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Similarities Between The Crucible And Mccarthyism

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“The term ‘"McCarthyism’" has passed into general usage as a synonym for the anticommunist political repression of the early Cold War”. (Schrecker 3) The Crucible shows the similarities between the Salem witch trials and the Red Scare. The Crucible displays a relationship between the Salem Witch Trials and the fear of McCarthyism in the 1950s. Like The Crucible, with people terrified of witchcraft, people during the Red Scare feared communism and feared the punishment that came with an accusation. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible compares the fear of witchcraft in 1692 Salem, to the fear of Communism created by Senator McCarthy in the 1950s. In both cases, people accused became very afraid of harsh punishments, so they gave false confessions.

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