch; she throws Tituba under the bus in order to save herself. When Mrs. Putnam comes into the room with Tituba, Abigail