Allegory Of Women In The Crucible And Senator Mccarthy

1950’s America was a time of great fear and of great power. World War II had ended a few years prior and had left a mark on the nation. Nazi Germany had fallen and in its place a new power captured the fear of America: The Soviet Union. Many Americans had a fear of this new world power, as the United States was in a “Cold War” with them. Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy used these fears to Start a hunt for the communists he claimed were plotting to overthrow the country. The Crucible itself is written as an allegory for these times. Both the group of girls in The Crucible and Senator McCarthy with his committees in the 1950’s used their respective forms of fear-mongering and witch-hunting to further their social or political lives and to rid

During the time, just after the Second World War with the threat of the Atomic Bomb and the Cold War coming into play, Senator McCarthy could exploit these fears to do what he wanted. Many Americans had a legitimate fear of the Soviets, as they were a world power just as America was, and war/ideological propaganda perpetrated by McCarthy and those before him made many fear for their safety. In fact, many Americans built bomb shelters in case of a Russian attack, and at the time of the Berlin Wall, the majority of Americans believed World War III would occur within the next five years. So although McCarthy’s exploitations of American’s fears wasn’t very difficult to achieve, it was very

In 1954, at the height of McCarthyism, second-grade teacher Anne Hale was accused of being a communist in a plot to overthrow the government. Instead of quietly resigning from her job and avoiding public ridicule, she chose to stand up for what she believed in. Her neighbors turned against her, claiming that “there was a colored lady who appeared to be advanced educationally, residing with Miss Hale at least part time.” Hale stood up to the accusations made against her because she thought “it will do less harm to the children to see me standing up for what I believe to be true, than to see me run away.” Hale chose to fight back against the accusations made against her, and as a consequence she lost her job and any chance of redemption. It became difficult for her to find a place to live, as few would lease her, and even more difficult for her to find a job. Back in 1954 when she lost her job, she only had one request: to say goodbye to her second graders. It was denied. Anne Hale had been accused as a communist in a plot to overthrow the government and lost everything because of