"Reasonable doubt" was all that was necessary to accuse and sometimes convict someone of un-American activities in the late 1940 ’s‚ early 1950 ’s. This period of time was known for McCarthyism--a time of extreme anticommunism‚ lead by Senator Joseph McCarthy (McCarthyism). The United States pledged to contain the spread of communism globally‚ as well as locally‚ and did what it could to keep this promise. Americans began to fear that communism was leaking into the media‚ government‚ arts‚ schools
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People’s Republic of China‚ France‚ and Great Britain came together in April 1954 to try to resolve several problems related to Asia. One of the most troubling concerns was the long and bloody battle between Vietnamese nationalist forces‚ under the leadership of the communist Ho Chi Minh‚ and the French‚ who were intent on continuing colonial control over Vietnam. Since 1946 the two sides had been hammering away at each other. By 1954‚ however‚ the French were tiring of the long and inclusive war that was
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communism ideology around the world‚ and a national neurosis concerning a communist invasion expanded‚ Senator Joseph McCarthy took advantage of this "Red Scare" to advance his interests. McCarthy was a Republican Senator for the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. McCarthy made claims that Soviet‚ Korean and Chinese communist spies occupied the federal administration. In February 1950 when McCarthy asserted in a speech given in Wheeling West Virginia that he had a file that listed
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Vivien Fletcher Mrs. Wagoner English 11 Block 2 3 October 2012 Fear Makes People Crazy Fear can cause people to overreact and lose all rational thinking. The evidence for this statement is found in the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism. The 1692‚ Abigail Williams and a group of girls turned the town of Salem upside down in a fear driven witch hunt. The girls accused innocent people of being witches in order to avoid getting in trouble for dancing in the woods. Fear of being accused of witchery
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the present is always the inspiration of a work. This idea is manifested in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. He incorporates the political drama of the era into the play about the Salem Witch Trials. Therefore‚ The Crucible is a mirror image of the McCarthyism that occurred during the 1950s. This fact is reflected through the various connections in characters‚ themes. First‚ there are characters in the play which represent the actual people involved and affected by the McCarthy era. One such character
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The Crucible and McCarthyism Arthur Miller lived through the Red Scare‚ also known as McCarthyism. After living through this era and being one of the accused communists Miller wrote the book titled The Crucible in 1952. This book told the story of the Salem witch trials with some modifications to make it more relevant to the current situation. The book ultimately became an allegory devoted solely to McCarthyism. In The Crucible uses situations such as the actual trials‚ direct comparisons from
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The Salem Witch Trials took place in 1692‚ the seventeenth century and McCarthyism took place in 1948 between 1956‚ the mid twentieth century. These two proceedings are known as two of the greatest mass tragedies in America. The Crucible is an allegory of McCarthyism or in other words the second Red Scare. During McCarthyism the United States was petrified of Communists influence. Many people in both the Crucible and McCarthyism who feared the court provided names of suspects in an attempt to save
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Research Paper - What is McCarthyism? The period of McCarthyism‚ named after a republican senator Joseph R. McCarthy‚ is said to have begun well before McCarthy¡¯s own involvement. During this period‚ which lasted from the 1940s to the 1950s‚ Senator McCarthy‚ who strongly opposed communism‚ claimed to have a list of the names of the communists in America. Though it was later found that this was a fraud‚ it certainly arose fears of communism in the minds of the Americans. Events of the 1940s and
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McCarthyism is defined as the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. It also means "the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques‚ especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism." This was used in the Cold War by U.S. Senator McCarthy to try and eliminate communists in the United States. It was used with little evidence‚ and it was in itself a witch hunt like those described in “The Crucible”
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The American Heritage Dictionary defines McCarthyism as “The political practise of publicizing accusations of disloyalty or subversion with insignificant regard to evidence.” Arthur Millers ‘The Crucible’ is an extended metaphor representing the parallels between the Salem witch-hunts and accusations of communism during the McCarthyism era. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible in response to the unwarranted persecution of many Americans‚ who were accused of communist ties or associating with Communist
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