The Puritans were a group of people who grew discontent in the Church of England and worked towards religious,
societal and moral reforms. They decided that the Church of England was beyond reform. Though they won the fight with Oliver Cromwells leadership , their victory was short-lived- escaping persecution from church leadership and the King, they came to America ; They were also called Protestants for protesting against Catholic Church. The first group was called Pilgrims- they originally sought for religious freedom. They arrived in America in 1620, on the ship called Mayflower, and they established the Plymouth Colony in New England. Ten years later, second group arrived, settling around Boston. The Puritans believed that the only true law was in the Bible, and that it provided plan for living, so the wanted to purify the church and their lives. They followed the doctrine of predestination, that made them constantly do good things, in honor to God , which would lead to a prosperous reward. The devil was behind every evil deed. In 1688, 4young girls accused the laundry woman of bewitching them in 1692 the notorious Salem witch trial took place. Those who were possessed by the devil needed to make confessions, in order to save their families and properties, and those who accused them as liars, were them accused themselves. In the hysteria that followed, 200 persons were in jail, and 20 were executed along with 2 dogs. Good things about puritans were their work ethic and believing in education. Free schooling was offered to all children, in 1639 first press arrived and by 1700 Boston was the second largest publishing center of English Empire. In 1950s history repeated a similar hysteria spread throughout the USA, called red witch hunt, during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA) became the main tool for the witch hunt, even though it was not its original purpose. McCarthyism is the term describing a period of intense anti Communist suspicion in the USA that lasted roughly from the late 40s, to the late 50s. Many thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning. Arthur Miller, one of the greatest American playwrights, dramatized this hysteria in his play The Crucible, drawing a parallel with 1692 witch hunts in Salem. The Crucible is set in a theocratic society, in which the church and the state are one, and the religion is a strict, austere form of Protestantism known as Puritanism. Because of the theocratic nature of the society, moral laws and state laws are one and the same: sin and the status of an individuals soul are matters of public concern. There is no room for deviation from social norms, since any individual whose private life doesnt conform to the established moral laws represents a threat not only to the public good but also to the rule of God and true religion. In Salem, everything and everyone belongs to either God or the devil; The witch trials are the ultimate expression of intolerance (and hanging witches is the ultimate means of restoring the communitys purity); Another critical theme
in The Crucible is the role that hysteria can play in tearing apart a community. Hysteria supplants logic and enables people to believe that their neighbors, whom they have always considered upstanding people, are committing absurd and unbelievable crimescommuning with the devil, killing babies, and so on. In The Crucible, the townsfolk accept and become active in the hysterical climate not only out of genuine religious piety but also because it gives them a chance to express repressed sentiments and to act on long-held grudges. Reputation is tremendously important in theocratic Salem , where public and private moralities are one and the same. In an environment where reputation plays such an important role, the fear of guilt by association becomes particularly pernicious. Focused on maintaining public reputation, the townsfolk of Salem must fear that the sins of their friends and associates will taint their names.
