Compare/Contrast McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials
...society if drastic measures were not taken. In both sets of trials, accusations multiplied over time. At first just a few people were faced with accusations, but as the madness spread more people were accused. Many times, the new targets were people who expressed skepticism about charges brought upon an accused person or people who came to the defense of that person. The extent of the injustices was increased by the unwillingness, or fear, of enough people to speak up and say, “This is wrong.” People in both instances feared that by doing this they might either face accusations themselves or hurt their reputations. The Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy hearings are very similar and from very different times in history. They both involved a lot of innocent people who were accused of being something they weren’t, such as communists or witches. It was also very horrendous and repulsive to be in the day and age in which they were living. A lot of peoples lives were ruined because of a couple of girls or one selfish man. Salem Village faced daily challenges Both trials were deceitful, misleading and ultimately unreasonable to the people who were affected by it. But the McCarthy hearings, though unjust, were more just than the Salem witch trials. No one was killed or convicted, and people had a fair trial. People had then and still do today, the right to a fair trial because of the constitution, which was not around in 1692. Unlike the Salem witch trials, where a lot of people were hanged in the end, throughout McCarthy’s whole senatorial career, he never once was able to directly convict a single suspected Communist of a crime. But unlike t...