The Crucible Salem Witch Trials n In 1692

The Crucible

Salem Witch Trials n In 1692, citizens of Salem became concerned when several girls began shaking violently, seeing visions, screaming obscenities, and rolling around on the floor.

Salem Witch Trials n Nobody knew what caused mental or physical illnesses. For centuries, religious leaders had forbidden the study of medicine. If someone was sick, it was believed that it was either punishment by God or the work of the Devil.

Salem Witch Trials The girls were part of the Puritan society of Massachusetts. The Puritans were a particularly devote group of people that had fled England to escape religious persecution. During the rule of Queen Mary of England, any person who refused to worship God as a Roman Catholic risked being burned at the stake.

Salem Witch Trials n The Puritans believed that the Bible should be taken literally word for word. Therefore, they believed that witches roamed the countryside doing the Devil’s work. Further, they believed that any witch found should be put to death. n. Exodus 22: 18 "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. ”

Salem Witch Trials n n n Witch Hunts and other religious persecutions were very popular in Europe at the time. Conservative estimates are that over 50, 000 were executed as witches during the 16 th and 17 th centuries. Hundreds of thousands were put on trial. In one extreme case reported in 1589, only two women were left in the village of the Trier diocese after a witch hunt.

Salem Witch Trials n As the hysteria grew, neighbors began to turn on each other. Within a few short months, 141 people had been arrested for witchcraft. Of those arrested, 19 people and two dogs were hung, one person was crushed to death and an uncertain number died due to the filthy conditions of the Salem prison.

Salem Witch Trials n n Unlike today, physical evidence was not needed to convict the accused. A dream was enough to hang someone. Those who were arrested were tortured until they confessed and named coconspirators. If they refused to confess, they were hanged.

Salem Witch Trials Several years after the events of 1692, several of the girls stood up in church and confessed to lying. Unfortunately for the victims, the confessions came years too late.

Salem Witch Trials n Because of the lessons learned during the Salem Witch Trials, laws are now in place in the US to protect the accused as well as the victims, including the idea that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

Purpose the “The Crucible” n The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller in an attempt to protest against the Communist Witch Hunt during the 1940’s and 1950’s.

The Race to Build the Bomb On August 6, 1945 the United States began the Nuclear Arms Race when it dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

The Race to Build the Bomb During World War II, the United States and Germany had been in a heated race to perfect the atom bomb. As the winner, the US had suddenly become the most powerful and feared country in the world.

The Race to Build the Bomb The Soviets scrambled to develop their own atomic weapons. They succeeded in 1949 when they detonated an atomic bomb in Kazakhstan. The success was due to the fact that Klaus Fuchs, a German-born scientist, had stolen the plans from the United States. The theft was a huge embarrassment for the Democratic Party.

The Red Scare ► The United States believes in a democratic government and a capitalist economy while the Soviet Union believed in a totalitarian (dictatorship) government and a communist economy These viewpoints are completely opposite.

The Red Scare After World War I, several people around the world were joining political groups that taught communist ideas. n Members of the US government worried how the ideas of these groups would change the United States. n The wave of anticommunist propaganda that followed was called the “Red Scare”. n

The Red Scare n The Red Scare was a series of propaganda designed specifically to frighten the American public to gain support for anticommunism projects. – Children were taught to "duck and cover" under their desks or herded into school basements for periodic air raid drills. – Families were encouraged to build bomb shelters in their backyards.

The Mc. Carthy Era Soon, the “Threat of Communism” and “Nuclear Annihilation” became a hot topic for the Republicans who were looking to win the next Presidential election. One of the most outspoken members of the Republican party was Senator Joseph Mc. Carthy.

The Mc. Carthy Era n n Mc. Carthy accused the Truman administration of being directly responsible for theft of the atomic bomb plans by sheltering traitors and spies. As public fear (and subsequent support) grew due to Mc. Carthy's strong and convincing tone, other groups were added to the list of “undesirables” including homosexuals.

The Mc. Carthy Era n n n Because schools and universities are considered a breeding ground for enlightened thinkers, educators were frequent targets. Students were actively encouraged to report any events that might lead to an arrest. The entertainment industry, including actors, writers, journalists, etc. were especially targeted because of their ability to enlighten and educate the public. The FBI kept files on people considered “undesirable”. Often, the contents of the files were leaked purposely to employers and the press in order to embarrass or frighten the victim.

The Mc. Carthy Era n n People suspected of having communist sympathies were picked up and subjected to intensive interrogations. To prove their loyalty, people were forced to “names” of others who might have communist sympathies. This growing list of names caused many to believe the US really was in the middle of a national crisis. Although no one was convicted of treason, hundreds of innocent people found themselves with ruined reputations and unable to get jobs. Many of these people remain on the “undesirable list” and are unable to get certain types of jobs. Just like during the Salem Witch Hunts, the victims of the Mc. Carthy Witch Hunts were often arrested with very flimsy evidence. n Any event where several people are persecuted with little or no cause or evidence is known as a witch hunt.

The Mc. Carthy Era n n Arthur Miller wrote the Crucible to protest against the unlawful actions of the United States government although he knew that doing so would likely get him arrested. His choice of the Salem Witch trials as the subject of his new play was an obvious and dangerous comparison to the Mc. Carthy Witch trials.

Arthur Miller n n Because of his protest against the Mc. Carthy trials, Arthur Miller was arrested and himself called to testify before the Mc. Carthy-era House of Representatives Un. American Activities Committee in 1956. Although his career and reputation were on the line, Arthur Miller heroically refused to “names. ”

The Crucible Today, students all across the country read the Crucible as a warning against unfair laws and policies that might be encountered.