Katie Desrosiers
Ms. DelGrego
English 3 CP
December 19, 2011
Corrupt History in America
The Crucible and McCarthyism are linked together in several ways. The Crucible is a
drama written by Arthur Miller, about the 1692 Salem Witch Trials within a Puritan Community.
McCarthyism is what Senator Joseph McCarthy created in the 1950’s to keep his upcoming
election interesting. McCarthy began to accuse people of Communism, which was a very
sensitive topic in that era. Therefore, The Crucible was written to reflect the false accusations
and their effects during the 1950 McCarthy Trials.
In The Crucible, Abigail Williams accused many innocent people of witchcraft. She
blamed other innocent people of witchcraft in order to make her look innocent, even though she
was guilty. Abigail led a large number of girls around Salem, falsely accusing other women. By
doing this, the girls would seem innocent and their names would be well-respected. Abigail
accused Mary Warren of witchcraft because Mary tried to tell Judge Danforth that Abigail and
the girls were making everything up. “ABIGAIL, backing further, eyes still fixed above: Mary,
please don’t hurt me! MARY WARREN, to Danforth: I’m not hurting her!”(Miller 115). Abigail
and the girls were repeating everything that Mary Warren had said, so that it would seem like
Mary really was a witch. Judge Danforth was very confused as to what was going on because of
the things occurring in the court room, making him unsure of the truth.
Like Abigail, Senator
Joseph McCarthy accused many innocent people of being a Communist. McCarthy accused the
army of protecting suspected people of the “American Communist Party.” Although there were
few that were actually communists, many innocent people lost their jobs and were put in jail.
“Joseph McCarthy, a senator from Wisconsin, made a speech claiming to have a list of 205
people in the State Department that were known to be members of the American Communist
Party” (Simkin 4). McCarthy was talking to the public and claimed to have a list of Communists
working in the State Department. McCarthy should not have told the public this information
because in reality, he only knew of 57 people being guilty as undercover Communists working in
the State Department. This meant that 148 people were wrongly accused of being a Communist.
For this reason, innocent men were accused of Communism; just like the women of Salem who
were innocent of witchcraft.
Women were scared to go out in public because if they did and something went wrong or
something looked incorrect, they would be accused of witchcraft, brought to court, and
eventually hanged. Fear spread throughout the town of Salem because of the lies told by Abigail
and her followers. People heard about what was happening in town and were afraid, and they
knew if they were associated with Abigail, something bad could happen to them. “BETTY: You
drank blood, Abby! You didn’t tell him that! ABIGAIL, smashes her across the face: Shut it!
Now shut it!” BETTY, collapsing on the bed: Mama, Mama! She dissolves into sobs (Miller 19).
People feared Abigail because if someone tried to, Abigail would get back at the person by
accusing them of being a witch. McCarthy made people scared because, if someone knew a
person who was associated with Communism, they would be considered a Communist, as well.
“This was partly because of the fear that any association with someone who had been
investigated might make an individual or companies look suspicious.” Joseph McCarthy made
the public think that any one person could be a Communist. This spread suspicion and fear
throughout the people. This is significant because anyone who seemed as if they were a
Communist would be considered a Communist. The Crucible reflected the fear of Communism
in the public.
The Crucible and McCarthyism are similar to each other because each represents
unethical and unjust behaviors. People in The Crucible, were falsely accused of witchcraft and
McCarthyism accused people of being Communists; these conditions, created fear among the
people. Neither issues were sensible. People should not fear the public because of wrongful
accusations.
Work Cited
“McCarthy, Joseph." UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2003. Encyclopedia.com.
18 Dec. 2011 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
Schrecker, Ellen. "McCarthyism." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com.
(18 Dec. 2011). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2- 3401802469.html
53a.“McCarthyism.” Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia. 2008. www.ushistory.org
18 Dec. 2011 http://www.ushistory.org/us/53a.asp
John Simkin. Spartacus Educational. 2003. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.com
18 Dec. 2011. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/author.htm
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible (Penguin Classics). London: Penguin Classics, 2003.