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.
Can the fear of people control the way certain things and events are looked at? In 1950 a nationwide historical campaign called McCarthyism took place. The campaign was against alleged communist in the U.S government and other institutions and accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence which was carried out by Joseph McCarthy. The primary targets were usually union activist, government employees, educators, and entertainment industry. Many people people lost their trust in others, causing a new outlook on life while relationships were destroyed. McCarthyism was caused by the fear of the people due to past events.
The Red Scare Analysis During the rise of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union had been brought into an alliance due to both of their desires to defeat Nazi, Germany. Although the Soviet Union’s aggressive, antidemocratic policy towards Europe created tensions even before World War II had ended. That being said, they tolerated each other as much as they could but weren’t exactly friends. The United States government was initially hostile to the Soviet leaders for their decision to take Russia out of World War I and was opposed to a state ideologically based on communism. The main conflict between them was their inability to agree about communism.
Arthur Miller makes many different connections to the acts of Senator McCarthy throughout The Crucible. The Salem Witch Trials display many similarities to the acts of Communism in the 1950’s. First of all, false accusations and accusations made without any hard evidence are seen in both The Crucible and the acts of Senator McCarthy. John Proctor in The Crucible was put accused and put on trial for taking part or concealing witchcraft without any evidence of this actually happening. Just like Proctor, Arthur Miller was accused for being a communist during the McCarthy era, although nothing could prove this.
McCarthyism Echo’s The Crucible “For to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” (Nelson Mandela) Freedom and liberty were things that were not honored in both The Crucible and McCarthyism. The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. It is a fictionalized story of the Salem Witch Trials. It took place in the Massachusetts Bay colony during the year of 1692, which was about a group of young girls in the Salem village who claimed to have seen others with the devil, and accused several innocent women of witchcraft.
Sam Robert in the article, “A Decade of Fear”, argues that McCarthyism turned Americans against each other. Robert supports his argument by illustrating, describing, and listing the roots of McCarthyism. The author's purpose is to inform people about McCarthyism in order to convince readers that it caused conflict between Americans. The author writes in a factual tone for the adults reading New York Times. I strongly agree with Robert’s argument.
Rebels Without a Cause Not very many people have affected me in the same way as my friend Jake Fernholz. I have never realized the influence he has had on me until someone pointed out that we talk and think the same way. I only met Jake two years ago in track, when a pulled hamstring injury caused Mr. Kellerman to have me practice with the long distance kids. Mr. Kellerman forced me into staying on the long distance team and that is where I started to hit it off with Jake. It took me a long time to be comfortable with Jake, but when I did we quickly found our common interests.
Hysteria, paranoia, and delusion was what drove the Salem Witch trials in 1692. Many people were executed by decision of the court because it believed in absurd false allegations. Justice in the court was perverted by fear and delusion (Johnson 9). In the 1940s and 1950s, many people in the United States were living in fear of communism; similar to those who feared “witches” in Salem. In the 1953, Arthur Miller came out with a play: The Crucible based on the Salem Witch Trials tackling McCarthyism; accusing others of being communists trying to overthrow democracy in the United States (9-10).
With all of the accusations going around, people were forgetting that everyone can have their own opinion. Edward R Murrow, a television host of See It Now bashed McCarthy by saying “’We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty’” (Roberts, 2). Murrow was saying that just because a person disagrees with what the president or a government official says, does not mean they are a communist. The United States has freedom of speech, and citizens can say whatever they want about the government.
It is hard to believe that someone could be killed for being a witch but that is exactly what happened in the 1690s. In Salem, Massachusetts, many people were killed after being accused of witchcraft. In the 1950s, a similar situation occurred when the government questioned many people to determine if they were involved with communism. The Crucible play draws an analogy between the horrors of the Salem witch trials to the horrors of McCarthyism. Arthur Miller's experience led him to write the Crucible which drew on the events of the time.
“We are who are always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys to the kingdom, and a common vengeance writes the law (Miller Act II:389-390) ” This quote, by Arthur Miller in his famous play The Crucible, depicts McCarthyism as the Salem witch trials. Miller shows the resemblance of both events when people are being falsely accused with little to no evidence, and the trails were prejudicial and horrific. Using this approach has its strengths, weaknesses, and ideas that differs between the two. Depicting McCarthyism as the Salem witch trials strengthens the resemblance.
Crucible Theme Essay The Crucible is an allegory for McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the accusing of people without proper evidence. McCarthyism was used to a “accuse” communist during The Red Scare. Much like the Crucible, McCarthyism was driven by irrational thinking and emotions.
February Non-Fiction Book Report Fried, Richard M. Nightmare In Red. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Print. The book, Nightmare In Red, is about the McCarthyism era and the upcoming of the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Often times there’s a point in a person’s life where one wonders if they’re crossing the red line when it comes to reaching their goals. When the lines a drawn and crossed, people suffer, much like the 20 sad souls who were executed in the Salem witch trials, or the 205 falsely accused state department officials. False accusations that ended and ruined people’s lives have been going on for ages like the examples before. Either for self-preservation or to cheat their way up, these things have always been embedded in human nature. Just like in Arthur Miller’s, The crucible, Abigail William’s false accusations propelled the community into its own demise, which also happened when McCarthy doomed 205 members of the state department with his accusations.
Walt’s easy-going personality, committment to family and professional integrity made both his private and professional lives happy and successful, as the legacy he left us continues. There is a reason his businesses have continued to flourish, and to this day, have never wavered in their success. Two of Walt Disney’s most famous quotes are, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” and, “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse.”
