Similarities Between The Crucible And The Red Scare Of The 1950's

In the 1950’s senator Joseph MacCarthy targeted people, and accused them of being disloyal or supporting communism often without evidence. He believed that communism was being infiltrated through the American government, military, and entertainment. The Crucible by writer Arthur Miller depicts the events that occurred during the Salem witch trials. During the Salem witch trials, people falsely accused their neighbors of witchcraft in order to save themselves. This practice took the lives of twenty-five innocent people. Both the Salem witch trials and the red scare of the 1950’s are significant events in American history, but how are they connected? An analysis of The Crucible and McCarthyism of the 1950’s shows similarities between being accused

In the 1950’s mass hysteria spread like wildfire across the country and it didn’t just affect the individuals that were accused of communism, it affected everyone. Everyone was walking on their tippy toes. Paranoid that they will reveal too much information about themselves and people would think they were communist. Even though there was an active communist party in America it was very small. Meaning that there wasn’t really a need to freak out like everyone did. But just like during the Salem witch trials when one person was accused they had to accuse another person or persons in order to be found not guilty. This sent a spiral of false accusations and lies spreading throughout the government and other

In The Crucible everyone was afraid that there were witches all around that would cause them misfortune. Not only that but they were afraid that their enemies would accuse them of witchcraft. It was neighbor against neighbor. In order to not be accused, one had to be the accuser. That was the only way to make sure that people believed them. When one was accused it created a dilemma in which they would either have to confess to a crime they didn’t commit or die. If they confessed, not only would they be lying, which is a sin, but they would also have to condemn someone else to the same fate. Towards the end of the play John Proctor was thinking about giving a false confession instead of hanging and he said “I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint. It is a fraud. I am not a good man. My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man. Nothing’s spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before”(Miller,1.4.194) In this line John is saying that he has already lied, so he might as well lie again if it will save his life. Just like in The Crucible, the time of McCarthyism brought about many lies and the pointing of fingers. People would accuse one of being Communist without any real evidence. Everyone was watching their backs to make sure because they were afraid of the threat of communism.