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Post by etiennem15 on Sept 18, 2013 22:03:35 GMT -5
Marvin Etienne
Mr. Thomas
English 11
18 September 2013
E. I was surprised when I read that McCarthy tarnished many people's reputation by accusing them of being communists. In addition to not having sufficient evidence, he accused them even if they has a friend who was a communist. He states that "today we are engaged in a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity." Today in our society, we too, are engaged in a battle. For example, the heated tension between the United States and Syria and Russia. Also, Obama is instating fear in us to coax us into believing that an attack on Syria is the "right" and "just" decision.
D. One quote that stood out to me was “the reason why we find ourselves in a position of impotency is not because our only powerful, potential enemy has sent men to invade our shores, but rather because of the traitorous actions of those who have been treated so well by this nation." I'm guessing that the people he is talking about are present during his speech. It's interesting to see the target audience McCarthy has chosen to blame, thus, ruining their reputation.
I. I really agree with Matthew Chan when he connected Edward Snowden to the story. We have all heard of him in the news and know that he was considered a traitor. I too think that Snowden would be a main target of Senator McCarthy's speech and it is almost like this speech fits his situation. That was a great connection Matthew, I was thinking the same thing.
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Post by epoccia on Sept 18, 2013 22:06:18 GMT -5
Eddie Poccia
English 11
Mr. Thomas
18 September 2013
C. One of the things that had me confused in this story is that Massachusetts decided to apologize 250 years after the Salem Witch Trials. "However, it was not until 1957- more than 250 years- that Massachusetts formally apologized for the events of 1692." To me, this just doesn't make sense and I didn't understand why it took more than 250 years to apologize.
E. I feel like the people of Salem were overreacting and were being somewhat naive about the situation. I found it surprising that even the doctor blamed the supernatural for the odd behavior of the children. Many innocent people were condemned to death for being suspected of using witchcraft. All of these people died for no reason and they realized what they were doing after the damage was done. i could not believe that they pressed a 71 year old man with heavy stones. I think the people of Salem took it too far and it was unecessary.
I. I agree with Matthew Chan's response to E. Governor Phipps clearly did not care about the people of Salem as he was condemning innocents and having them killed. He even went as far as establishing courts dedicating to the Witch Trials. I thought that he took it too far and all of the people that were executed and imprisoned did not have to be.
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djmat
New Member
Posts: 39 
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Post by djmat on Sept 18, 2013 22:23:28 GMT -5
Dj Mat
Mr. Thomas
English 11
9/18/13
D.One thing i found a bit crazy was the fact that in the article "A History of the Salem Witch Trials" the adults or people in charge really believed what the children had told them about those three women without even questioning them. The children "Elizabeth, age 9, and niece Abigail Williams, age 11, started having fits. They screamed, threw things, uttered peculiar sounds and contorted themselves into strange positions." What the children were doing may have sounded weird but if you think about it, it sounds like an average child to me. If anything i would think they were trying to set those three women up.
C. What i don't understand was how a leader of a colony allow something such as these trials to start because of a few children? Were people back then really so simple minded to believe that witches were real and over 200 of them were living in this one area? The past of our country is a bit disappointing if people were being accused of being witches without concrete evidence.
A. To be honest the Salem witch trials reminds me a bit of our justice system today. Obviously our justice system is way better than what it used to be but people are still being falsely accused. I woman named Sally Clark was falsely accused of murdering son. When it turned out that her son had died or natural causes and evidence had been tampered with. Just like in the article Bridget Bishop was sent to special court and found guilty even though she said " I am as innocent as the child unborn." Granted this is not much evidence to dismiss her but the court also had no evidence.
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Post by frankclarke on Sept 18, 2013 23:03:03 GMT -5
Frank Clarke
Mr. Thomas
English 11
18 September 2013
A. On the third page of McCarthy’s speech he discusses how the FBI had investigated, but nothing was really done about it. “the FBI had occasion to investigate the facts surrounding Hiss’ contacts with the Russian spy ring….. nothing was done” This could be related about a lot of issues, such as 9/11. The FBI had information about attacks of the United States, but thought nothing of it. (so did the CIA, and nothing was done either!) Whether it’s incompetence or laziness we’ll never know. If these counter-terrorism units collaborated maybe the truth would come out!
C. McCarthy likes to call out high-powered figures in the government, but never really gives really any reasoning behind his conjectures. Why? Yes, he gives some of the things he believes that these people did, but never any facts. Why believe someone who spits all conjecture?? Most people only listen to facts in this world. Id like to know what his ideology was as a kid??
D. A line I enjoyed in “A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials” was; “Following the trials and execution, many involved, like judge Samuel Sewall, publicly confessed error and guilt.” This line exemplifies the pressure that these judge’s are put under in certain circumstances. This shows that this specific judge was weak in judgment, and especially in character. The actions by the General Court could be shown as a cover up by their mistakes, trying to convey that they now care, which is how most mess-ups are covered up today!
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Post by michaelannunziata on Sept 19, 2013 8:10:27 GMT -5
Michael Annunziata
Mr. Thomas
English 11
9/17/13
A. I think that McCarthy’s speech is very similar to the Syrian crises with president Obama. President Obama is trying his best to install fear into us by saying that if we don’t attack first they will, so he is trying his best to make sure that the senate puts an attack on Syria. This relates to McCarthy’s speech because, McCarthy was using a similar tactic since it had only been five years since the end of a world war and also the Cold War was going on at the time. Also McCarthy also doing this to provoke an attack on Russia since we were in the middle of a war with them. That’s how McCarthy’s speech relates to Obama and the Syria crisis.
c. Although I enjoyed the speech a lot there was a couple of things that confused me. One of the things that confused me was that no one took a stand to try to prosecute the traders. Why do they not deserve to be punished for the way they turned their back on them. It just doesn’t make sense being that there is clear evidence that they are traders.
I. I would like to comment on George Baroudos’ answer to question E. I one hundred percent agree with George because like pretty much all the judges Samuel Sewall did do many wrongs and the behavior of these judges is unacceptable but because Sewall admitted to his wrong doings which is very inspirational to me.
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Post by Mr. Thomas on Sept 19, 2013 9:29:58 GMT -5
Matthew Ko
Mr. Thomas
Discussion Board – Salem Witch Trials and Joseph McCarthy’s Speech
19 September 2013
A. McCarthy’s speech related directly to people today in America. When he states, “swept from the nation scene so that we may have a new birth of national honesty and decency in government,” (last page) we see how Joseph wants a new government and is very skeptical about the people who consist of it. Many people today in America are very much against the government because of what the economy brings. People having trouble finding jobs and making money blame the government for their loss.
D. I was very interested in the line when Blumberg says, “All three women were brought before the local magistrates and interrogated for several days,” (bottom of first page) because this gives us a great idea of the paranoia and injustice back then. People who were innocent were made into patients who were constantly looked at and interrogated for a conclusion that was made so fast. In some cases, they claimed The Devil had overtaken them, maybe to live up to the idea that might as well be a witch if they proclaim me as one.
E. My reaction to the idea of, “if she could be a witch, then anyone could,” (last page top side) sparked me because of what people must have been like back then. Living in a village thinking that a witch could be around the corner would be pretty scary. Something that could be completely fake turned into a whole quest in finding these people. This meant if you made the slightest mistake that would be misunderstood, you would be interrogated for days until you confessed or be held as a prisoner. Overall, I think that everyone was either playing a role that they lived up to or casting a burden on themselves.
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Post by Mr. Thomas on Sept 19, 2013 9:31:15 GMT -5
Joel Rodriguez
Mr. Thomas
English 11
September 19, 2013
F. I feel that the relationship between McCarthy and his audience in Digital History to be the same relationship shared between the finger pointers and the rest of Salem. They’re both dishonest manipulative relationships. You can look at both McCarthy and the snitches to be like salesmen. They install a bit of insecurity into their audience, the people they are trying to sell a product to, and then pitch their solution to them getting them hook to the idea that it would actually work. It worked for the both of them. For example McCarthy uses the quote, “We are living in a system of states, and the existence of the Soviet Republic side by side with Christian states for a long time is unthinkable,” something said over 3 decades before to install a bit of fear (pg. 1).
C. Why would someone confess to being a witch? For example in “A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials” Blumberg says, “Osborne claimed innocence, as did Good. But Tituba confessed…(pg.1).” Did they love their religion so much that they would lie about being a potential danger to it, even though it would lead to their death?
H. Seeing how it was the 1600’s during the Salem Witch Trials I could imagine everyone with pitchforks and torches in front of an alleged witch’s house. Also with them being so paranoid and all like shown on page 2, “Magistrates even questioned Sarah Good’s 4 year old daughter, Dorothy, and her timid answers were construed as a confession,” I wouldn’t be surprised if they interrogated a dog accused of being a “Devil helper.” I could imagine them taking the dog to a courthouse and if it barked an odd number of times its guilty but if it barks an even amount of time it’s innocent.
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Post by johnmarano on Sept 19, 2013 20:35:16 GMT -5
John Marano
Mr. Thomas
English 11
18 September 2013
A. After reading “Salem Witch Trials,” I can draw connections to an experience that I had heard of. I listened to the news and a story about a girl who was accused of murder because of her “strange” activity. I believe her to be innocent because of keeping up with the trials, but I feel that she eventually felt guilty herself. I really believe that she thought the devil had been speaking to her especially after she was basically giving up on her freedom. This court was similar to the Puritan way of life. Both were strict, VERY STRICT. Like the Puritans, one little move can lead to suspicion. The woman was accused because of her attitude, but there was no concrete evidence.
D. After reading McCarthy’s work, I was very interested and certain line stood out to me. “Today we are engaged in a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christanity.” I really felt that this quote had an impact on the story because McCarthy emphasizes this. I feel like he is making situations sound worse than they are. The Cold War stayed verbal and there was no all-out physical battle. His quote made it seem that a huge outbreak had occurred.
I. After listening in class today and reviewing my friend’s comments, I was able to get a general understanding on the opinions of my classmates on McCarthy’s speech. I would like to comment on Emmanuel Luna’s comment. I really enjoyed how he explains that this story reminds him of present day events. I am impressed with his comparison to Syria. He explains how Obama is using fear tactics, just like the fear tactics being used in this story. I would also like to comment on John Rice’s quote. “Ladies and Gentlemen, can there be anyone here tonight who is so blind as to say that the war is not on?” I like this because McCarthy is explaining he knows that war will be upon them. I want to say that I agree with John because he is giving no evidence, just assumptions.
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