The Cause Of Mass Hysteria In The United States

“Mass Hysteria in Upstate New York” The general argument made by Ruth Graham in “Mass Hysteria in Upstate New York” is that cases of large groups of people becoming suddenly ill have surfaced because of a massive panic occurring. More specifically, Graham reasons that a large group of teenage girls experienced Tourette’s like symptoms due to mass hysteria. Graham writes, “Typically, symptoms-which can include Brownell’s Tourette’s-like movements, along with nausea, dizziness, cramping, and more-start with one or two victims and spread when others see or hear about them” (1).

How was the idea of a witch created or thought of? It started when two girls asked an Indian woman their fortune. Their reverend father noticed odd behavior, and as the result of a testimony, the first three woman were sent to jail. After that there were more accusations of people being witches. But what made people believe or know that another was a witch?

Red Scare panic and hysteria began in 1919-1920’s after WWI. Thanks to the Red Scare, the American public became paranoid and suspicious of everyone from Communist Russian. In some cases, neighbors would report neighbors as being Communist spies just because they did not like their neighbor. The modern day terrorism The anti-Muslim panic and hysteria arose after terrorists came to the United States as normal immigrants and used the American education system to train themselves to be aircraft pilots and got support money from those already in the United Sates began with the attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon. Both are the reactions of the American public to acts of war.

During the Salem Witch Trials, which were a series of witchcraft trials that took place in 1692 in Massachusetts, nearly 19 people were executed by hanging and 200 people were accused of witchcraft with various consequences. There are several theories surrounding the causes of the Witch Trials, but most historians agree that they were a result of mass hysteria within the population of Salem and other surrounding towns. The circumstances that contributed to the mass hysteria surrounding the Massachusetts Salem Witch Trials of 1692 include ergot poisoning, family rivalries, and a strong belief in the occult. Each of these theories are very real explanations which could have contributed to the events in Salem, although none of these events have

In 1692, the colonial town of Salem Massachusetts exploded with craziness, and had accused over 200 people of witchcraft, and executed 19 of them. The event was nothing compared to other witch trials around the world, yet even 300 years later, people are still talking about it. It is so well known because of the panic that really defined that time in history. But what caused the mass hysteria surrounding the Salem Witch Trials? It was a horrible combination of high tensions due to the hard times people of Salem were going through, and fear of the Devil.

Also like what happen after 9/11 with the muslims, people were always frantic whenever they heard about islamic faith or muslims in general since people thought of terrorist. With the three connected they all had mass hysteria after innocent groups of people were blamed for something they haven't even done and paying for other people's mistakes and problems not their

Mass hysterics follow the paranoia, quickly everyone launches into a frenzy, confess witchcraft and blame someone else, their only way out. But sometimes, mass hysteria looks different. In this quote Burbano, a victim and survivor of the Pulse shooting, shows how quickly the hysteria took over. “In the confusion of the dark, packed club, people dropped to the ground and hid in bathrooms. Many started to run for the exits, grabbing friends and strangers along the way.

Analyzing both historical and modern societal examples of mass hysteria, Small details the contributing factors of mass hysteria including: psychological stress, anxiety, and group pressure. Small remarks that in a state of panic or hysteria, humans tend to misread normal and often logical manifestations such as stomach pain or scratches on their vehicles as something much more severe, even more so when they are in a situation where groupthink is prevalent. This article goes on to remark the impact of hierarchy on mass hysteria as the public is more likely to follow, trust and agree with their leader. Small deduces that the physical manifestations of mass hysteria originate from an environment in which group dynamics are prevalent, concluding that it has the potential to appear anywhere in

Nineteen people were hung due to false judgement by human nature and society. Taking place in a small village called Salem, inside of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, during a depressing seventeenth century, was a movement that would challenge the nation’s religious and psychological beliefs. Innocent people were being accused of witchcraft, when rather they were just ill or not taken care of properly by family and friends. Thought to be caused by stress, fear, and panic, the Salem Witch Trials was an event that changed the nation’s view on mental illness because of false assumptions and mischievous behavior. The Salem Witch Trials was a series of false accusations of witchcraft taking place in Salem, which during the seventeenth century, was apart of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

During the late 17th century a total of 200 people were accused of participating in witchcraft, while 19 people lost their lives to the mass hysteria. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a group of girls start a huge uproar in Salem, Massachusetts when they start screeching about Salemites being associated with the Devil. Throughout the play write, it shows the consequences of mass hysteria and how it puts people's lives in danger. Abigail Williams causes a wave of mass hysteria and because of her trickery, innocent people have died by her and the other girl’s actions, for this Abigail is the most unforgivable character in The Crucible.

Mental Illness in Salem Witch Trials Introduction Witchcraft is the practice of magic and the use of spells and the invocation of spirits. According to Salem Witch Trials, 2015, the Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem, Massachusetts claimed to have been bewitched by several adults in the town. More than 150 people were accused and hung, including men, women, and children (Salem Witch Trials, 2015). There were three girls in particular that sparked the trials: Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, and Ann Putnam. Also stated in Salem Witch Trials, their behaviors changed drastically; they began to hallucinate, shout in church, have fits, not eat, not wake up, attempt to fly, and feel as if they

The Salem Witch Trials; Madness or Logic In Stacey Schiff’s, List of 5 Possible Causes of the Salem Witch Trials and Shah Faiza’s, THE WITCHES OF SALEM; Diabolical doings in a Puritan village, discuss in their articles what has been debated by so many historians for years, the causes of the Salem Witch trials. Schiff and the Faiza, purpose is to argue the possible religious, scientific, communal, and sociological reasons on why the trials occurred. All while making word by word in the writer’s testimony as if they were there through emotion and just stating simply the facts and theories. They adopt the hectic tone in order to convey to the readers the significance, tragedy, logic, loss, and possible madness behind these life changing events,

Miller conveys his point that allowing selfishness and fear to consume society can be devastating and harmful to life through his use of the witch trials and the mass hysteria that occurs during

Fear that spread among a group of people in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials, that event in history is a prime example of Mass Hysteria. In Salem the reason why so many women were killed was because of Mass Hysteria. It caused many people, in Salem during this event to think fast, rash and jump to conclusions. “The Crucible”, a short play dedicated to these events in Salem shows us how hysteria was such a leading cause of why the Witch Trials had even occurred. Reverend Hale, Abigail Williams and Judge Danforth.

Terrorism causes fear all across the world. People are terrified because of what happens in these attacks. There are many different kinds of fear caused by terrorist attacks. Some react to these attacks differently than others. Many react to these attacks in a constructive and rational matter, this helps to not give the terrorists what they want.