Governance Through Fear: Comparing The Salem Witch Trials, the Second Red Scare, and Modern Xenophobia
Pranvat Singh Raina
11/08/2026
Throughout U.S. history, governing authorities have subjected vulnerable populations to institutional persecution embedded in manufactured fear, misinformation, and mass hysteria. This paper argues that governance through fear, defined as the deliberate cultivation of public anxiety around a perceived threat to justify forceful state action, constitutes a recurring structural pattern in American history. Using historical comparative analysis, the paper examines three crucial time periods: the Salem Witch Trials (1692), the Second Red Scare (1947–1954), and current immigration enforcement, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), under the 2025 administration. Primary and secondary historical sources are analyzed alongside contemporary legal documents, policy data, and peer reviewed social science research to identify common operational mechanisms across all three time periods. The findings reveal a consistent four stage pattern: a vulnerable population is identified as a threat; public fear and hysteria are cultivated through the spread of misinformation and stereotypes by the American government; punitive policy is constructed around that same fear and hysteria; and finally individuals are stripped of their right to due process. The paper’s analysis demonstrates that historical literacy functions as a civic tool, equipping citizens and legislators to recognize and resist recurring cycles of institutionalized injustice.