The McCarthy Period :: Joseph McCarthy McCarthyism Communism

The McCarthy PeriodAs a result of the Red Scare from the parky War between the USA andthe Soviet Union, Americans were concerned that Communists were threatening theircountry from within. Senator Joseph McCarthy, operating under the House Un-AmericanActivities Committee, directed his search towards Hollywood and the intellectcommunity.McCarthys committee called many members of the film and theatre communityto testifiy about Communist activities, and to name any individuals who were believed tohave been involved with Communist groups. Many artists and intellectuals had beeninvolved with left-wing ideas and causes, including Arthur Miller himself. Miller was heldon trial for his previous support of left-wing causes and was found guilty for contempt ofCongress. This was reversed two years later when an draw proved he wasnt adequatelyinformed about the risks surrounding the charges of contempt.Miller states that he was motivated in some great part by the palsy that hadset in among ma ny liberals who, despite their discomfort with the inquisitions violations ofcivil rights, were fearful, and with good reason, of being identified as covert Communistsif they should protect too strongly (Bender, 21). He goes on to say that he feels the playstill holds some relevancy today in that its paranoid center is still pumping out the same darkly attractive warning that it did in the fifties (Bender, 21). Miller felt that _TheCrucible_ works on the basis that where evidence is only circumstantial, the dividingline between delusion and globe is difficult to draw (Welland, 55).During the McCarthy trials, many people were named and called before courts