1. HUAC/McCarthyism
Bielec/Fink

2. How are the Salem Witch Trials like McCarthyism?

3. Terms/People to Know Arthur Miller Joseph McCarthy/McCarthyism HUAC
Allegory
Edward R. Murrow

4. The Crucible, Arthur Miller, and McCarthyism

5. Arthur Miller Born in 1915 – died 2005 ()
Grew up son of Jewish immigrants
Parents were poor due to the failure of their garment manufacturing business
Miller was greatly affected by the Great Depression – the era in which he was raised

6. Arthur Miller, cont’d Major Works Include:
The Man Who Had All the Luck (1944) – incredibly successful man who is unhappy with that success
All My Sons (1947) – tragedy about a manufacturer who sells faulty parts to the military in order to save his business
Death of a Salesman (1949) – by far his most successful work – it made him a millionaire; failed businessman who tries to remember and reconstruct his life

7. The Crucible (1953) Written in the early 50’s Post-WWII Cold War
America was overwhelmed with concerns about the threat of communism growing in Eastern Europe and China

8. Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisc.)
and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

9. McCarthyism
the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, especially of pro-Communist activity, in many instances unsupported by proof or based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence.

10. McCarthy was a “rogue” politician; power-hungry
made a public accusation that more than two hundred “card-carrying” communists had infiltrated the United States government
Headed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
his zealous campaigning ushered in one of the most repressive times in 20th-century American politics.

11. Designed to flush out “card-carrying Communists”
highly-visible, influential types: writers and entertainers, as well as teachers, government workers, etc.
Known as McCarthyism

13. Welch (US Army lawyer) calls out McCarthy for publicly accusing one of Welch’s junior associates. (6:15-7:15)

15. McCarthy, Miller and the House Un-American Activities Committee
Miller watched some of his close friends be subpoenaed and questioned by McCarthy
Miller was struck by the similarities between the Salem witch-hunts and what HUAC was doing
Miller himself was called to testify (after The Crucible was published) and was offered a “bribe” to get out of it

17. McCarthy, Miller and the House Un-American Activities Committee
HUAC wanted its accused to name the names of other supposed-Communists in order to:
absolve their assumed guilt
Be excused from public hearings (and the humiliation and public ridicule along with them)

18. Some had their passports taken away, while others were jailed for refusing to give the names of other communists
The trials, which were well publicized, could often destroy a career with a single unsubstantiated accusation
In all, three hundred and twenty artists were blacklisted, and for many of them this meant the end of exceptional and promising careers
Charlie Chaplin, Pete Seeger, Lillian Hellman, Orson Welles, Allen Ginsberg, Albert Einstein, Langston Hughes

19. Ten to twelve thousand lost job Many homosexuals were targeted as well
Hundreds imprisoned
Ten to twelve thousand lost job
Many homosexuals were targeted as well
Deemed subversive

20. Allegory
A story or tale with two or more levels of meaning –a literal level and one or more symbolic levels. The events, setting, and characters in an allegory are symbols for ideas and qualities.
In what ways do the witch trials in Salem (literal level) symbolize what happened with McCarthy and HUAC?

21. Miller said of HUAC and the Salem Witch Trials. . .
“It was quite the same excepting we weren’t hanged, but the ritual was exactly the same. You told them anyone you knew had been a left-winger or a Communist and you went home. But I wasn’t going to do that.”
“300 years apart, both prosecutions alleged membership of a secret, disloyal group. Should the accused confess, his honesty could only be proved by naming former confederates.”

22. Edward R. Murrow

23. CBS  See it Now
McCarthy and liberation of Buchenwald.
“Good night, and good luck”
Ended in 1958