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Similarities Between Mccarthyism And The Crucible

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The Crucible is a playwright of the Salem witch trials that was written by Arthur Miller as an allegory for McCarthyism in the 1950s. Allegations from the characters in the Crucible very closely related to the claims made by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Both situations caused mass hysteria that contributed by the people of Salem and McCarthy. The accusations of McCarthy caught the attention of many people and the US Federal government. Communism during this time was frightening because the US was apart of a cold war with the Soviet Union. Communists in a critical area of the state allowed the Soviets to gain secret information about atomic weaponry and US government political strategy. The hysteria grew as accusations from McCarthy were investigated …show more content…

The townsfolk pressed young girls to confess who in the town was involved in the witchcraft. They named three people who eventually were hanged along with 16 others.
This fear arose on February 9, 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy, spoke, “Today we are engaged in a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity. The modern champions of communism have selected this as the time. Moreover, ladies and gentlemen, the chips are down, they are truly down” (McCarthy 191). These effects of fear led to trials and investigations of the accused creating the second red scare in US history.

Mass Hysteria: Arthur Miller wrote the play, The Crucible in the 1950s, right in the middle of when the McCarthyism era was taking place. Miller wrote about the Salem Witch Trials to hint at the theme of mass hysteria that was occurring with McCarthyism at the time. The witch trials of The Crucible closely resemble what McCarthy did by accusing many people. In The Crucible, the people feared witches and charged innocent people because of the hysteria. With McCarthyism, the people concerned communism and accused innocent people in hopes of destroying it. The mass hysteria included in both situations left the population curious about their decisions in government and

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During the time that Arthur Miller created the Crucible, America was dealing with a very similar problem compared to the Salem witch trails. This problem was called McCarthyism, it was believed that a few hundred communists had entered the country, and they posed a threat to American safety. The accusations of communists in the country caused mass paranoia among the entire United States. Arthur Miller was one of them accused of being a communist and was trialed for it, which most likely lead to the creation of his play the Crucible. After the end of both events - the Salem witch hunt and McCarthyism - the effects afterward left devastating results and lingered for many more years to come.

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The times back then were terrible. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 about The Salem Witch Trials of 1692.McCarthyism was the “witch hunt” for the communist in 1953.the parallels between The Crucible and McCarthyism are naming names,lack of proof ,and reststance. The first reason they are parallel is because of naming names. Hollywood director Elia Kazan went in front of the HUAC twice. The first time he did not confess and names.

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In the Crucible those who were accused of being guilty, put on trial, and who are expected to confess. Unsuccessful to that led to death. In McCarthy, the media were not disposed to stand up to Senator McCarthy for the fear of being accused of being a Communist. Fear is the main factor playing in both situations, terror of being accused or what people might say, or think.

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People were terrified of communism spreading to the United States, so when accusations started floating around everyone would believe them. McCarthy accused people of communist behavior, although many were falsely accused, no one knew better than to think they were guilty because of how scared they were of communism spreading. This resembles how certain characters were accused of witchcraft in The Crucible. The Red Scare caused nationwide hysteria just how the Salem Witch Trials caused hysteria to the people of Salem.

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Throughout history the fear of corruption and change has compelled people to go to drastic measures to prevent it. The Crucible, a play by arthur Miller, is set in an environment of religious citizens who fear that the devil and witchcraft will corrupt their society. Much like The Crucible, McCarthyism caused the citizens in America to fear corruption of the government by communism. Arthur Miller used his play the crucible as a direct response to McCarthyism and through this play Miller writes about the Salem witch trials during the McCarthy period to comment on how history repeats itself. The social and political factors in The Crucible resemble those in America during the red scare and McCarthyism.

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The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism share many similarities such as people being accused of things with no proof, people were put on trial for false accusations, and many innocent people were killed. One similarity between McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials is that people were being accused of being something that they were without solid proof, The Salem Witch Trials being witches and McCarthyism being communists. As shown in The Crucible, during the Salem

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The Parallels between Crucible/McCarthyism McCarthyism is seen to be the modern day Crucible. The Crucible and McCarthyism are somewhat very involved with fear, false convictions, and punishment. The book Crucible was written by Arthur Miller who was one of the people supported and called upon by the HUAC committee. The HUAC is a committee of people trying to find individuals disloyal to the government or their way of order. The HUAC paved the way for Joseph McCarthy while allowing the Wisconsin Senator to be at the top of almost all household conversations.

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McCarthyism period took place over the years The Crucible has been written and significantly impacted Arthur Miller’s thoughts while writing the book. The Crucible was seen as a modern-day witch hunt story in the McCarthy period. McCarthyism means the practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversions without any evidence. Joseph R McCarthy made false accusations while being senator and charged people for being communism. Both McCarthyism and The Crucible by Arthur Miller are connected because paranoia is evident and innocent people are accused.

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During this time Americans feared the invasion of Communism. The Soviet Union was growing in power. Americans began to feel that they were surrounded by a Communist threat. Joseph McCarthy, U.S Senator, made claims that there are more than 200 “card carrying” members of the government living amongst the people. Just like the girls in the Crucible the girls made claims that certain men and women were witches they didn’t have proof either.

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In history there have been many major events that have shaped the times we live in. Two of the major events of our time are the "witchunts" of the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. The Crucible is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a drama and fictional story of the Salem Witch Trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692-1693. Miller wrote the play as a parable for McCarthyism, when the United States government ostracized people for being communists.

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Miller wrote the play as a response to the McCarthy era, during which many Americans were accused of being communists and faced persecution. There was a perfect storm that needed scapegoats and “It was in this atmosphere of suspicion, fear, and false accusations that Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible” (The Crucible - A Note on the Political Context ). The Salem Witch Trials served as a metaphor for the McCarthy era, while characters represented individuals who were falsely accused and punished for their supposed crimes. Arthur Miller was one of those individuals who was falsely accused. It was quoted after Miller had published The Crucible that “Miller did receive some attention; in 1956 he was called in front of the McCarthy committee” (The Crucible - A Note on the Political Context ).

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Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in 1953. He wrote this because he wanted to attempt to capture a connection between his experiences and the Salem witch trials of 1692. He wanted to spread his message of the Communist “witch- hunts” during the 1950s. Joseph McCarthy imprisoned anyone that was a suspect of being a communist. Miller was accused of being a communist because he was a jewish man, with a political advocate against the inequalities of race in America.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

Arthur Miller constructs his play upon the famous Salem witch trails. Miller's Crucible was written in the early 1950s. Miller wrote his drama during the brief reign of the American senator Joseph McCarthy whose bitter criticized anti- communism sparkled the need for the United States to be a dramatic anti- communist society during the early tense years of the cold war. By orders from McCarthy himself, committees of the Congress commenced highly controversial investigations against communists in the U.S similar to the alleged Salem witches situation. Convict communists were ordered to confess their crime and name others to avoid the retribution.

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762 Words | 4 Pages

The Crucible is a story by Arthur Miller this story was released during the Mccarthyism era and is written to relate what is going on during Mccarthyism time and compared to what had happened during the time of the Salem witch trials. The setting or the crucible will impact the characters, the plot and the tone of the story. The setting of The Crucible affected the characters because during this period of time Salem Massachusetts was a Puritan colony. The Puritans were very strict people, for example on page 1154 of Arthur Miller's The Crucible Paris the town's Minister threatens to beat his slave Tituba “ You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to death Tituba” that statement says that the fact that Parris is going to whip Tituba to death if she doesn't do what he says and confess that he is willing to kill anyone who does not follow the rules. Another

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Hysteria in Salem The Crucible is a play written by American author, Arthur Miller, in 1953. It is a somewhat fictional play about the Salem Witch Trials. Miller wrote it as an allegory to the Red Scare, the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism. Miller himself was blacklisted for refusing to testify in front of the HUAC, a committee that was created to investigate any person who might be a communist.

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