The Crucible Dbq Essay

From Salem to McCarthy: How Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" highlights the dangerous consequences of fear and political hysteria. McCarthyism and the Salem witch trials are two significant events in American history, separated by over 200 years. However, they share many similarities in terms of their impact on American society and culture. Both events involved accusations of wrongdoing without sufficient evidence, leading to the persecution of innocent people. In the Salem witch trials, people were accused of practicing witchcraft, while in McCarthyism, people were accused of being communists. In both cases, the accusations led to a climate of fear and hysteria, with people turning against each other and often making false accusations to protect

According to Elia Kazan, "I have come to the conclusion that I did wrong to withhold these names before, because of the secrecy of the Communists" (Kazan Document A), referring to his decision to name names before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Kazan was one of many Hollywood figures who faced pressure from the HUAC to testify and name others who might be Communist. The threat of being blacklisted from the entertainment industry was very real, and many people who refused to cooperate with the HUAC did suffer career setbacks as a result. In the end, Kazan chose to name names in order to protect his career and reputation, a decision that remains controversial and debated to this day. Abigail and Betty, along with other young girls in Salem, began to exhibit strange behavior, leading to accusations of witchcraft. In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, Abigail exclaims, "I want the light of God, I want the sweet life of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I went back to Jesus... I saw Sarah Good.. Goody Osburn with the Devil'' (Miller 48, Document B). To avoid being accused themselves, Abigail and Betty began to shift the blame onto others in the community, accusing them of being witches and working with the devil. Their

According to Joseph McCarthy, he had “ A list of two hundred and five that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party" (Document C) McCarthy made this statement during a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1950, claiming to have evidence of Communist infiltration in the United States government. However, he never made the list public, and many historians believe that the claims were baseless and designed to stoke fears of Communist subversion. McCarthy's tactics relied heavily on false accusations, and he often used his power to bully and intimidate people he suspected of being Communist.This lack of evidence and reliance on intimidation and fear was a hallmark of the Red Scare era. Danforth, from the The Crucible, said that "Witchcraft is ipso facto, on its face and by its nature, an invisible crime, is it not? Therefore, who may possibly be a witness to it? The witch and the victim. None other. Now we cannot hope the witch will accuse herself; granted? Therefore, we must rely upon her victims - and they do testify" (Miller 87 Document D). Danforth is acknowledging the difficulty of proving witchcraft, as it is an invisible crime that can only be witnessed by the accused and their alleged victims. However, Danforth puts a burden on the accused