McCarthyism, Miller, and the Crucible

“Reasonable doubt” was all that was necessary to accuse and sometimes convict someone of un-American activities in the late 1940’s, early 1950’s. This period of time was known for McCarthyism--a time of extreme anticommunism, lead by Senator Joseph McCarthy (McCarthyism). The United States pledged to contain the spread of communism globally, as well as locally, and did what it could to keep this promise. Americans began to fear that communism was leaking into the media, government, arts, schools, and other areas. This was called the “Red Scare” (Brinkley). One writer that used this era as a basis for his play, The Crucible, was Arthur Miller. He was able to capture the panic and mere insanity of many Americans in an allegorical way. The “crusade against subversion” played a significant role in the following: the actions and tactics of McCarthy, the reasons why Miller and other artists were targets of McCarthyism, and the relationship of his play The Crucible to the events of the late 1940’s to the early 1950’s (Brinkley).

Senator Joseph McCarthy used many tactics to persuade Americans to oppose communism and indict those who supported it. Communism had tangible shape, and Americans were worried that people in the U.S. would start leaning to the far left like several other countries such as the USSR and China (Schrecker). In order to prevent this, the Congressional House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was founded. The Committee's purpose was to investigate those organizations and individuals it deemed "un-American." They first went to Hollywood because the movie industry was considered “corrupted”. Ten individuals, called the Hollywood Ten, were asked to testify against other Hollywood residents who were questionable communists. Some of the Hollywood Ten refused to answer the HUAC’s questions so they were charged with contempt and sent to prison (HUAC). The Federal Loyalty Program was also established at this time in order to question the trustworthiness of federal employees. Many were questioned and fired with the reasoning that they were considered a threat to their employers. State and local governments wanted to rid themselves of all kinds of subversives (Schrecker). On February 9, 1950 in Wheeling, West Virginia, the “crusade against subversion” took a significant radical turn. Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy gave a speech, and in it he stated, “I have here in my hand a list of two hundred and five [people] that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department”(“Enemies”). This was a very bold move by McCarthy because he was outright accusing over two hundred of his fellow co-workers of communist activity. Over the next few years, McCarthy became very well known for his bold tactics to expose alleged communists. Most Americans were too afraid to stand up to him, including President Dwight D. Eisenhower (McCarthyism). Eventually, however, people who were being affected by McCarthy began questioning his harsh tactics and his objectives concerning communism.

McCarthyism affected people of all races, ethnicities, and professions. The American people were terrified of communism, yet the Truman administration did nothing to curb these fears. People lost their jobs, not only because of heavy investigation by the HUAC, but also because private employers felt obligated to follow the HUAC’s warnings. The “Hollywood Ten” was not the only group of people that were questioned in Hollywood; they were just the ones who refused to testify in court. Nine others, however, agreed to cooperate with the HUAC (HUAC). Many artists, both in literature and in the movies, incorporated McCarthyism in their work. Arthur Miller was one of these individuals. During this time, Miller wrote his play,