In the 1950s the McCarthy trials began.

This brought the persecution of many innocent people that were accused of being communist. About 6 years after Joe McCarthy started spreading communist fear throughout the United States of America, Arthur Miller, a famous playwright wrote The Crucible. Arthur Miller saw the parallels between the witch trials in Salem and the McCarthy hearings designed to expose communists. By comparing both the trials events and The Crucible many parallels make themselves evident through characters and their feelings. The first of these parallels are Joe McCarthy and the character Danforth. Joe McCarthys first claim to fame was a list of 205 communists who were working in the State Department. Although he possessed little or no actual knowledge of communist activity. The claims of Joe McCarthy lead him to head HUAC (House of Un-American Activities Committee). Arthur Miller states films of Senator Joseph McCarthy are rather unsettling-if you remember the fear he once spread. In The Crucible Danforth is the head prosecutor. In the third act Danforth says something that when put into correct context sounds like something Joe McCarthy would say or think witchcraft is ipso facto, on its face and by its nature, an invisible crime is it not? (Miller 100) Communism is an invisible crime, one cannot do communism. Now we cannot hope the witch will accuse herself; granted? Therefore, we must rely upon her victims- and they do testify (100) During the era of McCarthyism nobody would confess to being a communist, which is why many people were called to testify. Some people even named names, to keep from having their entire life ruined. As for the witches, none will deny that we are most eager for all their confessions. (100) Joe McCarthy, and for a time many, many American people, wanted people to be exposed as communist because they feared communist activities. In

1951 communist fear had grown so out of proportion that when Miller submitted a screenplay, which included violent gangsters, to Columbia Pictures, the head Harry Cohn asked Miller to change the gangsters to communists. Columbia Pictures claimed they were trying to make the script pro-American. Two other similar characters are Giles Corey and Arthur Miller himself. When Arthur Miller was being questioned about his past communist activities, he answered all of the questions. However when asked to name other members of the party he refused on the principle that "He could not use the name of another person and bring trouble on him." Giles Corey also had this same principle. When asked to name the person who accuses Mr. Putnam, Giles Corey replies, Why, I-I cannot give his name Hell lay in jail if I give his name. In the end Corey never reveals the mans name, even though he was being pressed to death (literally) Corey never told the name, just as Miller, who although he was not pressed to death, did not tell a single name.