McCarthyism and The Crucible
The Red Scare (the second)
After World War II,
the U.S. was
overwhelmed with
fear and worry over
the growth of
communism in
Eastern Europe and
China.
Was the fear justified?
The Communist Party
grew in America in the
1930s as a vocal
opponent of Nazi
fascism and as part of
the growing union
movement in response
to the economic
devastation of the
Great Depression.
The Cold War
The Soviet Union
tested an atomic
bomb in 1949, four
years after the U.S.
bomb. They
developed the bomb
with information
supplied by spies in
America.
Revolution in China
Also in 1949, Mao
Zedong’s
Communist army
gained control of
mainland China,
defeating the
Kuomintang, which
had the support of
the United States
Korean War
In 1950, the Korean
War began. The
U.S., the United
Nations, and South
Korea fought
Communist forces
from China and
North Korea.
House Un-American Activities
Committee
Americans began to
look for Communist
spies trying to
overthrow the gov’t
from within.
Congress established
HUAC to investigate
suspected traitors.
Hollywood Ten
One of the main
places the committee
looked for
communists was in
the entertainment
industry. The first ten
Hollywood witnesses
subpoenaed refused
to cooperate.
Blacklisting
The Hollywood Ten
were jailed and not
allowed to work in
Hollywood. This
practice was known
as blacklisting.
Hundreds, maybe
thousands, were
blacklisted in the 50s.
Joseph McCarthy
McCarthy, a senator
from Wisconsin,
made public claims
that Communists had
infiltrated the U.S.
gov’t. He claimed
that many of them
worked in the State
Department.
McCarthyism
McCarthy did not start
the anti-communist
movement, but he
became its most
prominent spokesman.
McCarthyism quickly
took on a negative
meaning.
McCarthyism
The term soon came to
describe poorly
supported or
unsubstantiated attacks
or using accusations of
communism to
pressure someone to
conform to certain
political beliefs.
Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller is one of
the greatest
playwrights is
American literature.
His 1949 play Death
of a Salesman is one
of the most
outstanding American
plays ever written.
Witch Trials
After his friend Elia
Kazan, the man who
directed his greatest
plays on Broadway,
testified before
HUAC, Miller began
researching the Salem
Witch Trials.
The Crucible
Miller saw many
parallels between the
witch trials and
McCarthyism. The
play that resulted is
The Crucible, a drama
about people unjustly
accused of witchcraft
in Salem in 1692
The Crucible
The Crucible uses the
witch trials as a
metaphor for
McCarthyism,
suggesting that
McCarthy-style
persecutions can occur
at any time or any
place.
The Crucible
The play highlights the
fact that once accused,
either in Salem or in
Washington or in
Hollywood, a person
would have little
chance to clear his or
her name.
Repercussions
As a result of The
Crucible, Miller was
asked to testify before
HUAC. Miller talked
about his own political
activities, but he
refused to discuss
other people.
Repercussions
“I could not use the
name of another
person and bring
trouble on him,”
Miller told the
committee. He was
found guilty of
contempt of Congress.
McCarthyism at Work
You are accused of
being a communist!
No
Are you a communist?
Yes
Are you prepared to
name some other
people that you know
are also communists?
Yes
Lenient sentence
for cooperating.
No
• Jail sentence of up to a year.
• Fired from job.
• Career ruined.
Witch Hunting at Work
You are accused of
being a witch!
No
Are you a witch?
Yes
Are you prepared to
name some other
people that you know
are also witches?
No
Yes
Go to jail!
Death by hanging! 
Conclusions
The methods used by McCarthy and HUAC
were unethical and resulted in thousands of
innocent people having their lives ruined.
McCarthy himself was often dishonest in his
accusations, looking for headlines and power
more than justice and establishing himself as a
demagogue.
Conclusions
Nonetheless, there was a threat. There were
communists in the United States who were working
with the Soviet Union to overthrow the U.S.
government. Two of the most prominent people
often seen as being victims of McCarthyism, Alger
Hiss and Julius Rosenberg, were later shown to be
communist spies who gave the Soviets vital
American secrets.
Conclusions
In Salem, however, there were no witches, as far
as we know. Nineteen people died, not because
they were in league with the devil, but because
their neighbors were angry, suspicious, afraid,
greedy, or spiteful. Or it could have been a
hysteria caused by a fungus on the grains called
ergot.