Silence In The Salem Witch Trials And Mccarthyism

The Consequence of Silence When society is crippled with fear, people tend to remain in silence. Speaking out can lead to saving a life or to your own demise, which paralyzes those who are cognizant of the truth. As a result, lives are gone in vain. Therefore, speaking up when one knows the truth is righteous. Silence has been a destructive mistake resulting in many misfortunes, especially in the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. With no one opposing the accusers, those accused of practicing witchcraft in The Salem Witch Trials were condemned. Witchcraft was thought to be diabolical in the 17th century, which meant that people were highly skeptical of each other. Paranoia of witchery commenced in the early 1690’s in Salem Village, Massachusetts. It began with the accusation of Tituba, who was framed as the source of the unnatural behaviors of Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Parris, along with other children. Soon most of the town was afflicted and many others were accused of being a witch. The people charged with being a possible witch lived with the stigma placed upon them. Once accused, they were put in prison then tested by being dunked underwater. If they floated, it meant that s/he was a witch, in contrast drowning signified innocence. Due to the …show more content…
They were both built upon fear and paranoia, including accusations created with circumstantial evidence. The people forced in the situations of misfortune were ruined and some resulted to death. They were denied innocence because of the association of unacceptable social conducts or beliefs, which the accused denied but were not trusted. In opposition between the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism, the reason of different results were of the actions taken by the people and their reasons. The Salem Witch Trials ended in personal reasons, while the blacklisting and McCarthyism ended because people spoke up in