Comparative Essay: “The Red Scare” Versus “Salem Witch Trials”

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Introduction to the Red Scare and Salem Witch Trials

The grey murky sky turned in an instant and became a bright, vibrant red tinge as if the devil himself had cast a spell of darkness, destruction and set the entire sky alight. The aftermath of spit fires between them and us caused great uncertainty and upheaval. Plane parts and enormous sparks from plane engines plummeted from great heights at a fairly high speed crashing on departure, making the earth tremble in absolute horror as those on the ground looked onward, helplessly. The smell was so vulgar, after a while I became desensitised to it. The smell of dead bodies on top of each other as if they were cradling each other for comfort.

Despite the fact the surrounding area was a war zone there were trees shattered inside and out, at a forty-five degree angle. However, it had some lovely long, shrugged, tall grass that looked splendid despite the unfortunate situation. Conveying no man’s land – arranged ground between two opposing armies – which you would presume was once upon a time full of life, thriving and holding many great wonders; nature, plants, trees, animals and long shrugged grass which had likely been cut. Kneeling down hidden in the shrugged grass surveying the area around me as I lay perched with my platoon in the midst of horror. Suddenly, unable to move, motionless from the legs down.

Endlessly skewering for salvation, refuge or even the slightest sign of human life, for hours upon end, it soon became pointless. A figment of my imagination, a fantasy I was longing for. The gory event, in which I had been injured, sent shivers down my spine yet for some bizarre reason which is unknown I can’t forget it. Reliving every single second in my head in slow motion, like clockwork. Utterly mind-numbing, soul-destroying. It happened so fast, in a matter of seconds. I didn’t have time to react. One minute we were all together, then the next thing I knew they were gone. They just vanished, disappeared into the mist. Friend’s bodies, limbs and even bones could be seen scattered.

Such a devastating thing which was binding them and us together. Both sides were feeling great pain, anguish and sorrow. The field of blood was stained and tainted with loathing and hatred it acted as an artery circulating blood throughout the whole body of no-man’s land.

Trying to unbundle, decrypt the utter madness that had arosen, reliving the screams of friends, as they lay dying. My mind slowly but surely disintegrated.

“Gas! Gas! Hurry, get geared up lads! Quick, put it on!”

The words were shouted out by the commander of our platoon as the devious yet silent, deadly assassin approached our location with only one thing on its mind, to penetrate and eliminate. Afterwards the enemy fired their machine guns mercilessly, attacking those already unable to breathe never mind dodge a bullet. I was shot in the midst of all this mayhem. Lodged in my back, a few inches to the right of my spine and was a present from the enemy. A bullet was discharged and shot, a blast leaving a huge gash, sending a severely painful tingling sensation down my body (from my arms, legs and head as it gave me a frightfully, appalling headache).

Vultures – man eating beasts; animals – glaring down upon me as if I’m their next feast. Breathing heavily, not trying to scream or yelp. Suddenly a dot became a smudge and a smudge became a disfigured figure of men in the distance beyond the green mist. Hostiles! The enemy swept the ground high and low poking and prodding our brave patriots. Shaken by the incident that just occurred. I tried with all my might to move. Nothing, nothing seemed to move from the legs down. I could feel the touch of my rugged, dirty hands rubbing against them, with the slightest touch. Repeatedly demanding my body to move without any luck. More or less it made me worse for wears. Straining my muscles, tendons again and again. Until in the mist, the enemy could clearly be identified. Camouflaged by the long tall grass, I lay there for so long the earth sank, becoming a mould to the shape of my body. It kept me warmer before the earth began to sink. Before I was at Mother Nature’s mercy. It could have snowed, rained or if she was extremely angry there might have even been thunder or lightning. Unable to seek safety by my own means. I used the gruesome, gruelling, gritty blood of a dear soldier. Smearing it all over my face, trousers, tunic, and arms.

My new disguise made me left feeling rather deranged and sadistic at the same time. I was next in line to be subjected to an insertion of a large, spear point, as it had happened to those that were already dead. Intestines dangling mid-air as if they were about to be served on a silver platter. Quivering with tremendous fear, gasping for air, as I didn’t know if it would be my last. My breathing got deeper and deeper, fainter and fainter. I plucked myself up thinking of positive memories of home. Mum’s roast beef dinner we would eat with the family every Friday whilst telling jokes or just talking. Roast beef covered in gravy with a side of vegetables. No doubt better than the tined food the Army was giving us. Unable to venture to seek safety by my own two feet as they were; fatigued, fragile and brittle. I thrust one on top of the other until I was steady and still. Making sure my feet were secured on the ground still functioning, as they would have done previously, when I was once healthy, happy, and full of energy. Not then as I was the complete contrary; no longer fit due to being all skin and bone, less energetic, and quite depressed over the fact of losing those closest to me, right in front of my eyes.

Bleeding more vigorously than before, the soldiers blood I had previously used to persuade the enemy I was dead, was soon submerged by my very own. The enemy drew to a close, in firing aim, in lengths reach. Keeping still, immobile in that very moment, all of a sudden the adrenaline kicked in and I was no longer caring for my safety. Not in the right frame of mind, there on forwards. Stumbling, tumbling but still marching forward knowing the likelihood of the outcome. Trudging through the thickly painted red grass. But limping on towards the enemy, heart thumping, and pounding, with a slight shiver down my spine. Proud and thankful to fight for my country. Great nation! Running straight ahead not hesitating or turning back, I sprinted into the mist. The overgrown wasteland of the Holy Grail that may have been the undoing of me was also the last hope for our great nation if the war is unfortunately lost. Having faith, tossing a coin on whether or not we will win and prosper or fail terribly with great dignity yet a deep amount of sorrow, enough to last a century

Commonalities Between the Red Scare and Salem Witch Trials

When comparing the “Red Scare” in America in the 1950s to the “Salem Witch Trials “also in America at the end of the 1960s, there is obviously some commonality. There was no real scientific evidence for witchcraft or scientific proof that Communism works and both were looked on with scepticism. Those who were believed to be witches and communists were feared, as there was a lot of ignorance and it was unknown. Both of these events created hysteria, chaos, and lots of commotion by stirring up people’s fears. Luckily for us – those that are living now, in the 2000s – the Salem Witch Trials and the Red Scare both ended, it seems to have caused a lot of trouble and hysteria for the way people wanted to live their own lives with tremendous outside interference.

Differences in the Nature and Outcomes of the Red Scare and Salem Witch Trials

Although the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials were both horrible times in America’s history, there were some major differences. All the way through the Salem Witch Trials, catching all of the witches was impossible, unrealistic, and wouldn’t have done anything to solve the problems of the people. The main reason for this is due to the fact that there weren’t any witches because witches aren’t real. However, during the Red Scare, there really were spies in America. Although I don’t agree or support the way America tried to change their ideals (America liked the ideology of the American dream i.e. money and hated the idea of sharing it), or find what they saw as soviet subversives at least they were trying. Trying to find them was a good idea. If America had found all of the Soviet Spies, then one of America’s major problems would have been solved years ago ( In 2018 it was alleged that Russia was tapping President Trump’s phone.) Unfortunately, the utter stupidity of some of the individuals in the American government left the search for the spies to get out of control and it spread from Politics to the general population.

Historical Context and Impact of the Salem Witch Trials

The Salem Witch Trials in 1692-1693 were a dark period in American history. More than two hundred people were accused of practicing witchcraft and twenty were killed. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of witchcraft cases brought before the local magistrates in a place called Salem, which was in Massachusetts. The first witch trial occurred because the daughter (Betty Parris) and the niece (Abigail Williams) of the local reverend had become violently ill. The girls were having some type of epileptic fit and would scream out, moving their bodies involuntary and throwing things across the room, as if it were in a horror film. The village doctor, William Griggs, somehow came to the conclusion and diagnosed them as being ‘bewitched’ and all of a sudden the hunt for the witch who had done this began. Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne were the first three women accused of witchcraft, they were all people who were greatly frowned upon by the local residents and seen as outcasts. One lived on the streets (Sarah Osborne), one didn’t regularly attend church (Sarah Good) and one was a black slave (Tituba). People feared that the devil sent witches and was constantly trying to infiltrate and destroy Christians and their communities.

The first Red Scare occurred immediately after World War 1 and the beginning of the Bolshevik Russian Revolution. The first Red Scare occurred during the years 1917-1920 and was sparked by terror and speculations, widespread strikes and a series of terrorist attacks. The second Red Scare refers to the dismay of communism that allowed American politics, culture and society to go down the drain from the late 1940’s through to the 1950’s, during the opening phases of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

The Red Scare: McCarthyism and the Fear of Communism

The Red Scare is properly known as “McCarthyism” after its most famous supporter for fighting communists, Senator Joseph McCarthy. Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed that there were two hundred and five known communists working for the U.S. Department of State. Though evidence proved otherwise, his accusations stirred fear and terror in many Americans. Leading to the point where ordinary citizens were blackmailed, or prevented from gaining employment, if they were suspected of being a communist. McCarthyism spread throughout universities, labour unions and businesses because no one wanted to appear too weak or soft on communism. His tactics of spreading panic and making baseless charges became known as McCarthyism. McCarthyism is thought to have increased popularly with the fear of communist and espionage. For example it was included during the Soviet Eastern Europe, the Berlin Blockade, the Chinese Civil War and the Korean War. However despite this his fame suddenly began to plummet when his charges became more wild and aggressive attacking fellow Republicans, the U.S. Army came to view his tactics as unfair and cruel. Due to McCarthy’s remarks President Truman felt he had to take action because of pressure from the Republicans. Having created a plan to investigate all federal employees and fire those who were found to be disloyal from federal employment. A total of three million people were investigated, only two hundred were found to be disloyal. Alger Hiss was accused of being part of a 1930’s plot to place communists inside the government. Though he couldn’t be charged, later he was convicted of lying under oath. Spy cases fuled the unease of communism; Klaus Fuchs was a Manhattan Project scientist who gave atomic bomb information to the Soviets. Whereas, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were accused of leading a spy ring; they were convicted of conspiracy and executed in 1953.

The Smith Act in 1940 made it a crime to call for an overthrow of the U.S. government or belonging to an organisation that did so. Upheld by a court in 1951, Dennis versus United States. Communist officials registered with the U.S. government, establishing a broad spectrum of communist’s organizations when investigating cases; it also prevented communists and radicals from entering America.

Well, you could say that these horrendous times in these American periods ended in a strange way. The Salem Witch Trials ended when the governors’ wife was accused of being a witch. Immediately after this happened, the governor said that they had captured all of the witches, and that they should stop looking. The Red Scare was ended because of the balances and checks of the American government. Many people were complaining about how slowly the government was operating because of the lack of money. But we do need to understand how important those checks and balances were to ending one of the worst periods in U.S. history.

Conclusion: Reflecting on the Historical Significance of Both Events

In conclusion, the Red Scare and the Salem witch Trials were total opposites. They were both in different time periods, one in the 1950’s and the other in the 1940s. Contrasting how news of these events spread to the everyday individual, the Red Scare was spread throughout the media e.g. television and the Salem Witch Trials were spread by hearsay and spitefulness, meaning that many panicked and accused individuals had their civil rights being tested and ultimately were found to be meaningless/insignificant people. Both events had casualties some just and others were just plain wrong. However, The Salem Witch Trials was more religious, whereas the Red Scare was predominantly political. Despite the few similarities that link them together the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials couldn’t be more different.

Works Cited

http://oxfordre.com/americanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-6
https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/red-scare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCarthy
https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/salem-witch-trials
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/25/trumps-phone-calls-bugged-russia-china-us-intelligence-claims/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Scare
https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/joseph-mccarthy
http://www.answers.com/Q/How_did_the_Red_Scare_end_detailed

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