Salem to McCarthy


The Salem Witch Trials


When: 1692-1693

Where: Salem, Massachusetts

What: A series of trials, convictions, and hangings of suspected witches

  • 19 were hanged
  • 1 was pressed to death (crushed by rocks)
  • At least 4 died in prison

Joe McCarthy

Who: U.S. Senator from Wisconsin

What: Beginning with a speech in Wheeling West Virginia in 1950, McCarthy waged a political crusade to expose Communists in the U.S. government 

McCarthyism: Demagoguery, baseless defamation, and mudslinging in politics

ARTHUR MILLER

Mutually inspired by the historical accounts of the Salem Witch Trials and the  actions of Senator McCarthy,  American playwright Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible


  • The Crucible was  first performed in 1953
  • It was an immediate critical and popular success
  • Arthur Miller was called in front of the House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities 

AntiCommunist Propaganda


Salem to McCarthy

By Ben Darby

Salem to McCarthy

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