Mccarthyism And The Crucible Essay: Imagine that someday, out of the blue, you are summoned by a group of government officials who seem to be quite intimidating. You haven’t committed any crime or violated any law. Despite the fact, you have been accused of being disloyal to the country and have been constantly asked about your political views and ideas. You have been asked to incriminate your friends and acquaintances and if you do not cooperate with them, you risk losing your job or end up in jail without any formal charge. This is what happened between the 1950s in the United States of America as a part of a political practice to expose suspected communists.
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Long Essay on Mccarthyism And The Crucible
McCarthyism is named after Joseph Raymond McCarthy who was an American attorney who served as a Republican U.S senator from the state of Wisconsin. It is a political practice charged by the US government under the command of Joseph McCarthy, its notorious practitioner in which Americans were accused and criticised of being ‘ communist sympathizers ‘ and without proper regard of evidence, were questioned by government officials and private industry panels during the 1940s and 1950s. This phenomenon destroyed thousands of lives and careers.
Cause for the Emergence of McCarthyism
During the era of World War, air of “Red Scare” emerged in USA. A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of an expected rise of communism, anarchism and similar other leftist ideologies by a state or a society. The Russian revolution of 1917 led by Vladimir Lenin ousted Romanov Dynasty, threatening communists, and stimulating fear of Bolsheviks and anarchists. However, this resulted in widespread hatred and dissatisfaction among the people and labour strikes were on the rise and media sensationalism brought this situation to its peak.
With cogitation to the scenario, the government introduced “The Sedition Act of 1918” which aimed at the critics of the government and the leaders of the labour union. Protesters and anarchists ranged up the bell of violence and bombed the government buildings and targeted government officials. The smoke of terror extended to the main cities like Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and New York City. In 1919 and 1920, United States Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer charged the “Palmer raid” which targeted the leftist radicals and anarchists and thus created a period of unrest popularly known as the ‘Red Summer’. It was a period in which racial riots took place and cost the lives of hundreds of people across various states of America.
During the 1930s and the 1940s, in the United States, there had been a small but active communist party which played a crucial role in progressive Labour and Civil rights. However, it supported the Soviet Union. During World War 2, when the United States of America and the USSR were allied against Russia, members of these parties as well as other American communists spied for the Russians. When the war was over and this espionage became known, communism from its own country came to be seen as a threat to the national security of the country. The endeavour to eliminate this threat, slowly and steadily, turned into the political repression in American history which we read today as McCarthyism.
What Exactly Happened During Mccarthyism?
The US government sniffed some communist activities carried on secretly. To expose hidden communist groups, the “House Un- American Activities Committee (HUAC)” was formed in 1938 which focused on unmasking communists working inside the federal government or in the Hollywood film industry. The officials behind it harassed and summoned anyone suspected to have leftist political views or associating with those who did. Politicians like Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy accused democrats of being soft on communists. McCarthy flaunted his ever-changing lists of alleged communists. He made outrageous accusations and distorted or fabricated evidence.
Well known artist, Charlie Chaplin was suspected as a communist sympathizer who was regarded as a great threat to the country and was tagged as “Parlour Bolshevik” by FBI and was spied on by M15. Even though he was proved innocent by the foreign agency, he was later banned from the US government. He had to move to Switzerland.
Langston Hughes, poet of ‘Harlem Renaissance’, reflected his leftist ideas in his poems which made the government suspicious about him which prompted further enquiry and after he was summoned and asked critical questions, he stopped being political in his poetry and walked far away from communist associations.
A popular director, writer and actor Orson Welles was flourishing in his career. Meanwhile, US government began investigating him as a possible closeted communist. Welles was tangled up with the controversies and he decided to shift to Europe and lived there for eight years. However, he expressed his despair through a film “Touch of Evil” in which he expressed suppression of the people by the federal government.
Lena Horne known for her beauty and talent, faced discrimination and racism which made her step-in politics. She started attending organisations where most of the members were suspected communists. Finally, she was blacklisted from Hollywood by the FBI and her career was at risk. Lena handled the crisis and publicly denied being a communist supporter.
Dorothy Parker, an acerbic poet, and critic was arrested at a political rally in 1927 and protested for Italian anarchists, Bartolomeo Vanzetti, and Nicola Sacco. The arrest triggered her indulgence in political organizations. She was blacklisted by the FBI and was drained with multiple questions. In her 60s, she was found to be out of national security risk.
How is McCarthyism and the Crucible Related?
The Crucible was dramatized by an American playwright Arthur Miller in 1953, which depicted a story of the Salem Witch trials. The growing hatred of Miller towards McCarthyism showed up in his writings. In 1956, he faced a series of questions and was shouldered with several allegations by HUAC. He was suspected to be a member of the American Communist party. He secretly supported communism and denied exposing the names of other sympathizers. After two years, the House Un American Activities Committee (HUAC) lost power and collapsed.
Short Essay on McCarthyism
In 1966, Arthur Miller wrote an essay with a title named – “Why I wrote The Crucible: An author’s answer to Politics” relates the play with McCarthyism. The ‘black magic ‘ in the crucible was linked to the fear of the US government on takeover of communism in China. He described the search of communist supporters by the FBI as “Witch Hunt”, where people put their heads down to escape the troubles created by the government. Arthur quoted, “The Soviet plot was the hub of a great wheel of causation which reflects the lack of understanding of ideologies and judgement by the government. Miller compared the witches in ‘The Crucible’ in the 1690s to that of communists in the 1950s.
Miller closed his essay by saying “Though we like to think of ourselves more enlightened than the people who conducted the Salem Witch Trials, virtually the same course of events has occurred many times in recent history”. He promptly and indirectly reflected the sufferings of the communists of the US government through his writings.
Was domestic communism really a threat to the federal government? Perhaps, although a small one. However, the reaction by the government officials and politicians to it was so extreme that it caused far more damage than the threat itself.
FAQ’s on Mccarthyism And The Crucible Essay
Question 1.
What led to McCarthy’s downfall?
Answer:
Once McCarthy became chair of the Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations in 1953, his powers increased. He further led to investigations against the army that turned out to be the reason for him. Now, the common public was against him. His colleagues in the Senate censured him and he died in less than three years because of alcoholism.
Question 2.
What was the goal of McCarthyism?
Answer:
The goal of McCarthyism was exposing suspected communists. In a way, it even rescinded democratic freedom of citizens of the country of the USA.
Question 3.
How long did the era of McCarthyism last?
Answer:
The era of McCarthyism started from the 1940s and lasted till the 1950s.