The Crucible vs. Japanese Internment free essay sample

Fear can cause people to not think straight and over react in serious situations. In The Crucible, fear caused Tituba and Abigail to blame innocent people for consorting with the devil in order to save themselves. This action later evolved into the whole town being fearful of the devil being in their presence. Likewise, after the attack on Pearl Harbor many U. S. citizens feared another attack causing distrust of Japanese Americans throughout the country. In both of these situations, fearing for ones safety was one of the factors leading to mass hysteria. Just like fear, intimidation was another reason for hysteria to spread through masses of people. In both cases, intimidation was used to force powerful leaders to comply with the wishes of the masses. With suspicion of Japanese Americans rising throughout the United States, many citizens wanted the Japanese people gone. Pressures from state representatives eventually cause President Roosevelt to call for the exclusion and internment of all Japanese citizens from the West Coast. We will write a custom essay sample on The Crucible vs. Japanese Internment or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the Crucible, when Judge Danforth would question Abigail of telling the truth Abigail would intimidate him by accusing him of working with Satan. This caused the judge to listen to whatever Abigail said. Both of these cases show that no matter how large or small the group of people, intimidation can cause even powerful leaders to go along with the hysteria. After all the turmoil the townspeople of Salem and the Japanese people dealt with, the people in power came to realize how the situations were getting out of hand. Once things started to calm down in the U. S. and people saw how poorly the Japanese Americans were treated, they were released form the camps in 1945. AS a way to make amends, Congress gave the Japanese a little money to help pay to get their land back. In the Crucible, many of the leaders started to see that the hangings were getting out of control and the hysteria was escalating. In an effort to stop it, they tried to get people to confess to witchcraft to put the whole thing to an end. Regret and progression of hysteria were able to put both problems to an end. The Salem Witch Trials and Japanese internment were both tragic events cause by mass hysteria. When fear and intimidation of the masses is forced upon leaders it can cause them to make rash and bad decisions. When decisions based on hysteria are made they end up being regretted and to be stopped. The Salem Witch Trials and Japanese American Internment both show how hysteria can bring out the worst in a person, a community, and a country.