The document provides background information on Arthur Miller and his play The Crucible. It summarizes Miller's experience being investigated for communist associations by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the 1950s. The document also summarizes the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 that inspired The Crucible, comparing the trials to the communist "witch hunts" of the Red Scare period. Miller used the play to draw parallels between the hysteria of the Salem trials and the political climate of the 1950s.