Christian Servin and Kevin Dominguez

McCarthyism and The Salem Witch Trials

McCarthyism is a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the US government and

other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Or a practice of making accusations without any evidence.

The Salem Witch Trials took place in Massachusetts from 1692-1693. Women were accused of
doing witchcraft. Over 200 people were accused and 20 were executed.
McCarthyism Case Trial #1

Owen Latimore

● Raised in Shanghai
● Was one to the US Government's liaison
● Lattimore's outspokenness, liberal views and acquaintance with Chiang Kai-Shek made
him an easy target for McCarthy's anti-Communist campaigns.
● In 1950 McCarthy accuse Latimore for working with the Soviet Union.
● Latimore went through 12 days of intense questioning by McCarthy and his committee.
● Was charged with seven counts of perjury.
● Latimores reputation was destroyed.
McCarthyism Case Trial #2

Val Lorwin

● State Department Employee.

● Worked in the Labor section.
● Lorwin landed on the government's radar when his old friend Harold Metz testified that
Lorwin had shown him a red card for the Communist Party.
● ^hosted some strange people.
● Lorwin’s reputation was Tainted.
● Lorwin even said he felt like "several years of my own and my wife's life" were taken
away.
Logical Fallacies

Owen Latimore Case Val Lowry Case

● Begging the Question ● Guilt By Association

● Guilt by Association ● Ad Hominem
● Non Sequitor
Salem Witch Trial Case #1

The Salem Witch trials all began with Elizabeth and Abigail Williams

● Were related to a reverend

● Around 12 years old
● Started having fits
● Dr. William Griggs claimed that it was the work of the devil/ supernatural
● Girls blamed 3 women
● Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne
● Started a trend of accusations
Salem Witch Trial Case #2
Bridget Bishop was the first person executed in the Salem Witch Trials.

● Was accused of witchcraft by 5 people

● Was accused by Abigail Williams, Anne Putnam, Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and
Elizabeth Hubbard
● Accused of being a witch due to wearing flamboyant and exotic dresses compared to
what most Puritan women wore at the time.
● Jury of women found that she had a third nipple, which was “ concrete evidence “ of
witchcraft. However during her second examination no extra nipple was found.
● Was hanged in front of a crowd
Logical Fallacies

Elizabeth & Abigail Williams Bridget Bishop

● Begging the Question ● Begging the Question

● Bandwagon ● Either or Reasoning
● Post Hoc Argument
Parallels

● The desire to punish and ostracize people whose beliefs or habits

disrupted convention.
● Both events in the U.S.
● There was no real proof of witchcraft or communism, only
assumptions made by the people.
● Pressure for finding a scapegoat to allow fear to leave is what all the
citizens were desperate for.
● It only takes one person to cause overly dramatic scenarios.
● Every victim accused were able to be tried in a courtroom.
Works Cited

● Five Myths about Salem Witch Trials

● https://prezi.com/mrtlvem03nth/mccarthyism-vs-salem-witch-trials/
● http://historyofmassachusetts.org/abigail-williams-salem/
● http://www.famous-trials.com/salem/2043-bridget-bishop
● https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~lillie/McCarthyism/Victims.html