The Second Red Scare occurred during the early 1950s in America just after the Second World War. This event is what inspired the term McCarthyism, which refers to the defamation of people's character or reputation by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations, especially on the basis of unsubstantiated charges. The then senator of Wisconsin, Senator Joseph McCarthy inspired this term because he was the biggest supporter and campaigner of the anti-communist propaganda that took America by storm during the late 1940s. After top secret information about the government’s weapons was handed to the soviet union by an unknown infiltrator, popular fear of communist agenda taking over the American government lead to the then President of the states issuing an executive order known as “The Loyalty Order”. This order allowed a federal organisation known as the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and McCarthy to carry out mandatory investigation of all federal workers to …show more content…
In The Crucible, when a person was accused of being a witch, the accused was sentenced by the word of the person who had accused them and on the account of spectral evidence. This simply refers to the accuser’s testimony that the spirit of the accused had approached the accuser while their body was elsewhere. This method of conducting trials is unreasonable and unjust because the accused have no way of defending themselves. Similarly, during the Second Red Scare when the HUAC investigated a person who was thought to be a communist, they didn’t consider the person’s civil rights and conducted their investigations without any justification for the accusation. If the accused wouldn’t answer their questions and refuse to name other people, they lost their jobs, were blacklisted and maybe would have even been arrested for contempt against the
The book The Crucible written by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the red scare in the McCarthy era because due to Arthur Miller’s involvement during the red scare, false accusations, and proving guilt.
Rough draft Being accused of something you didn’t do isn’t fun right? That is what happened to people during the red scare on the 1950s and the salem witch trials. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is an allegory for the red scare in the MCcarthy era because of lying, the trials, and execution of people based on the word of others The red scare in the 1950s and the salem witch trials are very similar in multiple ways. “Critics of MCcarthy’s anticommunist crusade…”
“Arthur Miller made the play called “The Crucible” during the 1950’s as a response to McCarthyism and the U.S. Governments blacklisted people.”(Blakesley). Miller was then question and accused of “Contempt of Congress” for not identifying people that were at meetings he attended. McCarthyism and The Salem Witch Craft Trials have been two very wrong things that have happened in the history of the United States for a lot of reasons. First off they both wrongfully accused innocent people of performing not accepted actions of those times. In America you have a right of free will and in both cases they were denied this right just because of someone else’s opinion. In both cases of the Salem Witch Craft Trials and McCarthyism people were being accused of acts with little evidence. People pointed fingers at others so they wouldn’t get blamed for anything, so there was a scare factor taking place. Large groups of people supported these acts maybe because of a get on board everyone’s doing it theme, and if you disagreed you were considered a witch or a communist. Our country supported McCarthy until later we soon regretted it. During the 1940’s and 1950’s communism was a scare in the U.S. so McCarthy capitalized on the subject and said two hundred card carrying communist were in the U.S(PBS). With the Salem Trials people capitalized on the scare of witches and everyone starting accusing the “weird” people. Accusations weather true or false can
The Red Scare and The Salem Witch Trials were both events that left a mark in American history. The Red Scare began in 1917 and took place across the United States. The Red Scare was known as the widespread promotion of anti-communism. The Salem Witch Trials began in 1692 and took place in Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem Witch Trials were various court hearings and prosecutions of people in Salem accused of Witchcraft. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible, a play about The Salem Witch Trials, to send a message to Senator Joseph McCarthy, the face of The Red Scare. Even though both of these events took place at completely different times their connection remains profound. The Crucible and The Red Scare have various similarities and allegories
During the Salem witch trials of 1692 just being accused of witchcraft meant the sentence was already written. Something very similar also happened with the Japanese Americans after the attack on pearl harbor during WWII. In the crucible we see that if you were accused of witchcraft , then you were seen as a threat to everyone therefore everyone wanted you gone. Due, to the attack during WWII Japanese Americans were seen as a threat to the U.S because japan attacked the U.S.. consequently Japanese americans and japanese immigrants in the U.S were relocated into incarceration camps, almost like they were incarcerated for crimes that they didn't commit which can be seen also in the crucible they were accused of crimes they didn't commit but were still incarcerated. Japanese americans were accused of being traitors with no evidence of betrayal.
In both The Crucible and McCarthyism, people are accused of being either witches or communists. The accused are placed in such a dire situation where they are either forced to lie to save themselves, or to remain honest, at the risk of their social or physical lives. In The Crucible, John Proctor is accused of practicing witchcraft, and when asked if he is a witch, he responds,“Why it is a lie, it is a lie; how may I damn myself? I cannot, I cannot.” (Act IV pg. 140) He refuses to confess to something he did not do, even if lying means that he can save his life. During the McCarthy trials, people who were accused of being communists refused to confess that they were, although it hurt their reputation. In both
During the 1950s there was a rise in the fear of communism called “The Red Scare”. Senator Joseph McCarthy was one of the many people who contributed to people’s fear by making a list of people who he said were communists even though there was no proof in most cases. In an article by Alan Brinkley called “The 1950s Part One: McCarthy and The Red Scare”, it informs, “McCarthy was only one of many who helped create the great fear. The Red Scare was visible in almost every area of American life” (Brinkley). This quote tell us that in the 1950s even though Senator Joseph McCarthy was a huge contributor to The Red Scare. His list of suspected communists made rumors spread and the people on the list get questioned and even go to jail when in some cases they were innocent. It also says in the article by USHistory.org called “McCarthyism: Witch Hunting and Blacklisting in America”, that, “In the 1950s anyone who was considered a communist could be questioned and thrown in jail” (USHistory.org). Which means that his allegations could have easily put people in prison.
Tony Blair introduced me to politics. Taken by my parents to protest in London against the Iraq war I experienced the inability of national politics and international relations to be mutually exclusive concepts. Key issues such as the growing refugee crisis, the debate regarding Britain’s place in Europe and trade agreements such as TTIP all have national and international implications. Britain’s political sovereignty has been eroded by Unions, Agreements and world events. This opens up the debate as to where power is concentrated. A more controversial debate would address whether national and global decisions are in fact being made by politicians at all, or if global corporations impose greater power. Regardless of this nihilistic view, the
In 1952 a play was written by Arthur Miller, about events that happened in Salem in 1692. The play was about affairs, accusations, and innocent people being accused of witches. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail and Mary Warren are introduced as two separate people. Although people might see Abigail and Mary Warren as two separate people and nothing alike, they are more alike than meet's the eye. Abigail and Mary Warren have three things in common; they are both are deceitful, they both dishonest, and they are both apprehensive.
In the late 1940’s, hundreds of screenwriters, actors, actresses and entertainers of the Hollywood film industry faced charges of being subversive to America through spies for the Soviet Union. The FBI was accusing many Americans for being loyal to the communist country, this is similar to witch hunts that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts. The “Red Scare” and the Witch Trials both produced mass hysteria as a result of people’s irrational angst. The Crucible a play composed by American author, Arthur Miller who was many of the accused during the red scare, wrote this play about the town Salem that fell into mass hysteria after a group of girls Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, Ruth Putnam, Tituba and Mary Warren wrongfully accused townspeople
“Are you now or were you ever?”, this was the question asked at a time in American history when everyone had a hard time trusting anyone. The topic being addressed here is how Miller’s statement is true. The statement shows the connection between Miller’s book “The Crucible” and The Red Scare, a situation during Millers time. The reason this is being brought to your attention is because Miller’s quote can still be applied to this day. This should be discussed so people can prevent a similar situation like Salem or The Red Scare from happening again. The idea that Miller is trying to convey to his audience is that at this day and age, including in the past, people still struggle to face their own problems and rather succumb to their own paranoia. This statement is true due to the fact that some people will lie at all cost to save themselves, people in authoritative positions aren’t always challenged when they should be, and people not realizing that their paranoia can spread like a wildfire.
The Second Red Scare was a period of heightened fears of the Soviet Union and the political ideology of Communism. The paranoia and hysteria inherent to this period led to discrimination of Communists. Joseph McCarthy was a main player in this Red Scare, which was sometimes called the “Witch-Hunts in Washington.” He was a Wisconsin senator who made claims against those whom he suspected of being Communists or Communist sympathizers.
The human race is a very calamitous, worrisome species; their nature creates judgment along with foolishness. Once placed in an unexpected situation they all turn on each other. This kind of tomfoolery has happened many times; such as, The Crucible, “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” and The Cold War. In the Crucible, the people of Salem believe that there are witches cursing residents. They slowly raise suspicion of each other consequently creating a dilemma on their own; ultimately, they accuse each other so they can become uncharged. The tension caused them to turn on one another creating their own darkness.
Vivian Gonzalez Mr. Martinez-Ramos A.P. United States History May 3, 2000 McCarthyism was one of the saddest events of American history. It destroyed people’s lives and shattered many families. It threw innocent people into a whirlwind of mass confusion and fictional portrayals of their lives. McCarthyism spawned for the country’s new found terror of Communism known as the red scare. McCarthyism was an extreme version of the red scare, a scare whose ends did not justify the means. The Red Scare happened twice in the history of this great country. When the communist took over Russia in 1919, the American people were unnerved. They were afraid of a communist take over in the states. When the First World War ended in 1918, there was still
During the 1940s and 1950s there was a mass hysteria in America because people suspected others of being Communist. A man named Arthur Miller wrote ‘’The Crucible’’ as a way to signify what was happening in the U.S. . He used this story to show how bad things were and how easy it was for people to be falsely accused of being Communist. Miller connects America's Red scare to his fictional story ‘’The Crucible’’ because in the fictional drama the normal people of Salem where falsely persecuted as witches and just like the people during the Red Scare , their lives were ruined beyond repair and they were even killed for suspicion of being a witch even if there was littler evidence to state them as being one.