Hysteria in Salem--Could it Happen to You?

The above video comes from the Discover network as Part V of their series that attempted to unravel the hysteria that gripped Salem village in 1692.

After you watch the video (the action really starts at around 1:55), be sure to post answers in detail to the following questions:

--Why is it easy to get swept away by the feelings of a crowd?
--There were at least two people who didn't feel any "psychic activity" at the site, but they all agreed something weird or strange was happening in the house? Why?
--What are the character traits that enable people to stay apart from the crowd?
--Do you consider yourself a person who believes in ghosts, witches or voodoo, aliens, or anything else that could be considered eccentric or strange? If so, why do you have these beliefs? If not, why do you not have these beliefs?
--How much of a role do you think this "crowd hysteria" played in the Salem witch hunts?

ZOMG!!! It's the Bomb!! Everyone DUCK AND COVER!!!

Watch the following video and then answer the questions that follow in detail:



Consider:

--There are many examples in this film a modern day audience might find naive or amusing. What are they?

--WHY do we consider these things funny and/or awkward?

--Underneath this film is a very real fear of the atom bomb and annihilation. Where do we see evidence of this fear throughout the film?

--How does the fear evident in this film link to the fear of Communism in the 1950's?

--How is the hysterical fear this film addresses analogous to the fear in 1692 Salem? In what ways is it different?

McCarthy Hearings vs. Salem Witch Trials

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.

• 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.