Rhonda McClure

Tuesdays, February 23 - March 16    1:00 p.m - 3:00 p.m.     4 sessions    
New England Historic Genealogical Society, 101 Newbury Street, Boston

This seminar will look at four distinct periods in America:

• Witchcraft Hysteria of 1692
• First Red Square (1917-1920)
• McCarthyism Era (1940s-1950s) aka The Second Red Scare
• War on Terrorism (Present day)

We will use Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which was written in response to McCarthyism (or the Second Red Scare). We’ll look at the parallels from each of these reactionary times, including why certain people were targeted, as well as how an accused person in each of these periods was considered guilty until proven innocent – and that proving that innocence was often very difficult.

Rhonda McClure Director of Research Services, is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer specializing in New England and celebrity research as well as computerized genealogy. She is the compiler of more than 120 celebrity family trees; has been a contributing editor for Heritage Quest Magazine and Biography magazine; and was a contributor to The History Channel Magazine and American History Magazine. In addition to numerous articles, Ms. McClure is author of ten books, including the award-winning The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Online Genealogy, now in its second edition, Finding Your Famous and Infamous Ancestors, and Digitizing Your Family History.