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Allegory Of Women In The Crucible And Senator Mccarthy

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1950’s America was a time of great fear and of great power. World War II had ended a few years prior and had left a mark on the nation. Nazi Germany had fallen and in its place a new power captured the fear of America: The Soviet Union. Many Americans had a fear of this new world power, as the United States was in a “Cold War” with them. Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy used these fears to Start a hunt for the communists he claimed were plotting to overthrow the country. The Crucible itself is written as an allegory for these times. Both the group of girls in The Crucible and Senator McCarthy with his committees in the 1950’s used their respective forms of fear-mongering and witch-hunting to further their social or political lives and to rid …show more content…

During the time, just after the Second World War with the threat of the Atomic Bomb and the Cold War coming into play, Senator McCarthy could exploit these fears to do what he wanted. Many Americans had a legitimate fear of the Soviets, as they were a world power just as America was, and war/ideological propaganda perpetrated by McCarthy and those before him made many fear for their safety. In fact, many Americans built bomb shelters in case of a Russian attack, and at the time of the Berlin Wall, the majority of Americans believed World War III would occur within the next five years. So although McCarthy’s exploitations of American’s fears wasn’t very difficult to achieve, it was very …show more content…

In 1954, at the height of McCarthyism, second-grade teacher Anne Hale was accused of being a communist in a plot to overthrow the government. Instead of quietly resigning from her job and avoiding public ridicule, she chose to stand up for what she believed in. Her neighbors turned against her, claiming that “there was a colored lady who appeared to be advanced educationally, residing with Miss Hale at least part time.” Hale stood up to the accusations made against her because she thought “it will do less harm to the children to see me standing up for what I believe to be true, than to see me run away.” Hale chose to fight back against the accusations made against her, and as a consequence she lost her job and any chance of redemption. It became difficult for her to find a place to live, as few would lease her, and even more difficult for her to find a job. Back in 1954 when she lost her job, she only had one request: to say goodbye to her second graders. It was denied. Anne Hale had been accused as a communist in a plot to overthrow the government and lost everything because of

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The Cold War was a war of ideologies and propaganda. Hence, the smallest display of failure or mistrust on one side meant a great advantage for the other. This is exactly what McCarthy did in the 1950's. He created and developed a period of negativity in his time as a senator. By doing so, he gave the Soviets an advantage, and he weakened America's image internationally.

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Primary Sources: Cunningham, Jesse G., Laura K. Egendorf, editors. The McCarthy Hearings. Greenhaven Press, 2003. Print.

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During this time in the world people were scared of the red scarce. People would say that Joseph Mccarthy was the modern

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Adding on to the tensions prior to nuclear warfare the U.S is afraid of communism spreading to the country. In the speech Joseph McCarthy made in 1950 regarding communism already being in America. In the speech it is made clear that he thinks communism is already inside our government. “When a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be from enemies from without, but rather because of enemies from within” Just from this line alone it reflects the panic and the realism of the issue at the time. This panic and anxiety of communism in our own government was spread throughout America.

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McCarthy manipulated the media, told outrageous stories about the communist conspiracy in the United States, and used his power and America’s fear to besmirch any opponents as “communist sympathizers” to make sure he remained at the top. Actually, most conservative members of Congress supported McCarthy because it helped them gain votes during elections. The majority of McCarthy 's movement attacked liberals and members of the Democratic Party and this aided anyone who was not part of those topics and organizations. Then McCarthy began to target the Army because they wouldn’t favor David Schine, one of his former investigators, who had been drafted in. “Senator Joseph McCarthy began hearings investigating the United States Army, which he charged with being ‘soft’ on communism.

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In the history, there are have many major events that have affected the times we live in. Two of the major events of our time are the Witch-hunt of the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. In these two events, there are many similarities like anger, fear, and Consequence. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the Red scare in the McCarthy Era because the example is McCarthy accused many people of being part of the communist party. It is said to have been a modern-day witch hunt, and it showed another example of a time period in which false and unsettling accusations led to forced confessions.

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Undoubtedly, both The Crucible and McCarthyism were driven by fear. The people feared that witchcraft could be affecting the town’s girls and harming others because the character Abigail Williams would point fingers blaming anyone. Comparable to Senator Joseph McCarthy, on

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The Soviet Union was on the verge of a nuclear war, so McCarthy put fear in everyone because no one had any idea who was a communist and who was not. He made everyone afraid to trust people, even the friends other had. They were afraid that they would be accused

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When people are placed under an intense feeling of fear, they begin to commit actions they never thought they were capable over. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a young group of girls commit witchcraft which eventually leads to the arrest of over 100 women. This is similar to a time in the 1950s when Joseph McCarthy accuses government officials of communism and that ultimately leads to hundreds of citizens losing their jobs. The Crucible reveals the similarities between The Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and McCarthyism of the 1950s because it demonstrates how a society can be tremendously impacted by the feeling the fear.

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the crucible by Arthur miller is an allegory for the red scare in the McCarthy Era because of the trials, false accusation and the lack of evidence One of the ways that the crucible can allegorically connect to the McCarthy era is the trials. In the crucible if you confess that you are a witch then you had to give up name of alleged witches. According to “what is McCarthyism? And how did it happen?” By Ellen Schrecker and “Hunting the communist” the same thing happened in the McCarthy era trials, if you were accused of being a communist, then you had to give a list of

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In a time of economic prosperity, a rise in the standard of living and rock and roll, also known as the “happy days”, the 1950s were a time looked back on with nostalgia. On the other hand, the 1950s were also met with many problems involving civil rights, the Cold War and McCarthyism. After the end of World War II, Americans came home to jobs available and a period of consensus. Consensus meaning there wasn’t much debate in politics. However tensions quickly rose throughout the nation when Joseph McCarthy made serious accusations about the State Department.

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The Crucible by Arthur Miller is based on the true events of the Salem witch trials. Set in the 17th century The Crucible told the story of a town that ensued a hunt for witches, caused by the accusations of Salem 's young girls and their ring leader Abigail Williams. Arthur Miller wrote this play to symbolize 1950’s McCarthyism. Most readers are unfamiliar with McCarthyism. So for a brief explanation, McCarthyism was carried out under senator Joseph McCarthy during 1950-1954 against alleged communist in the US government and in other institutions.

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Senator Joseph McCarthy was a merciless politician who would be censured by the Senate in 1954 for his false accusations. However, his political journey throughout the country had a significant impact on the American public. Americans let fear override their conscious and allowed a bully to insert panic into their minds. McCarthy’s crusade was powerful and convinced the naive public during a time of war to question their own government without sufficient

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Sarah Paroya D period I hate MUSH The end of World War II should have marked a period of relief in America but instead, it lead America into a completely different type of war called the Cold War. The Cold War was an ongoing state of political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. This constant state of tension and fear had been embedded deep in the American public.

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In Arthur Miller 's play The Crucible, false accusations and fear are used to imprison and kill many people accused of being witches. In this way, The Crucible stands as an allegory for McCarthy 's communist hunt, during which many people were also killed and imprisoned due to accusations of communism. By comparing McCarthyism to the Salem Witch Trials, Miller is able to communicate that people should not conform to societal trends because these trends may be misleading and cause innocent people to get hurt. Many characters in The Crucible serve as allegories to McCarthy 's communist hunt, specifically Abigail Williams, Giles Corey, and Betty Parris.

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