Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible

Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible
The American Heritage dictionary defines McCarthyism as "The political practice of publicizing
accusation of disloyalty or subversion with insignificant regard to evidence". Arthur Millers 'The
Crucible' is an extended metaphor representing the parallels between the Salem witch–hunts and
accusations of communism during the McCarthyism era. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in resins
to the unwarranted persecution of many Americans, who were accused of communist ties or
association with Communist government. two of the themes presented throughout The Crucible are
Witchcraft and Personal Integrity. Miller sets up the parallel between The Crucible and
McCarthyism by presenting Salem to be a puritan society and a theocracy, which would make the
devil and those communing with him enemies if the town. It follows that America, then, us a
democracy, which would make communism the modern devil and communists enemies of America.
One key element to both the Salem Witch Trials and the House Un–American Activities Committee
was punishment for refusing to confess. This system essentially rewards those who falsely confess,
perpetuating the cycle of fear and accusations. This is evident when Tituba is being interrogated by
Hale. "No, no, don't hang Tituba!" she cries, "I tell him I don't desire to work for him."(44) She
continues to name Sarah Good and Goody Osburn as witches, continuing the witch hunt. According
to Puritan ideology, confessing to witchcraft means you wish to return to
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...

Similarities Between The Crucible And Mccarthyism
The McCarthy era was the period in American history where the fear of communism spread across
America. Threats spread noting that people in industries (entertainment specifically) would be
accused of being communists and that would cost them their jobs and have them blacklisted. Arthur
Miller writes The Crucible as an allegory, comparing the Salem witchcraft trials to McCarthyism.
The Salem witchcraft trials took place when women were accused of practicing witchcraft and black
magic, while McCarthyism was accusing people of being communists. The Salem Witchcraft trials
and McCarthyism are both similar in the aspect that they have moral characters and power hungry
people who unscrupulously accuse people for something they did not do. The Crucible and the
McCarthy trials both have moral characters who resist the trials. In the McCarthy trials, Mr. Seeger,
for example, is testifying and is being asked to name the communists he has worked with. However,
he is refusing to answer any questions related to his "association, philosophical or religious beliefs
or political beliefs" (Seeger). Seeger claims, "I love my country very dearly, and I greatly resent this
implication that some of the places that I have sung and some of the people that I have known, and
some of my ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In the McCarthy trials, many people have named "communists" they have worked with to save
themselves from being blacklisted. One of the many is Mr. Kazan, who is amending his testimony
and naming all the communists he has worked with. He amends his testimony by saying, "I have
come to the conclusion that I did wrong to withhold these names before, because secrecy served the
communists.........I was assigned to a "unit" composed of those party members who were, like
myself, members of the Group Theater acting company. There

Who Is Mccarthyism In The Crucible
During his writing of the crucible, Arthur Miller reflected his own personal experiences into the
ideologies occurring throughout the book. The argument of McCarthyism being reflected throughout
the story is very evident. During the 1940s and 1950s Americans were overcome with the thought of
communism possibly reaching America, due to its major growth throughout Asia and Eastern
Europe. These concerns began to develop in the US government, with young senator, Joseph
McCarthy, taking particular concern. Exploiting already present fear of communism among
American people, McCarthy public announced that more than two hundred "card–carrying"
communists had infiltrated the United States government. Although these accusations where later
confirmed to be false, McCarthy's pursuit towards allegation of communism became the center of
political tensions. During his anti–communism campaign, McCarthy became known for his
paranoid, ridiculous and obscure accusations upon any well–known individuals during the time.
This system ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This ideology served an extreme part in McCarthyism. Due to the hysteria and paranoia out of
communism during Miller's time, those running the investigations would believe any accusations or
any pieces of evidence no matter how obscure, in effort to calm the hysteria that had been so greatly
built up. There are many examples of accusations based on obscure evidence throughout the
Crucible. Martha Corey is accused and hung for witchcraft due to her husbands questioning of her
"reading of strange books'. Giles Corey accuses Thomas Putnam of witchcraft out of his greed for
land. Specifically, Abigail, who conducts most of the accusations, typically does not have the
slightest bit of evidence, and rather uses the power she had developed to accuse anyone who is of
threat in effort to protect

Miller's The Crucible, was written in 1953 to expose the horrors of 'McCarthyism'. It is a play that
deftly examines 'the work of the individual conscience when pitted against the uniform thinking of
the mob' (New Yorker). According to Miller, 'the prime business of a play is to arouse the passions
of its audience. However, drama is akin to the other inventions of man in that it ought to help us
know more, and not merely evoke our feelings.' ('Introduction to Miller's Collected Plays'.) As a
result of heightened fears of the communist influence on American institutions and espionage by
Soviet agents during the 1940s and 1950s, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy and his supporters
used charges of communist sympathies or disloyalty to attack ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
The play focuses on the fact that, once accused, a person would have little chance of acquittal, given
the irrational and circular reasoning of both the courts and the public. One of the aspects that
prompted Miller to write The Crucible; was exploring 'the tragedy of people who, under social
pressure, lose their integrity'. The Crucible explores this theme in the context of the Salem witch
trials. Many citizens of Salem lost their sense of decency and community when they went along
with the crowd to continue the persecution of the innocent. Miller stated later that: 'The more I read
into the Salem panic, the more it touched off corresponding images of common experiences in
America in the 1950s'. Miller's The Crucible depicts trial scenes in which children accuse adults of
evil abuse in a fury of fanaticism and paranoia. Similar scenes are replayed in historic
documentaries about Chairman Mao's cultural revolution in the People's Republic of China. In more
recent years in Africa, a similar form of mass hysteria fired the 1994 Rwandan Genocide in which
over 800,000 people died because, according to the Hutu Power group, 'the Tutsi intended to enslave
the Hutu'. This genocide was supported by the national government, local military and civil officials

Mccarthyism In The Crucible
In Arthur Miller 's powerful play The Crucible, written in 1953 as a allegory and metaphor for the
McCarthy hearings on communism in America, the idea of conscience is greatly emphasized in
many of the main characters. Arthur Miller wrote the play The Crucible in response to the red scare
of the 1950's, in which he was was condemned for disrespect & disapproval of the United States
Congress for being unsuccessful in naming numerous individuals who had attended meetings with
him. In a bid to not only secure his career as a journalist and playwright and also to alert the
American people against the government misinformation and propaganda that were headed their
way. The characters in the play are faced with the same tragedies and sentences ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
It is a metaphor because the people are so in a frenzy that it is as if they are eating the news. This is
an example of a colorful metaphor; they can also characterize, depending on who is using the most
metaphors. Parris's colorful language is appropriate for a preacher, he uses many metaphors for
example, "This way, unconfessed and claiming innocence, doubts are multiplied, many honest
people will weep for them, and our good purpose is lost in their tears" (Act 4). This quotes allows
Parris's point to continue in a nonliteral way. Reverend Parris is used to using words in order to
make his point, he likes to exploit words like he exploits people. While he is not the only one to use
metaphors, his tendencies are to whip up emotions to suit his purposes. Parris not only is a great
examples of metaphors but Elizabeth comes with great illustration; in act 4 Elizabeth states "i have
read my heart three month... i have sins of my own court". In each case, these metaphors also are
useful for characterization; They demonstrated how she is thoughtful, repentant, and self–
sacrificing. People within the play are generally under stress, and experiencing a period of great
difficulty. They speak in colorful language because dramatic times call for dramatic languages. "The
Crucible" was an act of desperation; Miller was fearful of being identified as a covert Communist if
he should protest too strongly. He could not find a point of moral reference

Essay On Mccarthyism In The Crucible
During times of distress, we look for someone to blame. Whether we blame witches or whether we
blame communism, there is always going to be insanity. In Arthur Millers The Crucible, we
witnessed a town stuck in the thought of witchcraft. In the 1950s we witness a similar event of
communism. The events of McCarthyism enhanced the readers understanding of The Crucible, in
many instances the accusations of the United States communism and Salem were a lot alike, people
were scared, puzzled, and without much reason.
The Crucible has many parts that relate to insanity. "Abigail, I cannot go before the congregation
when I know you have not opened with me. What did you do with her in the forest?" (Miller 7)
Putnam could not tarnish his reputation ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
People and citizens alike were terrified and did not know what to think. "I want the light of God, I
want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to
Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osborne with the Devil! I saw
Bridget Bishop with the Devil!" (Miller 39) In The Crucible Abigail confesses to seeing the devil in
order to remain free from death. This relates back to how the government admitted to having
communism in their government. As we see government and a town handled scary, terrifying times.
In The Crucible and the 1950s, there were good times and of course bad times, but the thing in both
of these times, was McCarthyism which was the speculation of something greater than the common
good. People didn't have certainty and question and got no answers. "Because it is my name!
Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not
worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you
my soul; leave me my name!" (Miller 44) John Proctor has too much self–respect to put lie. He
chose death rather than lying to a

The Crucible and McCarthyism "Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!
Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang!
How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!" This quote is
from a play written in 1953 by famous essayist and playwright Arthur Miller titled The Crucible.
This play follows several witch trials in Salem Massachusetts in the late 1600s. This play was, of
course, based on the actual Salem Witch trials that occurred during the same time, but what if I told
you that this play was inspired by 1950's communism? In fact, the meaning and thematic
significance of the quote above directly parallels that of an event, in the 1950s, involving
communism. Before diving into the meaning and thematic significance of this quote, a little bit of
background about communism in the 1940s and 1950s needs to be given. During this time period
"America was ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
When John Proctor speaks of his name, he is speaking specifically of his honor and reputation.
During this time period, honor and reputation would have meant so much more than it does today.
This meaning is further backed up by a conversation Hale has with Elizabeth over John's execution.
While trying to convince Elizabeth to get her husband to confess, Hale states "Quail not before
God's judgment in this, for it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for
pride". This meaning is extremal significant in this play because it directly parallels the fear that
those who faced Joseph McCarthy's accusations felt. Being accused as a communist in the 1950s
was not a death sentence, but it would kill a person's reputation and career. Anything that person
created, whether it be a book or a film, would be considered unfit for

In history, old times, science haven't developed much, conflicts between human and human.
Racisms, anti people who are not the same race, same region, raised everywhere. People accusing
each other without evidences and killed many innocent life. McCarthyism is one of the examples
showing how the world worked before. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red
Scare in McCarthy Era because of false accusations without evidences, it involved many innocent
people into the case and making false judgements.
McCarthyism had involved many people in, most of them are innocent. Back then, when
McCarthyism was still exist. The Un–American Activities Committee (HUAC) was established,
their main object was to investigate the subversive activities of un–americans. " The following
week, nineteen so–called "unfriendly"witness were called to testify. Only ten actually testified, and
these became known as the "Hollywood Ten". All had been member of the Command Party and had
worked on films with progressive message ". (Un–american Activities Committee 2). The HUAC
began investigated the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry. Based on the informations and what
they heard from other people. They called for 19 people to testify, but only 10 were actually
testified. Those ten people were innocent, though they were involved because of false informations
and rumors. In Crucible, Abigail and other girls in the wood were crying out loud in the Court, they
were called to testify for related

Essay Comparing The Crucible And Mccarthyism
Image, being brought in forcefully, thrown in front of an audience like a wild animal or a deformed
being, to give them (the court) some entertainment, while hearing that you're being sentenced to
death. McCarthyism is the hysteria of believing that everyone around you is a communist. It was
named after McCarthy, who accused and hunted people down, using unjust methods, who he
believed to be communist. By being accused, people would be blacklisted and they'd be shunned by
society. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible because he believed that, what was happening was similar
to the Salem Witch Trials. In the story, people would accuse other people to save themselves and at
the time of McCarthyism, people were doing the same in The Salem Witch Trials. The HUAC also
noticed that as well. Why is it that The Crucible and McCarthyism are similar? While many people
have found many different parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism, the main ones are the
unjust accusations, inaccurate information, and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
For instance, Albert Einstein gave advice to a schoolteacher by saying you cant testify, if enough
people refuse to testify than the scare of communists will end. (Eric Bentley) People who refuse to
testify are being blacklisted because they won't give names. If names aren't being given, that means
there wouldn't be any reason to believe that their are still communists around them. In Act 4 , The
Crucide, Elizabeth told Procter that Giles died by being pressed to death because he refused to
testify whether or not he's a witch. (Miller) If one testified, they'd lose everything they owed to the
government but his resolve was greater than life. In the end, he did what he did for his family, so
that they wouldn't lose their precious home and savings. In both cases, people had a hard decision to
make but they knew that it was the only way for the future/greater good and that's why their

McCarthyism is the practice of making the accusations of disloyalty, especially of pro–Communist
activity ("McCarthyism"). This term has become a byname for the defamation of character or
reputation by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations, especially on the basis of
unsubstantiated charges (Achter). During the Era of McCarthyism, the Republican Senator Joseph
McCarthy manipulated and capitalized off the fear of the Red Scare by proclaiming that communist
spies were present and McCarthy was America's only salvation. Arthur Miller was brought upon the
House Committee on Un–American Activities to testify against other entertainment industry. Arthur
refused to reveal the names of alleged communist writers, he was found in contempt of Congress,
and was blacklisted from work ("Arthur Miller Biography").
The Crucible is an allegory for McCarthyism because Senator Joseph McCarthy and Abigail
Williams from The Crucible were the leaders in the courts, they both ruined many lives, and made
false accusations. In the first place, Senator Joseph McCarthy was very crafty and manipulative
during the court hearing while he accused people of being Communist becoming a leader. Abigail
quickly realized she needed to convince the girls to follow her commands to increase her power,
which eventually led to more hangings of innocent people. For example, Abigail threatened the girls
to side with her when she stated, "Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about

Crucible Vs Mccarthyism Essay
Government structure was a big deal during the late 1940 's –1950's. The US was democracy and the
Soviet Union was based off of communism. The two forms of leadership played a major role
throughout the upcoming years. In the US, you were either for democracy or not. If you were not
you would be black listed and an outcast. This is because during that time, the government thought
that there were spies from the Soviet Union and other countries who were into communism. A man
named Joseph McCarthy added unto the fear of people by saying he knew 205 communist and 81 in
the state department. Many American told on others just to save themselves from being questioned
or accused. The act of doing so was later called McCarthyism. This relates to ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
The American people need the facts and all the facts about all aspects of Communism in order to
deal with it wisely and effectively". The man who is speaking, Elia Kazan was an outstanding
Hollywood director. Renowned worldwide for films, for example, On the Waterfront and A Streetcar
Named Desire. Before this he testified before HUAC three months before, he returned in April 1952
to give his true response on the questioning. Mr. Kazan Unfortanely, feed into the fear. He did not
want to be black listed anymore and it was all for reputation sake. He gave the names of the people
he was with too save himself from any more humiliation. In the Crucible, there was a scene that had
a similar approach. In document B it says ": Take courage, you must give us all their names. How
can you bear to see this child suffering? ... want to open myself! They turn to her, startled. She is
enraptured, as though in a pearly light. I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I
danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah
Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!"
This part of the play helps readers understand that because of certain words the priest said the lady
change her mind. She too allowed fear to take over her actions without thinking about the
consequences of others. Also within that time, not only did fear come in but it lead to people be

The Crucible Vs Mccarthyism Essay
The best well–known literary work dealing with McCarthyism is the Arthur Miller drama, The
Crucible. In many ways the story of the Salem Witch Trials began in Europe; historian Brian Levack
explains that the great European Witch Hunts stretched from the 1450's to the 1750's. During the
McCarthy Era in America, fear, and anxiety grew over the goals and tactics of international
communism. The term McCarthyism has become synonymous with "witch hunts" it describes the
techniques used in the early 1950's by Senator McCarthy, the committee conducted public hearings
on supposed infiltration by communists of the United States government especially the State
Department, and the entertainment industry. There are many similarities between McCarthyism ...
Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In the Salem Witch Trials, if someone was found guilty of witchcraft, they were sentenced to death.
During the time of McCarthyism, if someone was found guilty of communism, then often lost their
job and were sentenced to years or life in jail. In both scenarios, individuals had to face serious
consequences that could hurt them, and could possibly cost them their life. For example this is
shown in The Crucible. " He were not hanged. He would not answer aye or nay to his indictment;
for if he denied the charge they'd hang him surely" (Miller 135). In this quote, Elizabeth believes
people who were found guilty needed to face the punishment. Just like in The Crucible they were
consequences for being accused during the McCarthy Era the accused could be blacklisted and
could even be placed in jail, This is an example of what Senator Joseph McCarthy did. "McCarthy
accused several innocent citizens, most notably Owen Lattimore, of being associated with
communism. On McCarthy's side, he had Louis Budenz, the editor of The Daily Worker, to back his
accusations with proof. Another victim of McCarthy's communist accusations was Drew Pearson, a
critic who discredited McCarthy's accusations regularly though columns and radio broadcasts"
(Quinn 1). This is similar to The Crucible because McCarthy did the same thing like Elizabeth to
show how the guilty needed to face

Have you ever wonder what life was like during the McCarthy Era? As many generations passes by,
a lot tend to look back reminisce on those who had lost their lives. Innocents were accused without
any evidence, suffered, tortured, and killed. People were arrested with no doubt just because of
accusations that were made. In the story, The Crucible which takes place in Salem is about innocent
people getting accuse with false accusations because of witchcraft. However, McCarthyism is
similar to The Crucible because of those who were accused and tortured. Which then the innocent
no longer had that pride of being who they were because of the false accusations. Therefore, The
Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red Scare in the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
As the girls pretend with their act, the church then knew that the girls were its victory of getting rid
of the devil. Within both The Crucible and McCarthyism many individuals were questioned and
investigated. As a result, many lost their jobs and careers were destroyed. Following up in the
article, "The Hollywood Ten" it stated "only ten actually testified and these became the "Hollywood
Ten". With the same reason of how Abigail and the girls became the church superior. Despite this
false accusations, Salem church decides to bring in a spiritual doctor, name Reverend Hale, who can
diagnose the devil from a innocent person and cleanse them out. He was a very known man who can
do the job. However, within McCarthy, not a lot of people had supported him because of his actions
that he has set upon himself. He had his own reputation and was in the spotlight. But he drove many
citizens out of there jobs which then became his downhill point. Before all of the event that has
happened because of McCarthyism many had thought about him being a great leader. As stated in
the article, "McCarthyism Introduction," "He would become America's leading anti–communist
crusader." Nonetheless, they were part of the era of witchcraft. Furthermore, many families lives
became miserable and wasn't that dependable because of the fact that witchcraft has taken over
Salem. As innocents starts to get killed and tortured

The Crucible And Mccarthyism Analysis
he similarities between McCarthyism and the story depicted in "The Crucible" are apparent and
showcase the injustice of the situations faced by people of the U.S. in the 1950's and the
townspeople of Salem during the witch trials.
Fear plays an important role in both stories. Citizens of the United States during the McCarthyism
era were scared of communism and communists infiltrating the United States or worse, that they
were already there. Likewise, townspeople of Salem in "The Crucible" were scared of witches.
Witches very similarly represented communists in "The Crucible" as the townspeople and the
citizens alike were not well educated about either suspected villain. The fear stemmed from this lack
of education. Not only were the American

Essay Comparing The Crucible And Mccarthyism
McCarthyism and the Salem witch trials have a lot in common. "For him [Miller] the parallel
between Salem in 1692 and America in 1953 was clear " (Bigsby xv). Though there maybe a large
year gap between these two events, the premise is still the same. Mass fear and paranoia over a
common enemy, in salem it is the devil an in 1950 it is communism. Then to avoid being accused
people start pointing fingers and all of the sudden you have mistrust and uncertainty on a large scale
within the community. The breaking point for both of these events was the accusation of a person of
moral rightness and authority. Thereafter the ascendancy the accuser once enjoyed deteriorates when
the people see the creditless allegations for what they truly are. "People were being torn apart, their
loyalty to one another crushed and ... common human decency was going down the ... Show more
These were not behaviors that were exclusive to 1692 in Salem and 1950's United States. Today we
have the same pattern happening today, people may be wrongfully accused, as a terrorist, out of fear
and suspicion. Terrorism is viewed as a force evil among the population and witchcraft was looked
at similarly. Furthermore the accusations of conspiring with witches or terrorists sent both societies
into mass hysteria. The "if you are not with us, you are against us" phrase is common in these
situations. It is used to make bystanders, and uninvolved people, have to choose. You can not be
neutral to witches or terrorists. The consequence of not joining the side would be to become the
adversary, even if you have no horses in the race. This statement also allows any tactics to be used
against the opposing side, it is no longer neighbor versus neighbor, it becomes a war like
environment when lines like that are

Connecting McCarthyism and The Crucible Essay
The horrors of history are passed on from generation to generation in hopes that they will never
occur again. People look back on these times and are appalled at how horrendous the times were;
yet, in the 1950s, history repeated itself. During this time, Joseph McCarthy, a United States senator
from Wisconsin, began accusing people of being communists or communist sympathizers, which is
parallel to the Salem witch trials in the late 1690s when innocent people were accused of practicing
witchcraft. One of the people McCarthy accused was author and playwright Arthur Miller. To
express his outrage at McCarthy's actions, miller wrote The Crucible, intentionally drawing
similarities between the McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch trials. ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Like Abigail, McCarthy had no evidence against the people he blamed of being communists. His list
contained 205 names of communists and "[was] mainly based on a vague report" (1). Although there
was not evidence against the accused communists, the American people were ready to believe that
communists had infiltrated their country because the communist Soviet Union had already taken
over other countries, including China, Korea, and North Vietnam ("Domino Theory" 1). Like the
American people, the town folk of Salem were willing to believe that there were witches in their
town since witchcraft had just been discovered in nearby Andover, where forty people were accused
of witchcraft ("Andover, Massachusetts" 1). Both McCarthy and Abigail were able to take
advantage of the atmosphere of hysteria during their time period to get what they so desperately
wanted. Yet their reigns of power did not last long. When Abigail accused highly respected people
such as John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse, the townspeople were not so willing to accept that the
people they respected were practicing witchcraft. Abigail's credibility wavered. Likewise, when
McCarthy accused officials in the United States Army of being communists and innocent children
like Shirley Temple, people began doubting his credibility, especially with the lack of evidence
("The Red Scare: McCarthyism" 1). Although the periods that Abigail and McCarthy controlled
people's fear was

Mccarthyism Vs Crucible
In Salem Massachusetts during the spring of 1962 the witch trials began. These trials stimmed from
a diagnosis by a local doctor named William Griggs, in January of 1692 who diagnosed two young
girls with "bewitchment" after they were having fits that included: violent expressions, writhing and
uncontrollable outburst of screaming. In February, after other young girls began to have similar
signs, four arrest warrants were issued due to the girls accusing Tituba, Parris' Caribbean, Sarah
Good and Sarah Osborn of bewitching them.
By May of 1692, before the new governor of Massachusetts William Phips ordered special courts
(Court of Oyer and Terminer) to hear and determine witchcraft cases hysteria fell upon the
communities.
Tituba and others confessed that they served the devil against the Puritans and in June of 1692 the ...
It displayed how 2 different times were so similar in concept. He wrote this play out of desperation
cause of his fear of being a covert Communist. Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Committee
were prosecuting alleged Communist from the State Department of Hollywood. McCarthy claimed
to have a list of 205 people in the State Department in February of 1950 that were known members
of the Communist Party in an attempt to be re–elected after his first term did not go so well. Even
though his list consisted of alcoholics and sexual offenders he continued to investigate for over two
years, questioning numerous government departments and the panic arising from the witch–hunts
and fear of communism became known as what is called McCarthyism. He tried to accuse
"communist infiltration into the military" however, the US fired back revealing how he abused his
congressional privileges. He lost his positions and stripped of his

Joseph Mccarthyism In The Crucible
Even a refined society is vulnerable to becoming an uncultivated madhouse. McCarthyism made its
debut as a term derived from the baseless accusations of Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1950. The fear
of the Cold War against the Soviet Union emphasized the fears of the people, resulting in a time of
increased suspicion. This may be compared to the events in The Crucible, where the citizens of
Salem turned against one another. In the recent years, evidence has surfaced of Russia tempering
with the Presidential election, the investigation headed by Robert Mueller. Similarly, there has been
spread of fake rumors which is "creating further cracks in the Trump administration's credibility and
its ability to pursue his agenda" (Bowman) as stated by Astead W. Herndon and Annie ... Show more
Trump has named the investigation on his connection to Russia during the 2016 presidential election
a "witch hunt" as well. Many allegations have been made against Trump, saying that he had a part
with Russia's supposed interference with the election, along with "multiple secret meetings between
Trump campaign officials and Russian agents" (Kirchgaessner). Trump argues that the accusations
have been made arbitrarily and denied any allegations against him. These accusations with no proof
are similar to the accusations made in The Crucible. As previously mentioned, the blame was shifted
from person to person, with no clear answer to what was the truth. In the modern day of Trump's
allegations, the ones accusing Trump were often also turned against as Glenn Simpson, a New York
Times writer was. The similarities between Simpson's case and The Crucible was the fact that
republicans were "made him the focus of their investigations" (Kirchgaessner) instead of Russia's
claims. This can be associated with cases in The Crucible where trials were more focused on
proving the victims guilty than

Communism. Witchcraft. These two highly controversial topics are either feared or adored by
people. There are numerous similarities and differences between both, yet one thing is prominent:
they both incite hysteria. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegorical play mirroring 1950's
America during the Red Scare. "McCarthyism" is the act of accusing someone of an act of treason
without substantial evidence. It relies on the uncertainty and the fear of the unknown among people,
which in turn, incites hysteria. Joseph McCarthy accused many people of being communists without
much evidence or reason. The accusations in The Crucible also are proposed without evidence and
cause much hysteria among the town. Since The Crucible was written as an ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
In the book, John Proctor says, "I speak my own sins, I cannot judge another." (Act IV pg. 141). In
this quote, John Proctor refuses to condemn others as witches. He states that he can only speak for
himself, and cannot judge another. Just like in The Crucible, people (including Miller) were accused
of being communists, without any substantial evidence. Many of the accused confessed others as
being communists, yet there were a few who refused to give out other names. In both the Red Scare
and The Crucible, those who refused to give names of others' faced punishment. This is an obvious
illustration of the similarities in both The Crucible and the during the Red Scare in Miller's life.
In both The Crucible and McCarthyism, people are accused of being either witches or communists.
The accused are placed in such a dire situation where they are either forced to lie to save
themselves, or to remain honest, at the risk of their social or physical lives. In The Crucible, John
Proctor is accused of practicing witchcraft, and when asked if he is a witch, he responds,"Why it is a
lie, it is a lie; how may I damn myself? I cannot, I cannot." (Act IV pg. 140) He refuses to confess to
something he did not do, even if lying means that he can save his life. During the McCarthy trials,
people who were accused of being communists refused to confess that they were, although it hurt
their reputation. In both

Mccarthyism And The Crucible
McCarthyism started in the 1950s when the idea of communism was frighteningly real to many
people. During this time, there were many false accusations of people supporting communism which
led to them being put on trial or even hung. The Crucible is a play written about the Salem Witch
Trials, taking place in Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. Many allegations were placed against
individuals who were thought to be practicing witchcraft at this time. The Crucible by Arthur Miller
is an allegory for the Red Scare in the McCarthy era, due to the fact that the events going on were
near parallel between the book and the time period of McCarthyism. This is shown in the similarities
of the accusations with no evidence, the confessions to crimes one did not commit, and the influx of
power someone may gain by reason of this. McCarthyism and "The Crucible" are related by their
tendency to spread hysteria through prominent local figures. A quote from the story to further prove
this point is from Abigail Williams. She says, "I saw Goody Hawkins with the Devil!" This quote
from Abigail shows how her accusations started the hysteria, and brought people in front of court
because they were being falsely assumed of participating in witchcraft. In "The Crucible" and during
the time of McCarthyism, all that was needed to bring a person to trial was the word of another
person. For example, in "The Crucible," at the end of Act 1, Abigail and Betty were accusing people
of witchcraft which

McCarthyism is a campaign against those who said they were communist in the US government and
other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy during the time frame of 1950–1954.
The people that were accused were blacklisted and they lost their jobs, some said that they knew
they didn't belong in the Communist Party. McCarthyism started because Americans were worried
about the spread of Communism and afraid that the Russians were going to use the atomic bomb to
bomb the United States. The bomb talk lead to hysteria in America which lead to the cold war.
(1945–1960) There are similarities and differences between the Salem Witch Trials and
McCarthyism. One of the main examples is that all of this happened because of "evil". The evil is
people trying to have control over what they thought was either funny or doing the right, all in all
when it was all said and done people were hurt and abandoned and didn't know what to do. In ...
McCarthyism happened because of all the "card–carrying" people and all the talk about atomic
bombs. In the Crucible some of the girls made false claims saying that they knew about the
existences of witches in Salem but the girls had no proof to show anybody or make sure that their
story wasn't fabricated. McCarthyism is the same, McCarthyism made claims against these people
saying that made them degraded and had to proof to show it but it was all on his word because he
was right any everyone else's was wrong. One main similaiaterty that sticks out is people didn't want
to speak up to say anything or stop what was going on. During McCarthyism the media didn't want
to stand up and speak because they felt like if they were to say what was on their mind or give an
opinion or say that anything was wrong they would be seen as a communist. In the Crucible the
townspeople don't

The Crucible and McCarthyism
"In the blood–heat of pursuing the enemy, many people are forgetting what we are fighting for. We
are fighting for our hard–won liberty and freedom; for our Constitution and the due processes of our
laws; and for the right to differ in ideas, religion and politics. I am convinced that in your zeal to
fight against our enemies, you, too, have forgotten what you are fighting for." (Julia Child, My Life
in
France)
This is true! McCarthyism is one of many practices that came into existence and caused turmoil
among the American society. Just like any practice, McCarthyism did have a mass impact on the
lives of many people, but more specifically one literary by the name of Arthur
Miller. McCarthyism affected him as a human being which in turn was reflected in his writings.
McCarthyism was named after Joseph
McCarthy, and it meant "ruinous accusation without any basis in evidence." (Henry Popkin 139).
Miller had been a victim of McCarthyism and this is what made him think of writing The Crucible.
The Second
Red Scare was known as "McCarthyism". The time that the Second Red
Scare took place was in World War I. Through The Crucible, Miller talked about the American
society of the seventeenth century. "The
Crucible was a bold as well as a timely play, written at a time when the congressional investigators
had power to do considerable damage."
(Henry Popkin 140). It stressed the phenomenon about a series of radical trials that took place
during the period of McCarthyism. Thus
making

Similarities Between Mccarthyism And The Crucible
Where Loyalties Lie
"I decline to make any such statement which I found demeaning; what right had any organization to
demand anyones pledge of loyalty?" Those words, were Arthur Miller's reply to the House of Un–
American Activities Commision. In which he was being questioned and then later indicted and
found guilty of contempt of congress. Just like the many characters in his book The Crucible, who
refused to comply with the unjust questioning and in turn, point to another in order to keep their
integrity amongst the court. The story is based on false accusations which lead to the downfall of
their town, by the multiple deaths due to the corrupt system of court; which is very much similar to
the McCarthyism era. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory considering, the fear of the
respective crimes, biased acustations which lead to tainted trials and then the effects on one's life
due to those corrupt sentences.
Fear was a major factor, in using allegories to relate The Crucible to McCarthyism. As in both
individual times, people often disassociated themselves from any means that could possibly have
them relate to those crimes. The McCarthyism era, was a dark time for the United States, citizens
were alarmed at the rising number of communists throughout Eastern Europe and parts of Asia. With
an obscure veil of fear, altering people's judgements, the basis of the countryś beliefs began to
tremble. As stated in paragraph three, of the McCarthyism Introduction, ¨The

Mccarthyism : ' The Crucibles '
"Never let what you don't know disturb your faith in what you do know" , this quote was one of the
famous puritans quote during the time of the 1600s. Puritans were a group of christian people that
lived based off of what they believe in. Until in the mid 1600s, an unfortunate event cause them to
fall part; accusations of witchcraft. Arthur Miller who wrote "The Crucibles" uses the theme of how
fear can motivate you to make different kind of actions to compare to MCcarthyism that occurred in
1950s. In the 1950s, Joseph McCarthy was accusing citizens of communists with no proof, which is
what Danforth the judge did in the book; accuses people of doing witchcraft without any evidence.
Arthur Miller showcases each character with unique character traits to represent MCcarthyism.
What can fear do to us? What can it lead up to? Everyone have at least something they fear which
eventually leads up to making some of the most important decisions in life, whether it's good or bad.
The puritans were a group of people who isolated themselves from other society and "worked
towards religions" (puritans 1) some people were feared of the god and some were afraid of their
own people who made force forced them to convert to a religion they don 't' believe in. Although the
puritans developed schools and other great expansions, some were still afraid of of forced
conversion. That type of fear led to making a good decision to escape to America. In addition to the
puritans case, in the book

I think the story was more about hysteria than supernatural. The book is based on mccarthyism
which happened in the 1950"s that's also when the book was written. Mccarthyism happened around
the 1940's and 1950's many people at the time feared the encroachment of communism. The book
was very similar to the mccarthyism, in the story the crucible salem established itself as a religious
community in the middle of evil. In the crucible there was girls who were delusional and would
make unreasonable claims about the existence of witches in salem, they wouldn't have any proof of
it. In the McCarthyism "Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Senator, made unsubstantiated claims that more than
200 "card carrying" members of the Communist party had infiltrated the United States government,
but like in the book he had no proof". I found an article who talks more about how the crucible and
the McCarthyism are alike in many ways. Another part of the article which caught my eye was how
in the McCarthyism "the media were not willing to stand up to the senator Mccarthy for fear of
being accused of being a communist". As in the book the townspeople weren't willing to stand up to
the court for fear of being accused of being a witch. The book was more about hysteria because it
couldn't be proven. The events that happened back in time in which the story takes place were just
myth. The girl would often put the blame on other people in the book to protect them self. The
people who were being accused would be innocent but since they were being blamed for being
witches they would get lynched. The hysteria beings after betty, abigail, and tituba were caught
dancing in the woods, they were dancing in a way that they thought would kill proctor's wife
because abigail had feelings for proctor. When the girls are caught by abigail's uncle, parris. They
start to blame their actions and influences on the devil, saying that tituba called upon the devil and
he made them dance. The girls wouldn't confess and that's when everything started to go downhill
and started a lot of hysteria. Abigail began to accuse innocent people of sending the devil upon
them. Everyone in the community eventually gets accused of witchcraft. In act 1

"Today we are engaged in a final, all–out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity"
("Enemies From Within"). This quote establishes a similarity between the McCarthy era, and Arthur
Miller's The Crucible. In the book, Arthur Miller writes about the Salem Witch Trials, where men
and women in Salem, Massachusetts were arrested and hanged for being witches on little proof.
Anyone who spoke against the majority, saying there were no witches were persecuted. This is
similar to what happened to Dr. Stockmann in Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. How do
humans believe in lies so easily? This is what Arthur Miller examines in his book. Arthur Miller's
The Crucible explores the dangers of humans' capabilities of building truth from lies and creating a
situation where the truth is indefinable. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in a Puritan society where religion is a way of life. The
town's people believe there are witches among them, and persecute anyone believed to be a witch.
All accused witches will be hanged unless they confess and accuse other people who they think are
a witch. Joseph McCarthy was a senator who searched for communists in the U.S. People accused of
being communists would either go to jail, or admit to being communists and say the names of other
communists, starting the McCarthy era. Many innocent people were arrested and sentenced to jail
for being suspected communists. Miller believed that "the whole thing would soon go away"
(Meyers), but it did not. During this era, Miller wrote The Crucible to compare the Witch Trials with
this McCarthy era. The Crucible was written to convey Miller's thoughts about this time in U.S.
history. At first, people felt the book was "spearheading his own attack against ... American values"
(Lavanture), but, it has become a very popular play, and is read by many

The Crucible: Response To Mccarthyism
The Crucible: Analytical Essay The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in response to
McCarthyism. It takes place during the 17th century in Salem, Massachusetts. Reverend John Hale
of Beverly was an intellectual man in his late thirties who specialized in witchcraft. His last
experience with witchcraft was false, but it had no effect on his confidence. Reverend Hale
experienced the greatest change in the play, The Crucible, and merits a detailed exploration of his
development.
Reverend Hale's motivation was to find the Devil in Salem. He was determined to save the afflicted
from witchcraft and hold those working with the Devil accountable. Hale was confident in his
beliefs and the church until Act Two, when he arrived at John

They killed for no reason; the tortured souls were prosecuted and executed without a cause. The
devastating play Arthur Miller wrote in 1953 shook the post–World War Two world and quickly
began its way to the top of the playwrights world. He displays the horrendous acts in The Crucible
by focusing on the agony that was caused, lies that were told, and devastation that was given around
a Puritan culture telling the story in a seventeenth–century society focusing on the Salem Witch
Trials. This play was written over half a century ago and still influences individuals across the world
today. Communism is rampant in today's world, yet Miller created an allegory in The Crucible,
uniting the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials as one. In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller
melds several different types of symbolism throughout his play to caution his audience about the
dangers ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Miller uses themes of McCarthyism as a substantial thought that is carried throughout The Crucible,
themes of accusation and hypocrisy revolve around each of the characters simultaneously. During
the Red Scare, an era of panic around the idea of Communism, United States citizens were falsely
accused of being Communist. Joseph McCarthy, a U.S. Senator at the time, forced the issue giving
his speech, ¨Enemies Within" which included a list of potential Communists in the United States
government. McCarthyism is in this play to emphasize the accusations made on the townspeople.
American author and inventor, David Sundstrand reveals this horrendous idea when he emphasizes
what the townspeople themselves had to go through on a daily basis,

Who Is The Mccarthyism In The Crucible
In the Crucible there is a puritan village in the winter rumors of witches were spreading through the
town. A man was praying for his sick daughter, he feels like an outcast. This relate to the
Mccarthyism. Mccarthyism was a kind of thinking against the communist in the 1940s. These
communists came on the blacklist. The Author of " The Crucible" was on the blacklist, which was a
list of people who were believed to be communist. The Author, Miller, was on the blacklist, because
he wrote the book "The Crucible", where he is saying his opinion about the Mccarthyism. Miler was
alwasys against the Mccarthyism, what brought him on the blacklist. Since Miller was on this list he
lost his job, his reputation, and those close to him, what include

Comparing The BookThe Crucible And Mccarthyism
The Crucible and McCarthyism
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory for McCarthyism in the late 1950's when he was
falsely accused of being a communist. This quote shows that the accusations made by Joseph
McCarthy lacked evidence and were entirely false. McCarthyism is a term describing a period of
intense anti–communist suspicion in the United States around the 1950's. An allegory is a story,
poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically being either moral or
political. The Crucible is about the Salem witch trials. Several young girls claim to afflicted by
witchcraft, starting with Reverend Parris' daughter Betty. The afflicted girls accuse people in town
of witchcraft, often people who they dislike. The Crucible is an allegory for McCarthyism because
of the way McCarthyism and the events of The Crucible were carried out and the similarities
between the book and McCarthyism.
The word Mccarthyism has become associated with the practice of publicizing accusations of
treason with a lack of evidence to support them. McCarthyism was fueled by evidence–less claims.
Even though these accusations had no evidence, people believed them because of the Red Scare
which was a high point of paranoia in the United States during the Cold War in the 1950's. Arthur
Miller was arrested and accused of operating with other Soviet writers. When asked to name these
Soviet writers he was working with, Miller refused and was charged with contempt of

Mccarthyism The Crucible
There is a fine line between church and state power in today's society. These important human
structures are both composed of set regulations that are forced upon citizens to avoid punishment.
With a time era set far back to the late 1600s, in Salem, Massachusetts, the storyline centers around
Christianity and the strong belief of the Devil's mischief. Arthur Miller, a writer in the mid 1900s,
where fear of Communism peaked, decided to write The Crucible as an ironic dig at the American
Government; it centers around the idea of Senator McCarthy and the mentality and acts of
McCarthyism. John Proctor is introduced the the audience as the main, protagonist of the play. As a
young, well known farmer, his reputation is highly prestigious and valued throughout the village.
What many of the characters are blind to, that is exposed to the audience, is that Proctor had an
affair with a young, stunning, house servant named Abigail Williams; his wife, Elizabeth Proctor,
fires Abigail which causes dramatic rage and vengeance within the young girl. The play follows
John on his quest to not only save his wife and friends from hanging based on vengeful accusations,
but himself and his own true Christian being.

Mccarthyism And The Crucible Similarities
n the time of being treated like nothing, there were multiple things that made people feel that way
and were brought to light. McCarthyism and The Crucible were examples of horrifying events in
history that gave a whole new meaning to unfair trials. For witches, if they were found guilty, their
life would be spared. If they chose to stay with God, they were killed for choosing the right choice.
The Crucible and McCarthyism are very alike and different because of the way Arthur Miller made
people feel based on assumptions. The Crucible is the fictional story of the Salem witch trials in
which many women were accused of being witches. The Crucible is written by Arthur Miller, who
was recorded as the greatest American playwright ("Arthur Miller" 1). The scene for the play is
based in the Massachusetts Bay Colony around 1692. McCarthyism was the act of accusing people
of treason without evidence, attacks on a person's character, and attack on their patriotism by
accusing many Americans of being communist (Ortega). Lisa Martin says, "Communists control led
the two world superpowers, China and the Soviet Union Americans feared a takeover in their own
country" (Martin 1). Many people tried to accuse the men and women who were spreading the fear.
One man named Joseph McCarthy was a senator that charged communists that interfered with the
U.S. State Department ("Joseph McCarthy" 1). The accusations lead to investigations, questioning
and finding people guilty without evidence,

Joseph Mccarthyism In The Crucible
During the 1950's the red scare was a serious concern amongst American citizens, and Senator
Joseph McCarthy took full advantage of the situation. "Capitalizing on the concerns of communism,
Joseph McCarthy accused that nearly 200 communists had infiltrated congress" (Miller). The antics
of McCarthy can help the reader better understand Arthur Miller's The Crucible in multiple ways.
Many different aspects of McCarthyism are related to the play, which gives the reader a clear idea of
the corruption and chaos in Salem in 1692. Through the modern day accusations known as
McCarthyism, The Crucible becomes easily understood for the reader due to the many similar
repercussions that resulted in paranoia from the population as well as wrongful punishments.
One of the ways that ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
PUTNAM: Why, it's sure she did." (Miller 76)
This shows that her first thought is not to question if she flew, but how high she flew. The same can
be said when looking into McCarthyism when "During this time there were few in the press willing
to stand up to McCarthy."(Navasky B17) The comparison that can be drawn between this quote and
that of Mrs. Putnam's is that she would never question if witchcraft was real or not because then she
would be accused of possible witchery. The reason for this is how easily the people would turn on
them once they were accused, which speaks to how wary they really were of the red scare in the
1950's just like witchcraft in Salem in 1692. Once those in The Crucible were accused they
essentially had two choices, which were lie and admit to witchcraft or be hanged. While the same
extent of punishment cannot be said when examining McCarthyism, the punishments and social
dismantling were wrongful and extremely damaging. Also during Mary Warren's deposition, the
severity of the punishments are further articulated by Danforth when he says:
"DANFORTH: You have seen the Devil, you have made compact with Lucifer, have you not?
PROCTOR: God damns liars,

The Role Of Joseph Mccarthyism In The Crucible
Imagine being a citizen in salem in 1692 and one day you are being accused of witchcraft or being
with the devil and than being thrown into jail without any proof accept the words of someone else.
After that if you didn't confess you were committing such acts of heresy you were executed. Besides
all the witchcraft accusations, this was how it was for a lot of people during the mccarthyism era
where a man named Joseph Mccarthy would accuse anyone of communism and everyone else would
believe him. The crucible by arthur miller is an allegory for the red scare and the mccarthy era
because mccarthy was known for seeking out communist in america just like abigail would accuse
people for being witches in salem. Throughout the crucible the character, Abigail, would accuse
people of salem for power and to get what she wanted. This relates on how Joseph Mccarthy would
accuse people of communism and throw them in jail. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
"I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil (page 45)!" Abigail
would say this to Hale, a man who was the Puritan pastor in Beverly, Massachusetts. She would
only do this to rise in power in salem.She also tried to abuse her power to be with john proctor. She
had no proof and only had people sent to trial because she wanted to avoid punishment by punishing
the people things she was guilty of. What these parts refer to is when Mccarthy would accuse others
of communism. Why he accused others of communism is because he himself wanted higher power
no matter who was

Mccarthyism In The Crucible
Alarmed, anxious, and angry: these emotions swirled through Arthur Miller 's head when he was
accused of being a communist during the Red Scare of the 1950's. Growing up an avid reader, Miller
loved to write and create plays. He attended the University of Michigan and won the school 's Avery
Hopwood Award for his play No Villain (Aurthor Miller). His writing career continued to blossom
with the writing of Views which shadowed Anti– Semitism and his play All My Sons that ran for
almost a full year on Broadway (Aurthor Miller). In most of his writings and plays, he utilizes the
literary device, allegory. Allegory is a form of writing that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden
meaning that is usually moral or political (Webster) . While ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
(Miller 79)." In this quote, he is exclaiming that he is not going to hesitate to investigate when an
accusation is made relating to witchcraft. This shows how seriously the town is taking these
accusations when really, as we see later, most complaints were based off of personal rivalries and
truly presented no substantial evidence. In the 1950's, people were also being accused of being
communists with very little evidence.
During the time of McCarthyism, fear and illogical thinking were also very prominent. According to
pbs.org, "a young Senator named Joseph McCarthy made a public accusation that more than two
hundred "card–carrying" communists had infiltrated the United States government ( McCarthyism)
". Although these accusations were eventually proven to be untrue, it instilled fear in the already
paranoid public and resulted in many people having their passports taken away, the loss of their
jobs, and even jail time for some of the accused (McCarthyism). Being one of the accused, Arthur
Miller knows all about the illogical thought processes that created the chaos. In The Crucible, he
incorporates the faults of McCarthyism with the underlying themes of the Salem Witch Trials to
encourage the reader to see the wrongdoings of both events.
Not only does Miller use themes to express his personal beliefs about both events, he also ties his
beliefs

Examples Of Scapegoats In The Crucible And Mccarthyism
Scapegoats in The Crucible and McCarthyism
Sometimes people get blamed for wrongdoings that they did not participate in. This was shown in
Salem, Massachusetts, during the salem witch trials in the play The Crucible. The play was based in
1692, when a community of Puritans started accusing each other of of being witches and wizards.
Innocent people that did not practice witchcraft were getting hanged and accused of being witches.
Scapegoats have also been used in modern day with McCarthyism, which was a campaign against
communist. Many people were blacklisted and lost their jobs even though many of these people did
not belong to the communist party. This took place in 1950–1954 carried out by Senator Joseph
McCarthy. Using scapegoats blames innocent people for wrongdoings, and accuses people of wrong
doings.
Innocent people were accused and blamed for witchcraft, in The Crucible and with McCarthyism,
people that didn't practice communism were accused anyways. In The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor
was accused by Abigail, the reason she did so is because she wanted to be with John Proctor,
Elizabeth's husband. The proof they used was, ¨´Tis hard proof! I find here a poppet Goody Proctor
keeps. I have found it, sir. And in the belly of the poppet a needle's stuck¨ (Miller 78?). The truth of
the matter, is that Mary Warren is the one that put the needle in the poppet. They used false and
wrong evidence to say that Elizabeth was a witch. This was also shown in the article

In the 1950's, Joseph McCarthy tore apart the fabric of our democracy by falsely accusing people of
being communists. Joseph McCarthy coined the term McCarthyism for accusing people of doing
things without proper evidence to support his claim (McCarthyism). McCarthyism is a way to blame
a certain group of people for something that they did not do so the blame does not have to fall on
someone else. Author Arthur Miller illustrated the events of The McCarthy period in his play The
Crucible. In The Crucible, the town of Salem Massachusetts endures a time of severe trial, in 1692
when accusations of witchcraft tear the town apart. Nowadays, the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender (LGBT) community is being targeted and disrespected thus tearing apart the diverse
community of America. There are many similarities between the McCarthy period, the Salem witch
trials, and witch hunts in the modern world.
Many similarities can be found between the McCarthy period and the events of The Crucible. In the
1950's, communists in America were sought after and punished for their beliefs. In The Crucible,
women accused of witchcraft were sought after and, as a more severe punishment, killed for their
actions. Senator Joseph McCarthy can be compared to Abigail from The Crucible because they both
put forth many false accusations. McCarthy falsely accused over 200 government officials of being
communists (McCarthyism). Likewise, Abigail accused many townspeople of being witches. In The
Crucible, the government of Salem hung people simply for not admitting to being a witch even if it
was a false statement. If someone was accused of being a witch however, they could lie and say that
someone else was forcing their spirit on them and then the second person would be to blame. So,
when Abigail was being accused of witchcraft instead of defending her innocence she blames other
women for being with the devil so they would be punished instead of her. While being accused
Abigail calls out the names of girls she does not like and says, "I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I
saw Goody Osburn with the devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!" (Miller). The three women
Abigail named were innocent and had to go through investigations after

When reading the historical aspect of the Crucible, the reader can be able to distinguish the
similarities to McCarthyism. Both McCarthyism and the Crucible consisted of alienating certain
groups of people. For example in the Crucible Abigail and Betty announced names of the accused "I
say Goody Hawkins with the Devil" and "I saw Goody Bibber with the devil" (Miller pp. 189). As
the girls announced the names of the accused, the girls selected each woman for a specific reason.
Similar to McCarthyism where Senator McCarthy accused "205 card–carrying members of the
Communist Party who worked for the United States..." (McCarthyism). The girls and Senator
McCarthy accused people without credible evidence which therefore lead to the massive hysteria

Mccarthyism In The Crucible Essay
The 1950s of America is a place where corruption is present in both the court and society due to
McCarthyism. McCarthyism is an accusation towards another individual for reasons of treason or
other illegal activities which lacks proper evidence. The Crucible by Arthur Miller places an
emphasis on this period and captivates its background of McCarthyism. Arthur Miller uses the
Salem witch trials to demonstrate that the 1950s America is full of intolerance, greed and injustice
through McCarthyism.
Intolerance is an aspect of McCarthyism that associates the text and the Cold War era. Salem is a
theocratic society where there is strong opposition towards deviations of the Bible. The author
reveals that, "[...] The people of Salem developed ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
There is inauthencity of the characters Abigail Williams and Thomas Putnam because they are
frauds; they use the town's hysteria to their advantage. Abigail places untruthful charges on
Elizabeth Proctor for her supposedly supernatural deeds. Her spouse, John, argues to the court: "I
beg you – see her for what she is. She think to dance with me on my wife's grave!" (110). In hopes
for Elizabeth's execution, Abigail wishes John as her husband. Like Williams, the American people
in the 1950s such as Senator McCarthy accuse other political figures of communist relations for
self–interests, that is, to eliminate any other possible candidates for a job position. On another
account, Putnam claims that George Jacobs associates himself with sorcery as Giles Correy warns
the judges: "If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his property [...] This man is killing neighbours
for their land!" (96). Putnam tries for Jacobs' hanging to satisfy his self–interests of property
expansion and public notice. In comparison to Putnam, Senator McCarthy uses his recognition and
power in order to denounce the people he pleases to further his empowerment. McCarthyism can be
a product of greed, which the author shows through the characters of Abigail and Thomas to create
an image of the people in the

Examples Of Mccarthyism In The Crucible

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