There are strong parallels between Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and the history it depicts and the reign of terror that the 1950’s era of McCarthyism repeated. These two historical events are linked by several commonalities: a lack of intelligent discussion, public hysteria, threats, fear and finally, the presumption of guilt rather than innocence. Miller convincingly uses fiction and dialogue to recreate a very real moment in history, which due to the timing of the play’s release may also have been purposely created as a response to the actions of Joseph McCarthy.Joe McCarthy defiantly states,“ I have in my hand a list of 205 cases of individuals who appear to be either carrying members or certainly loyal to the Communist party”(“ McCarthyism”). His statement seemed legitimate, especially to one who might not recognize the situation. In actuality, his statement was an example of a lack of intelligent discussion. There was no single reliable copy of the speech. To make matters worse, at McCarthy’s next speech, he claimed he had said 57 people (McCarthyism). The numbers were not accurate proving that there was no real certainty behind the arguments. Clearly, McCarthy was not making his statements to spread truth, but rather had alternative motives such as greed and self-improvement. These motives were demonstrated by his blatant disregard for civil liberties and due process. His war on “ communism” preyed upon the fears already running amuck in the U.S. during the beginning years of the Cold War. Those who were unfortunate enough to be accused by McCarthy faced the humiliation of Schatz 2accusations and a loss of reputation and support in their communities. In The Crucible, the same lack of intelligence is apparent. The best example is that of the judge Danforth describing the nature of witchcraft as a crime, “…witchcraft is ipso facto…an invisible ...
