Salem Witch Trials And Mccarthyism In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

1940’s America was a nation in the grip of paranoia. The terror of communist infiltration hung heavily over the heads of every citizen. Everyone from government employees to actors were called before congress, under accusations of being a communist. However, there was more fiction to this anxiety than fact. Yet, due to the actions of certain individuals, it persisted. One man, Senator Joseph McCarthy scared an entire country into alienating hundreds of innocent people, who were condemned and imprisoned these citizens on no grounds other than their alleged beliefs. Many people were disgusted with this, one of them Arthur Miller, whose play The Crucible depicts a similar event in history, the Salem witch trials, in order to expose the injustice

One logical error in both the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism was punishment for refusing to confess. This system proves nothing, and essentially rewards those who falsely confess, perpetuating the cycle of fear and accusations. This is evident when Tituba is being interrogated by Hale. “No, no, don’t hang Tituba!” she cries, “I tell him I don’t desire to work for him.”(44) She continues to name Sarah Good and Goody Osburn as witches, continuing the witch hunt. According to Puritan ideology, confessing to witchcraft means you wish to return to God, and therefore are not punished. A similar situation occurred in congress during the McCarthy era. The H.U.A.C. subpoenaed a number of members of the Hollywood film industry concerning suspected communist activities. When ten witnesses refused to cooperate with the committee, they were charged with contempt of congress and sentenced to prison time. When people are faced with public humiliation or even death if they refuse to confess, they will often say anything to clear their name. Both systems encourage lying and lead to further false accusations. These accusations were extremely serious in their respective time periods, and fear of being accused only increased the pressure to accuse others. Witchcraft was a hangable offense, and although no one was killed during the Red Scare, countless jobs ere lost and reputations destroyed. The drastic

Joseph McCarthy and other congressmen worked hard to make sure that anyone who questioned the threat of communism were seen as communist emphasizes and un-American. In Salem, anyone who publicly questioned the validity of the witch trials would automatically be suspected of Witchcraft. As Judge Danforth describes, “a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.” It is possible that those with doubts about the accused witchcraft, such as Hale, could have prevented the executions had there not been such pressure to agree with the