The Red Scare was a movement during the Cold War in America. Communism was spreading throughout the world, and hysteria spread all over the United States that communist were among them. McCarthyism was a fierce campaign carried out by Joe McCarthy against alleged communist in the U.S government and other institutions. In response to McCarthyism, Arthur Miller demonstrates through his play, The Crucible, that lies are used to avoid consequences, too much power can become corrupt, and innocent people will suffer for crimes they have not committed even with a lack of sufficient evidence. In the 1950’s, Arthur Miller realized that people accused each other in order to escape the consequences of being branded a communist, so he uses the people of Salem to demonstrate to Americans that they have incriminated each other as traitors to avert repercussions of being convicted a communist. For …show more content…
For example, The Putnam’s dislike Francis and Rebecca Nurse because of the way they gain a high social status, and the Putnams believe that they are part of a faction plotting against them. In order to rid them of Salem, Goodie Putnam accuses Rebecca Nurse for killing her unborn babies. There is no evidence other than the Putnam’s word against theirs, but Rebecca Nurse, who is a charitable woman, is still hanged. Also, Martha Corey is convicted of witchcraft because a man accused her of bewitching and killing his pigs. After months in jail, Martha is inevitably hanged with Rebecca Nurse. During the Red Scare and in the Crucible, innocent people are convicted and suffer even though the court lacks sufficient evidence to brand them as traitors; Arthur Miller uses the crookedness of the Salem courts to express the fraudulent acts of the courts of Joe