Throughout history, power has been obtained in a variety of ways. There have been coups and simple cases of inheritance. Sometimes people use methods such as the use of hysteria. In order to obtain power and manipulate people’s actions, public hysteria is created and exploited. Two examples of this occurring include the Salem Witch Trials and the development of McCarthyism.
The Crucible was written with focus on the Salem Witch Trials. Characters such as Judge Danforth and Reverend Parris used the fear of witches to obtain and hold power. During the Salem Witch Trials, many people were accused of being witches and were prosecuted in accordance. Abigail Williams and a few other girls began to accuse several women of witchcraft and of having …show more content…
In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy gave a speech. World War II had occurred and the United States was in the midst of a cold war. McCarthy “mounted an attack on Truman’s foreign policy agenda by charging that the State Department and its Secretary, Dean Acheson, harbored ‘traitorous’ Communists.” (Source 4) That is to say, Americans who were communists and traitors were under the protection of the State Department. Suddenly it seemed as if every communist was a traitor and if a person was communist or had relations with communists, they could be charged as, basically, a traitor. Again, hysteria bloomed. No one knew who the communists were and most people assumed that if a person was Communist they may basically be a spy or, at the very least, someone they couldn’t …show more content…
Because people were being convinced that communists should not be communist in the United States, the first amendment right in that regard was being revoked. Several years after his passport was denied, Paul Robeson, an actor and political speaker who lived during the era of McCarthyism, refused to sign a document saying that he was not Communist and decided to go to court. When asked if he was Communist during the trial, he refused to answer. “I invoke the Fifth Amendment,” he said, “and it is none of your business what I would like to do, and I invoke the Fifth Amendment. And forget it.” He had the right to do so. The fifth amendment says that no one should have to witness against themselves in a criminal trial. They can be silent on the stand if they want to. Nevertheless, the court continued to try and force him to answer the question. (Source 6) Communism was and is a political affiliation and the first amendment protects the right of religion, speech. People should have been allowed to believe what they wanted and talk about what they believed. That right was denied. McCarthy gained power when he created hysteria. He used hysteria to obtain power and caused the era of
The Crucible was written with focus on the Salem Witch Trials. Characters such as Judge Danforth and Reverend Parris used the fear of witches to obtain and hold power. During the Salem Witch Trials, many people were accused of being witches and were prosecuted in accordance. Abigail Williams and a few other girls began to accuse several women of witchcraft and of having …show more content…
In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy gave a speech. World War II had occurred and the United States was in the midst of a cold war. McCarthy “mounted an attack on Truman’s foreign policy agenda by charging that the State Department and its Secretary, Dean Acheson, harbored ‘traitorous’ Communists.” (Source 4) That is to say, Americans who were communists and traitors were under the protection of the State Department. Suddenly it seemed as if every communist was a traitor and if a person was communist or had relations with communists, they could be charged as, basically, a traitor. Again, hysteria bloomed. No one knew who the communists were and most people assumed that if a person was Communist they may basically be a spy or, at the very least, someone they couldn’t …show more content…
Because people were being convinced that communists should not be communist in the United States, the first amendment right in that regard was being revoked. Several years after his passport was denied, Paul Robeson, an actor and political speaker who lived during the era of McCarthyism, refused to sign a document saying that he was not Communist and decided to go to court. When asked if he was Communist during the trial, he refused to answer. “I invoke the Fifth Amendment,” he said, “and it is none of your business what I would like to do, and I invoke the Fifth Amendment. And forget it.” He had the right to do so. The fifth amendment says that no one should have to witness against themselves in a criminal trial. They can be silent on the stand if they want to. Nevertheless, the court continued to try and force him to answer the question. (Source 6) Communism was and is a political affiliation and the first amendment protects the right of religion, speech. People should have been allowed to believe what they wanted and talk about what they believed. That right was denied. McCarthy gained power when he created hysteria. He used hysteria to obtain power and caused the era of