Mass Hysteria
The Salem Witch Trials vs. The Red Scare
The Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch trials of 1692 were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in the colonial village of Salem (now Danvers) in Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. In result of the trials, twenty people, most of them women, were executed. Despite being known as the Salem witch trials, the hearings in 1692 were also conducted in several towns in the Province of Massachusetts Bay: Salem Village, Salem Town, Ipswich and Andover. The Salem witch trials are an example of mass hysteria because people were acting and accusing each other of witchcraft.
The Red Scare
The Red Scare was the fear of the potential rise of communism In the United States during the 1920's and 1950's. Red Scare is an example of mass hysteria because everyone in the United States participated in fearing communism through propaganda.
The Salem Witch Trials vs. The Red Scare
The Salem Witch Trials and The Red Scare both have similarities and differences when it comes to mass hysteria. An example of mass hysteria they have in common is that both of the events feature people accusing one another of being a witch or a communist. An example of mass hysteria that don't have in common is that the people in the Salem Witch Trials did not bomb others while the people in the Red Scare did as a solution to their problem.