Arthur+Miller+and+his+relationship+to+the+Red+Scare7

Intro: ** Arthur Miller was a playwright who in 1952 wrote the play called The Crucible. He used the Salem Witch Trials to relate to the McCarthyism style of prosecuting others. His point was that once a person was singled out by a larger group, there was little chance to prove their innocence because of the mob mentality. ** Background: In the 1950's, in the midst of the Cold War against Russian Communism, Joseph McCarthy was an American Senator. He was one of many who fueled the fire of the Second Red Scare. The Red Scare was American fear of communism influencing American institutions and of Soviet spies infiltrating American society. In turn, many Americans were accused of being a Communist or a Communist sympathizer. They were fiercely investigated and some were affected in the way that their careers were destroyed. Some others were also imprisoned. McCarthyism was a term coined to criticize the unfair treatment of suspected Communists. A few targets of McCarthyism were those in positions of power in government or education, many entertainers and most of all, union activists.
 * Arthur Miller and his Relationship**  **to the Red Scare**

The House Un-American Activies Committee (HUAC) turned its sights on the arts in 1947 and a group of writers, actors, and directors were convicted of contempt of Congress when they refused to testify to the committee their political beliefs. Miller was found guilty of contempt on May 31, 1957 for refusing to reveal the names of alleged Communist writers with whom he met with in New York ten years prior. After a two year battle, Miller was cleared of contempt on August 7, 1958. The committee was abolished in 1975.

Relation between the Red Scare and the Salem Witch Trials: This play was a response by Miller to the atrocities he believed were being committed at the time of the Red Scare. He uses the Salem Witch Trials as an example of groups of people being singled out as evil. He relates the witch trials of old to the the the "witch hunt" of his day: The Red Scare. He uses a way of relation to point out our inability to learn from our past mistakes.

 "The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom."- Arthur Miller  This quote shows Miller's true feeling towards the Red Scare. He blamed it on society's tendency to shun those who start looking toward individualism.   Websites used: http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/amiller.htm, http://www.helium.com/items/1128338-mccarthyism-and-the-crucible-by-arthur-miller