Abigail Williams and John Proctor had already had an affair. However, unlike Abigail, John wanted to leave that horrible mistake in the past and forget about her. Abigail also did not like other women in Salem because they called her names. They knew of her lust for men, so Abigail took the initiative and they were also charged. What seemed like a harmless dance in the woods, resulted in the death of twenty innocent people. Nineteen were hung and the other one had his head crushed in. Not everyone who was accused died though. Everyone who had been accused had two possible choices. These options were to either plead guilty and live with a damaged reputation, or plead not guilty and die a horrible death. If one lived, their name would be ruined forever. All personal respect would be lost along with that of the community. If one died, they would no longer be able to cherish the life that was given to them, but their name would be forever known as a good name. They would also be able to go to heaven because they had not lied. .
In Wheeling, West Virginia, a man named Joseph McCarthy accused two hundred and five people of being communists in the early 1950s. He was a senator, and thought that by indicting people of being communists would make him look good and gain more political power and respect. (Communists are just like the witches of the 1600s. People did not like them and were also afraid of them.) Many people had respect for him. However, like the witch-hunts, no one accused was really guilty. All of the two hundred and five people were innocent of being communists and none of them were ever convicted. However, they did lose what was once a good reputation. .
The Salem witch trials were not taken about in a fair way. None of the accused victims were given a fair trial. All of the proof that Abigail and the other girls had been so unreasonable yet very popularly believed. She claimed to have been stuck with a needle by Elizabeth, who did so by using a technique called voodoo.
