When we think of the United States we think of equality and justice for all people no matter how far back you go back in our history. Sadly, this hasn’t always been the case, in this land of hope and freedom peoples lives have been taken unjustily to pursue outlandish stories of witchcraft. Native people have been removed from their home land, forced to travel thousands of miles under harsh conditions just so settlers could push on to the gold rich lands.
The witchcraft trials epicted in Arthur Miller’s Crucible and the removal of the Cherokee Nation from Northern Georgia to Okalahoma are only a couple events that blacken part of our great nation’s history. Even though the Salem witch trials and the Trail of Tears (Cherokee removal) were separate events in time they were both motivated by intolerance, ignorance, and the tension built by time itself. Although the forced migration of the Cherokee Nation and the Salem witch trials seem to have little in common they share the same effect, gross injustice to their victims.
The Crucible howed us how a peaceful society suddenly was turned upside down when people began to speak of witchcraft causing the arrest and deaths of dozens of innocent salemites. As we look back upon the Trail of Tears we saw how greedy settelers wanted to push west in to resource rich Cherokee lands. This broke the peaceful bond that Cherokee people had shared with the frontier people for many years. When the Government forced the Cherokee to relocate it was like the people of Salem although they didn’t always see eye to eye with each other they kept peace.
Then suddenly everything exploded and the people of Salem began to acuse each other of withcraft while in Georgia the U. S. Army showed up to kick out the Cheroke people. Intolerance was a key factor in the problems of the Crucibe and the Trail of Tears. Even though the Cherokee Nation was one the few tribes that adapted to the white mans ways through education, farming and government, they still were not seen as equal. When Cherokee and settlers married their children were excepted more so into Cherokee society than in to the
American society. Intolerance is shown in the Crucible from the very begining anything that is not explainable through natural cause is not tolerated and considered the devils doing. As the story progress we find any one who has strayed a bit from the puritian path will be marked and arrested for witchcraft because they are seen as different and when are seen different your seen as doing the devils work. Strict intolerance in puritain society and the slight prejudice held against the Cherokee would lead to crimes against humanity.
