Comparing The Red Scare And Mccarthyism In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, he portrays the Salem Witch Trials as an allegory for the Red Scare and McCarthyism. Miller’s intent in writing, The Crucible, was made clear in the preface when he said, “this play is not history in the sense in which the word is used by the academic historian.”(Miller, 3) Miller wasn’t focusing exclusively on the Salem Witch Trials, but rather he was showing how people’s lies could quickly escalate to suspension then to panic. The purpose of Miller’s play was to highlight the cyclical nature of history. In the fifties, Miller wrote The Crucible during the hysteria surrounding the Red Scare and McCarthyism. The main theme of The Crucible was how hysteria and lies can completely take over a society just

There were a lot of circumstances that led to “one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history.” (Miller, 3) These circumstances revolved around prior unrest within the colony, which eventually led to the colony erupting into frenzy. In the late 17th century, Salem, Massachusetts’ resources were burdened by a recent influx in residents who were dislocated by the King William’s War and sent as refugees to Salem. Tensions between competing farmers rose as resources were stretched thin between the citizens. The town of Salem, residents were also upset “over Reverend Samuel Parris, who became Salem Village's first ordained minister in 1689, and was disliked because of his rigid ways and greedy nature.”(Blumberg, 2) The town also

Miller was criticizing everyone’s irrational panic and paranoia surrounding the Red Scare and saying that the Red Scare was a modern day witch-hunt. Joseph McCarthy, a fame-hungry senator, became noteworthy after he alleged U.S. government had communist supporters in the administrations and he had a list exposing many secret communists. McCarthy worked with the HUAC to find and investigate possible moles and communists in the government. The idea of communists making important decisions and protecting our nation ignited fear into Americans. McCarthy intensified his allegations by actually naming names of people who were perceived to be too liberal. This tormented the lives of many people including professors, journalists, artists, and actors. Any person who was in any way related to communist Russia was brought in for questioning. People were blacklisted and fired if there was even a cloud of suspicion around them. McCarthy’s accusations had no proof or basis. He only used his words to tear people’s credibility apart without any evidence. This is very similar to what happened in Salem when young girls falsely accused innocent people of witchcraft. The paranoia surrounding the Red Scare was fueled and manipulated by a liar with ulterior motives just like in the Salem Witch Trials, young girls manipulated the townspeople, leaders, and ministers into believing they had been