The Connection Between “The Crucible” and The Red Scare

Arthur Miller 1915 – 2005 Famous American playwright Wrote The Crucible in 1953 Wrote The Crucible during the “Red Scare” of the 1950s He wrote The Crucible as an allegory (symbolic comparison) for the “Red Scare”

THE RED SCARE

Ocurred during the 1940s-1950s At the end of WWII in 1945, two powerful nations emerged - the USA and the USSR. Despite being allies in the war, both nations were distrustful of each other. A battle for nuclear weapon superiority began: the capitalist United States versus the communist Soviet Union. U.S. worked hard at home and abroad to oppose the spread of communism.

Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism In this climate of fear, a senator, Joseph McCarthy, claimed that the government was being infiltrated by communists, and he waged a campaign against them He produced a piece of paper which he claimed contained a list of known communists working for the government. Congress established the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to investigate alleged communist conspiracies

The targets… Primarily government workers and people in the entertainment industry The accused were called in front of the committee and told to “confess” to earlier involvement in communist organizations. They were also told to name others who had similar views Those who refused were blacklisted, denied employment, fined, and even jailed. Arthur Miller saw a connection between the way people were questioned and forced to testify against their colleagues and the witch trials in colonial America. After researching the Salem Witch Trials, Miller wrote The Crucible.

Miller refused to name suspected Communists "I feel the same as I ever did," he said at the time, "which is that I don't believe that a man has to become an informer in order to practice his profession freely in the United States." Miller refused to name suspected Communists

The Crucible The Crucible is a play that recounts the events that happened in the Salem Witch Trials in order to parallel and comment on the events that took place during the Red Scare. The Crucible was set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 The characters Miller used in his play were based upon the actual people who experienced and participated in the Salem Witch Trials

Salem during the 1600s A small settlement on the east coast of what is now Massachusetts At the time of the trials, it had been in existence for less than seventy years. The people of Salem were settlers in a hostile environment - a land in which they struggled to establish farms and live off the land and which was bordered by huge, unexplored areas. Life was hard. The rigor of Puritanism made their lives even more harsh and demanding.

Problems That Led To The Trials Disagreement within the village about the choice of Samuel Parris as Salem’s first ordained minister. Many land disputes between neighbors. Puritans constantly searched for hints of predestination in each other. They believed that the invisible world was inhabited by God and the angels, including the Devil. To Puritans, this invisible world was as real as the visible one around them. They believed a woman was more likely to enlist in the Devil's service than a man was, and women were considered lustful by nature. The small-town made secrets difficult to keep and people's opinions about their neighbors were generally accepted as fact. Children were at the bottom of the social ladder. Toys and games were seen as idle and playing was discouraged. Girls had additional restrictions heaped upon them.

How to tell if you’re a witch It was said that there were various ways to tell if a person was a witch The testimony of a fellow witch The common belief/accusation of those who live with the suspected witch Cursing or quarrelling being followed by some mischief or mishap The person suspected has the Devil’s mark (perhaps a birthmark or deformity) The person contradicts her/himself when questioned

The Salem Witch Trials A series of hearings by local courts to try people accused of witchcraft. Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned, with even more accused who were not formally pursued by the authorities. Thirty people were convicted of the capital felony of witchcraft, twenty of whom (fourteen women, six men) were executed -- nineteen by hanging and one by being pressed to death. In addition to those executed, at least 3 more died in prison.