Accusations, suspicions, anxiety, confessions, scandal...
These are simple ideas that we have familiarized ourselves with upon reading "The Crucible" and the events that took place in Salem, MA. As you may already know, this is not the only time that "witch hunts" were witnessed in American history.
In the 1950's, a scandal arises when Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin releases a statement that he had a list of names of individuals within the U.S. Department of State who were active members and spies of the Communist Party. He accused numbers of people from the Truman administration, the U.S. Army, and other important members in government of being involved in Communist activity, sending the nation into a panic. Soon celebrities were pulled in with the Hollywood blacklist, causing. Eventually, McCarthy's popularity and support began to fade, as the evidence to support his wild accusations was inadequate.
Throughout the many hearings on this case, people in question were often interrogated with loaded questions and encouraged to release more names. Here is a piece of a transcript from the hearing of Stanley Berinsky, a man suspended from the Army Signal Corps after it had become apparent that his mother had once been a member of the communist party:
The CHAIRMAN. Let’s get this straight. I know it is unusual to appear before a
committee. So many witnesses get nervous. You just got through telling us you did
not know she was a Communist; now you tell us she resigned from the Communist
party? As of when?
Mr. BERINSKY. I didn’t know this until the security suspension came up at Fort
Monmouth.
The CHAIRMAN. When was that?
Mr. BERINSKY. That was in 1952.
The CHAIRMAN. Then did your mother come over and tell you she had resigned?
Mr. BERINSKY. I told her what happened. At that time she told me she had been
out for several years.
The CHAIRMAN. . . . Well, did you ever ask her if she was a Communist?
Mr. BERINSKY. No, sir. . . .
The CHAIRMAN. When you went to see her, weren’t you curious? If somebody told
me my mother was a Communist, I’d get on the phone and say, ‘‘Mother is this
true’’? . . .
Did she tell you why she resigned?
Mr. BERINSKY. If seems to me she probably did it because I held a government
job and she didn’t want to jeopardize my position.
The CHAIRMAN. In other words, it wasn’t because she felt differently about the
Communist party, but because she didn’t want to jeopardize your position?
Mr. BERINSKY. Probably.
The CHAIRMAN. Was she still a Communist at heart in 1952?
Mr. BERINSKY. Well, I don’t know how you define that.
The CHAIRMAN. Do you think she was a Communist, using your own definition
of communism?
Mr. BERINSKY. I guess my own definition is one who is a member of the party.
No.
The CHAIRMAN. Let’s say one who was a member and dropped out and is still
loyal to the party. Taking that as a definition, would you say she is still a Communist?
Mr. BERINSKY. Do you mean in an active sense?
The CHAIRMAN. Loyal in her mind.
Mr. BERINSKY. That is hard to say.
The CHAIRMAN. Is she still living?
Mr. BERINSKY. Yes.
It comes at no surprise that Arthur Miller, a man caught up in the scandal himself, decided to write "The Crucible," using the Salem witch trials an effective metaphor for the hearings he and so many others endured.
These are simple ideas that we have familiarized ourselves with upon reading "The Crucible" and the events that took place in Salem, MA. As you may already know, this is not the only time that "witch hunts" were witnessed in American history.
In the 1950's, a scandal arises when Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin releases a statement that he had a list of names of individuals within the U.S. Department of State who were active members and spies of the Communist Party. He accused numbers of people from the Truman administration, the U.S. Army, and other important members in government of being involved in Communist activity, sending the nation into a panic. Soon celebrities were pulled in with the Hollywood blacklist, causing. Eventually, McCarthy's popularity and support began to fade, as the evidence to support his wild accusations was inadequate.
Throughout the many hearings on this case, people in question were often interrogated with loaded questions and encouraged to release more names. Here is a piece of a transcript from the hearing of Stanley Berinsky, a man suspended from the Army Signal Corps after it had become apparent that his mother had once been a member of the communist party:
The CHAIRMAN. Let’s get this straight. I know it is unusual to appear before a
committee. So many witnesses get nervous. You just got through telling us you did
not know she was a Communist; now you tell us she resigned from the Communist
party? As of when?
Mr. BERINSKY. I didn’t know this until the security suspension came up at Fort
Monmouth.
The CHAIRMAN. When was that?
Mr. BERINSKY. That was in 1952.
The CHAIRMAN. Then did your mother come over and tell you she had resigned?
Mr. BERINSKY. I told her what happened. At that time she told me she had been
out for several years.
The CHAIRMAN. . . . Well, did you ever ask her if she was a Communist?
Mr. BERINSKY. No, sir. . . .
The CHAIRMAN. When you went to see her, weren’t you curious? If somebody told
me my mother was a Communist, I’d get on the phone and say, ‘‘Mother is this
true’’? . . .
Did she tell you why she resigned?
Mr. BERINSKY. If seems to me she probably did it because I held a government
job and she didn’t want to jeopardize my position.
The CHAIRMAN. In other words, it wasn’t because she felt differently about the
Communist party, but because she didn’t want to jeopardize your position?
Mr. BERINSKY. Probably.
The CHAIRMAN. Was she still a Communist at heart in 1952?
Mr. BERINSKY. Well, I don’t know how you define that.
The CHAIRMAN. Do you think she was a Communist, using your own definition
of communism?
Mr. BERINSKY. I guess my own definition is one who is a member of the party.
No.
The CHAIRMAN. Let’s say one who was a member and dropped out and is still
loyal to the party. Taking that as a definition, would you say she is still a Communist?
Mr. BERINSKY. Do you mean in an active sense?
The CHAIRMAN. Loyal in her mind.
Mr. BERINSKY. That is hard to say.
The CHAIRMAN. Is she still living?
Mr. BERINSKY. Yes.
It comes at no surprise that Arthur Miller, a man caught up in the scandal himself, decided to write "The Crucible," using the Salem witch trials an effective metaphor for the hearings he and so many others endured.
- Explain in detail what you know about the McCarthy Hearings and how they relate to the Crucible.
- Explore a little more on your own: http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/McCarthy_Transcripts.htm
From home: I encourage you to watch some of the McCarthy hearings you can find online on sites (like YouTube) at your own convenience.
I think that the Salem witch trials were a big farce and were just a means of releasing tension of someones own crime by pointing their finger at someone else. The Salem Witch trials as well as these McCarthy hearings were unfair and unjustified. It is no one's right to punish someone because of their mothers preference of governmental belief. It is also wrong to ask loaded questions to the accused, after all, everyone is innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. Aren't they?
ReplyDeleteIn U.S. History, my class discussed about McCarthy a lot and how he convinced or tried to convince many people that there were communist spies. We talked about the blacklist and how many people were accused in the beginning but eventually McCarthy was caught and he made these false accusitions in order to retain a higher position in government. This article relates to the Crucible because Abigail and other characters of the book accuse false accusations of witchcraft on women just to get them in trouble or to get the blame off of them for supposedly performing acts of witchcraft in the forest. Hopefully Abigail and others will get caught for their terrible sin of lying in the end!
ReplyDeleteThe McCarthy hearings were a way to discover who in the U.S. department of state was a communist. These accusations were not real, just like the salem witch trials. He made these accusations when the country was very scared about the communist party taking over our government. During his trials he asked a ton of loaded questions that couldn't be answered correctly in hopes to catch someone in a lie, and then prove they were communist. This is just like what happened during then salem witch trials, the people on trial were asked a ton of loaded questions, to try and catch them in a lie. It left those accused confused by the questions, therefore being accused of lying.
ReplyDelete(:
Last semester in Honors U.S. History, we learned about Joseph McCarthy and his attempt to dispan a "so called" corrupt society. In doing so he pointed fingers at many prestegious and important people of that time, calling them communist and tratiors. Saying that they should be thrown from the government and punished for their unloyalty to their country. He even had the nerve to point out men in the U.S. Army who where part if this "rebellion" and strived to make them found. The ironic part of his whole story was the fact that he could never publish, rather come up with, the list of all these peoples names. While all along he would tell people he had a list. McCarthy goes hand in hand with the story "The Crucible" because in both cases, fingers were continuously being pointed at those who were accused of a crime when in fact they were most of the time innocent. Hearings were also held for the accused in both cases in court and there was also never hardcore proof of the crimes. It was simply based off of one persons' beliefs and personal opinions.
ReplyDelete"The Crucible" and the McCarthy hearings are very similiar in what went on. They both pointed fingers, assumed, and judged the people around them for something they're not or for something they didn't do. McCarthy accused people for being communist instead of asking them or finding out if they actually were. Alot of innocent people lost their jobs and couldn't get another one. In "The Crucible" they accused people of being involved with witchcraft and actually being a witch. They would never just ask them if they were they would just ask loaded questions and make it to where you looked guilty no matter how you answered it, just like McCarthy had instructed to do. Both "The Crucible" and the McCarthy Hearings had some sort of assumption to it and they both belived that it was true. It is so hard to be able to prove yourself when you are put into a situation like that because you are so nervous and you are shocked that anyone would ask you that.
ReplyDelete~Lindsey Brown~
The McCarthy Hearings were unfair and unconstitutional trials for people who were accused of being communists, with little or no proof. These accused people suffered irreparable damage to their reputations. The country was accusing people they didn't like, and then those people received unfair trials with loaded questions. It is eerily similar to what happened in Salem. Almost everything that happened in the Salem Witch Trials happened in the McCarthy trials.
ReplyDeleteThe McCarthy hearings were filled with heavy accusations that were based off absolutely nothing, quite similar to the Salem Witch Trials. McCarthy was saying that people in the government were Communists during a time that the United States was incredibly afraid that its nation would fall to the party. During the Salem Witch Trials, a group of little girls were accusing people of being witches also during a time when the whole Puritan religion was afraid of witchcraft. The Salem Witch Trials' accusations were given by more than one person, but the incident with McCarthy was done by just McCarthy himself. Both of these events caused many people to lose things dear to them. The Salem Witch Trials' loses were more serious because those who were said to be a witch were either hung or imprisoned. The people who were accused of communism lost their job and were shunned from society. What stopped the McCarthy Hearings was when he decided to accuse the US Army of Communism, and no one believed him for making up such a far fetched story. Eventually, something similar happened to the Salem Witch Trials; people in the town slowly began to not believe those that stated that they afflicted by the accused.
ReplyDeleteIn history we discussed the McCarthy hearings. I know of the Rosenbergs and I know of Alger Hiss. I know that there was a whole belief system based off of these McCarthy hearings known as McCarthyism. This was when our whole country was going through a "red scare", or fear of spread of the communist party. Senator Joseph McCarthy accused people including actors in Hollywood, causing them to be blacklisted. He would come up with lists before the court with no evidence. His last stand was when he accused a slue of men in the U.S. ARMY. This made people realize that McCarthy was just trying to get attention. I think that the Crucible is somewhat similar to the era of McCarthyism; however I think that it’s not exactly the same. During the McCarthy hearing there really were communists that were discovered such as Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs. In the Crucible people like Rachel Nurse and John Proctor suffered after being accused of something that was not even real and fueled by the rambunctious teens of the village. The "red scare" was real because there were, in fact communists in the United States. Yes, the two are somewhat similar; however, I think that McCarthyism is more legit than the Crucible.
ReplyDeleteThe Red Scare of the 1950's was VERY similar to what happened in Salem. Everyone else's paranoia and confusion caused the innocent to be blamed and prosecuted. The McCarthy trial relates to the Crucuble, in that they both have characteristics of almost tricking their suspects into being guilty. They both try very hard to ignore the obvious and only focus on getting people to confess rather than the truth. I think that people did this in both cases, because they wanted to find a temporary fix to their own fear in the 1950's(Communism) and in the 1690's (Witchcraft). Why not blame someone else and convince yourself that the problem can be fixed? I think that this was the mindset of McCarthy and his supporters and the magistrates and religious figures of the New England Colonies. They even both resulted to charging figures that were in the public eye, to gain nationwide "hate".
ReplyDeleteIn the 1950's, many people believed that communism would eventually reach the United States and this thought frightened many people. Communism was becoming more and more powerful overseas and the U.S. believed that citizens the U.S. were secretly communists. A man by the name of Joseph McCarthy accused over 200 people of being communists and began asking a bunch of loaded questions, much like in the play The Crucible. This time, however, they didn't have the same effect as they did in Salem. People would eiher confess to being a communist, or they would be fired from their jobs. In the end, most people accused were found innocent. This also relates to the play because many innocent people were falsely accused of acts in which they did not partake in. Confessing into being apart of these acts would be the only way to get out of trouble.
ReplyDeleteI think that during these times, people were just trying to point the finger at someone else to get the attention away from themselves and make it seem like communism was taking over the country. McCarthy was just trying to cause a big uproar in the country and make himself look like the good guy by accusing other important people of wrongdoings. In the end though, he became infamous and had very little support. I think that it is wrong for accused persons to be interrogated using loaded questions, because many of these people would then just throw out other names to get the attention off of themselves. Many innocent people were accused of doing things that they probably had nothing to do with, in reality.
ReplyDeleteMccarthy falsely accused innonocent people of being communitst in a time where they were feared. Just like in the salem witch trials where people were being accused of being witches, which everyoned feared. These kind of things ruined peoples lives. Peole juged other people based on fear and supersticion, instead of common sense and the facts. We should rember to not let fear rule our lives.
ReplyDeleteThe McCarthy Hearings and the events in the Crucible are very similar. They both include unfair judgements with little to no real proof confirming someones guilt or innocence. McCarthy and the girls in Salem both accused people because they did not like them or because they were easy to blame. In both situations the accusers finally went to far and accused someone that the people knew were innocent and the madness died down. In both cases many people had their reputations ruined and some people even died because of the accusitions brought up against them.
ReplyDeleteUS history covered this subject extensively, during the 1950's there was concerns about the welfare of the government. Communism was taking over the eastern half of the world. The Soviet Union was a big enemy of the US, and people in the US thought that the USSR could be sending spies into our government, trying to make it into a communist state. This was called the Red Scare. Joesph McCarthy was a US Senator that wanted attention and what better way than to accuse many government officials of being cummunists. He claimed to have a list of 200 names that were a part of the communist party. The McCarthy hearings were the trials of those 200 people. Many of these people were found to be innocent but were blacklisted, or fired form their jobs. Everyone accused was backed into a corner, either confess to being a communist or get fired anyway. It was the same with in the Crucible, the accused women either had to confess or be hung for lying. Either way the accused were condemned in either case. The interogation was not that different either, they both used loaded questions to make sure that the people were accused or condemned in some way. The McCarthy trials ended differently though, McCarthy lost fame and many of the people went on about their way. But the parallel between the two stories could have one singular point that brings them together, the writer, Arthur Miller, was one of the accused in the McCarthy trials.
ReplyDeleteBoth the McCarthy hearings and the Salem Witch Trials were unfair. Mr. King taught me about the McCarthy Hearings during US History. He pointed his finger at a long list of people that he wanted punished for being Communist. This is just like Abigail did with the women she accused of being witches. McCarthy messed up when he accused members of the US Army of being Communist. Abigail, meaning to get Elizabeth in trouble, got Mary Warren in trouble... which could be devastating if Mary doesn't get out of it. McCarthy confessed to making up people to be on his list, and Abigail confessed to working with Satan. Hopefully, like McCarthy, Abigail will get in a lot of trouble for disrupting the lives of so many people.
ReplyDeleteChelsea Hartsell
In the 1950's, there was a huge "Red Scare" that brought the US into panic. People were afraid that our country would fall into communism, and many men tried to accuse people of communist ideas and bring them down. McCarthy was the most infamous of these. He accused many people until finally accusing members of the US Army, which was too much, and so he was brought down. His trials as well as the Salem witch trials were both unfair in the fact that loaded questions were asked in order to get somebody in trouble. False accusations were used to catch somebody "lying".
ReplyDeleteThe McCarthy hearings were filled with many accusations that were based off the simplest of terms. The McCarthy hearings were very similar to the Salem witch trials. They took blame and prosecuted many innocent people. The McCarthy trial were held in a time of the world were the government was afraid of the communist party taking over. Where the Salem witch trials were when the puritan riligion was scared of witchcraft. The governmental sysytems of these times were so focused on not allowing either situation to happen that they only believed what they wanted to. They were all incoherant to the truth so therefor many innocent people got convicted. They had unreliable sources. The salem witch trials ran there convictions on what a group of little girls said. McCarthy had a lists of people that was false. Eventually the towns people started to not believe the accusers and that they affected the ruling of the accused. For the McCarthy trial, when he accused the army people just thought he wasn't being very smart and stopped believing.
ReplyDelete~caryssa
The McCarthy hearings were unjust as well as unconstitutional for so many reasons. it accused so many celeberties,army officals,and even people in our own goverment at that time of being communist on no solid proof what so ever. In the trials they asked loaded questions so it was diffficult for the people being accused to really anwser them truely with out getting the blame put on them. it was very much similar trials earlier in our countres history were the Salem witch trials. which was haveing so many people being accused of performing witch craft. they are very similiar useig loaded questions and unfair trials to condem people to a life of hatred and animasity as well as death.
ReplyDeleteeven though these are horrifing events are still apart of our nations history and should be remmebered so nothing like it ever occurs again.
Senator Joseph McCarthy's "communist hunt" closely resembles the situation which took place in Salem, MA. McCarthy accused numerous people, mainly important government officials, of having communist affiliations and of being spies in the government; in Salem, numerous people were accused of being witches. Also, the most insubstantial evidence was enough to convince others that the accused were guilty. In the above transcript, the chairman asks several loaded questions about Berinsky's mother which parallels the loaded questions asked in "The Crucible," such as "How high did she fly?"
ReplyDeleteDuring both events, people had to endure accusations against their character and hope that the people judging them would put their predetermined thoughts aside and listen to what they have to say.
I really dont know that much about the McCarthy hearings except by reading this excerpt. Although it seems as if McCarthy and his hearings are very similar to those of the Salem witch trials. Both the Salem trials and McCarthy's hearings seem to be pointless. I believe in the end McCarthy did confess to these falsely accusations of members of the Senate and of the US Army to be communist. I also believe that Abigail, in the crucible, confessed to "talking" to the Devil. So pretty much in both situations, there was a lot of trouble stirred up for nothing.
ReplyDelete-Andrew R. :)))))))))))))))))))))))
In my U.S. History class we talked about McCarthy and how he accused people. What i noticed is that he never showed any proof that these people were spies. He just randomly came up with a list and said that these people were spies. Where he messed up was when he said that there people in the army and U.S. senate that were spies. I noticed that this is related to the crucible because of the conversation that the chairman and Mr. Berinsky were having. There was a lot of loaded questions in that conversation and it sounded like the conversations that Hale had in the crucible. Mr. Berinsky also admitted to his mother being apart of the communist party and that reminded me of when Abigail admitted to talking to the devil because I"m pretty sure that Mr. Berinsky grew up around his mom and probably picked some things up from her.
ReplyDelete-Ryan Wat
I feel that the McCarthy Hearing was not fair at all. Just because his mother "was" a communist doesn't mean that Joseph McCarthy was a communist. The chairman asked way to many loaded questions to McCarthy and jumped to conclusions way to fast. This can relate to the Salem witch trials because there was no justice served. People just pointed fingers and blamed them because they didn't like them. I know they did that during the Salem witch trials just so that they could get land. They should only accuse people if they have absolute proof, in writing, recording, etc, before they blame that person.
ReplyDeleteThe Crucible directly mirrors McCarthy's hearing. In both situations loaded questions were asked and the people being tried weren't able to stand up for themselves. In McCarthy's trial, everyone already knew he had drawn up a fake list of names, whether he did or not. Everyone in the town of Salem knew all the women and girls were practicing witchcraft, whether they were or were not. The authority figures in both situations already had their minds made up when they went into the court room. They didn't need people to testify against the defendants. They were guilty either way. During the Salem Witch Trials, the people of the town were extremely fearful of witchcraft and during McCarthy's time, Communism was the big scare ( The Red Scare). If anyone was suspected of being involved in these practices, harsh punsihments would be inflicted, whether you are guilty of the suspisions or not.
ReplyDeleteThere is a direct parallel between The Crucible and McCarthyism. This parallel being that back during the Salem Witch Trials people were accused of being witches with weak proof. McCarthy accused celebrities and people in the government of being communists when they, in fact, had no connection to communism at all. From this, I can see how McCarthyism directly relates to the Crucible, people being accused of something they were innocent of, and being asked unfair loaded questions that accuse them of the crime without correct justification. I guess it's true when people say that history repeats its self.
ReplyDelete-Elizabeth
I know that McCarthy claimed to have a list of names, that were in the communist party. In the end, when it was all over, the government found no list at all, so he really never had any proof. It is a lot like the Crucible, because it started out where he would accuse people that weren't that high in the U.S., such as an everyday person. People got so hyped up with the idea, and believed him. Many innocent people were being accused. Then he began to accuse people in the army and government. This is when it got out of had. This is like the Crucible, because the witch trials started out with lower class people, and then grew to people that were higher up in the community, and that owned land.
ReplyDelete