Arthur Miller, Mccarthism, and the Crucible

“McCarthy was an essentially destructive force, a revolutionist without any revolutionary vision, a rebel without a cause” (Broudin). In the 1950’s, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy sparked the fire known as “the Red Scare” interrogating those suspected of communist actions. Likewise, in 1692, Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem began the terror of accusations that resulted in the famous Witchcraft Trials. The playwright Arthur Miller, some of whose colleagues were victims of McCarthy, noticed uncanny similarities in these two events and wrote his play The Crucible as a social mouthpiece to speak out against McCarthyism. The story of the witchcraft trials is an allegory to the Red Scare in the 1950’s and Miller challenged the abuse of McCarthy’s authority by writing The Crucible.
McCarthyism’s foundation was rooted in one question, “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” (Broudin). This was the famous line that Joseph McCarthy used to lead the nation into the Red Scare. In 1946, Joseph McCarthy was elected as Senator of Wisconsin but was known as a “cheap politician” (Broudin). After four years in Congress, he needed a platform in order to be re-elected, so he brought up a new issue to make a name for himself, communism (Broudin). Two crucial programs already existed that strengthened the movement for Senator McCarthy: the Federal Loyalty Program and the House Un-American Activities Committee. The Federal Loyalty Program compelled the Truman administration to investigate cabinet members for loyalty; those accused of Communist support or activity were fired as “security risks.” Many of the accused admitted to being Communists, sympathizing with Communists, or believing in communist ideology in order to avoid jail time. Then, those who were accused would “name names” of close friends or suspicious coworkers, furthering the investigations. Over two thousand people resigned and two hundred twelve people were fired (“Crucible”). In addition,...