Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Seminar: „Can an innocent person be guilty? “: The Salem Village
Witchcraft Trials and Their Cultural Effects

An approach to the methods in the Salem witchcraft trials
and the McCarthy hearings - a comparison of
the trial records

by: Ekrem Lukovic

Table of contents

I. Introduction 3

II. The primary historical context: Salem in 1692 4

II.1. The political situation in 17th century Massachusetts 4
II.2. The problem of proving witchcraft 4
II.3. The law and the judges during the trials 6
II.4. Spectral evidence 8

III. The secondary historical context: America in the 1950s 10

III.1. The McCarthy Era 10
III.2. Senator McCarthy and his assistants 11

IV. A comparison of the methods in both trial records 13

V. Conclusion 23

Bibliography 24

I. Introduction

Many times it has been said that if people learn from their mistakes they are doomed to repeat them. Such is the case throughout history. There are many different examples of this, but one is the blatant similarities between the witch hunts in Salem Massachusetts and the era of McCarthyism. When looking at either or these events separately it is hard to believe that they could have actually happened, not only once but, twice. The cause of the Salem witchcraft trials and McCarthyism were irrational fears that witchcraft and communism were going to infiltrate society if drastic measures were not taken. As a result these two incidents represent one of the darkest moments in the American history. Especially the Salem witch trials are unique, in some respect, in the history of witch hunts all over the world.

When Arthur Miller’s The Crucible was first performed in 1953, its audiences were quick to recognize the connections between the witch craze in the 17th century and the American anti-communist hysteria of their own time. In May 2003 the U.S. Senate released all of the previously closed anticommunist hearings that Joseph McCarthy conducted a half century ago. The release meant, at long last, access to the largest body of unexamined McCarthy materials other than his own senatorial papers. Since the parallels between the events in both times are extremely striking, it seems necessary for the understanding and interpretation of both trial and hearing records to explain its dual historical context. In a first step this research paper will give an explanation of the historical circumstances of both the Salem witch hunt and the American anticommunism und McCarthy. In the second part, the paper will focus on parallel phenomena and differences of the trial and hearing records underlying the events in both times. This comparison is intended to reveal the methods the Court of Salem and McCarthy’s committee used in their investigations in order to get the needed information.

II. The primary historical context: Salem in 1692

II.1. The political si tuation in 17th century Massachusetts

The witch hunt took place in 1692 in Salem, a New England colony and village inhabited by Puritans. Shortly before it broke out, the colonists had suffered a cruel disillusionment. In 1684, England’s king Charles II recalled the charter that had enabled the settlers to govern themselves, and two years later a royal governor was appointed. Their independence of the English crown being lost, the people in Massachusetts felt betrayed. In 1688, after the English king had been deposed, the colonists threw off the imposed governor. Yet their hope that God would now restore their independence proved false. William III, successor of James II, sent as a new governor Sir William Phips.

Governor Phips arrived in Massachusetts in May 1692, when most of the people accused for witchcraft were already in prison. He established the Special Court of Oyer and Terminer, which was presided by his deputy governor William Stoughton. The judges of this court, although willing to put an end to the witch craze, helped to make it spread throughout all of New England. They did this by convicting on the basis of spectral evidence, defined as evidence offered by a supposed victim of witchcraft to the effect that the devil tormenting him appeared in the shape of the accused. When the executions stopped in the fall of 1692, this was not because people ceased to believe in witchcraft, but due to the fact that reliability of spectral evidence was questioned. Governor Phips discharged all the remaining “witches”, and five years later Massachusetts established a day of fasting to repent for the killing of the innocent victims. In 1712, the excommunications were rescinded, and the government awarded financial compensation to those victims who were still alive.

II.2. The problem of proving witchcraft

In New England, witchcraft was to be treated like any other crime because the witch consciously used her occult powers in order to hurt her victim. Since this act takes place within the witch’s mind, it was impossible to prove. There were many discussions about whether the effects of witchcraft were real or only delusions of the devil. The final agreement was the central legal- theological definition of witchcraft which was a refined version of the demonological one: the turning away from God rather than the turning to the devil, let alone maleficium (the use of magic in order to commit evil acts), constituted the crime.¹ Still the only solid evidence was to get a confession from the witch, although folk traditions also knew several rituals and signals that were believed to prove the involvement of occult powers. Unfortunately, confession was a way for the accused witches and wizards to escape the hangings: they claimed that they also had been bewitched and, as a proof, named those who had forced them to give in to devil, as well as person they had seen at the witch Sabbaths that were believed to have taken place. This way, the number of imprisoned suspects increased extremely fast. Besides, the confession was considered to be the act of turning back to God, so that a confession sinner was to be given the chance of purging his soul instead of being executed.

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1 Drechsler, Wolfgang; The Use of Spectral Evidence in the Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Miscarriage of Justice?, In: Herget, Winfried (Hrsg.); The Salem Witchcraft Prosecutions, Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 1994, p. 189