Connections between McCarthyism and the Crucible

In the early 1950s, Arthur Miller composed The Crucible during an era when anti-communism was prevalent and McCarthyism gripped America. Being one of the ‘accused’ in the McCarthy hearings conducted by Joseph McCarthy in attempt to expel communism from America,   Miller wanted to point out the echoes that he found still in existence in the America of his time. In particular, the idea that people, who were often innocent, were accused based on such little evidence, due to the mounting hysteria of the time, is apparent both in The Crucible, and during the McCarthy ‘witch trials’ of the 1950s. In both cases, instigators of hysteria took advantage of the fears of their different societies, causing hysteria to replace the logic of the community (Joseph McCarthy used his nation’s wave of terror against communism – Abigail used the fear of witchcraft in her Puritan society.) As a result, when a source for their problem was suggested, even if it may be false, their new found fear caused everyone to willingly support it. In other words, fear fed fear. This is illustrated in the Crucible when neighbours suddenly turn on each other with accusations of witchcraft, as depicted through the character of Putnam, in particular. Miller intended audiences to see parallels between Putnam and individuals during his era who were accusing various celebrities of communism for equally selfish reasons. After all, hysteria thrives because people benefit from it as it allows them to act out hateful and vengeful urges under the cover of pious righteousness.