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Period: to
Events in time
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The first thoughts of witchcraft in Salem
"Afflicted" girls in salem who are seen by a doctor become unresponsive to his medacines, and the doctor himself suggests that the reason it is not taking effect is because they have been victims of Witchcraft. This was one of the first instances that lead to hysteria in Salem of the Witch Trials, which of course played a big role in writing The Crucible. -
The Red Scare
The Red Scare was a time in history when there was a fear of Communists taking over. In America this caused people to become paranoid and they persecuted anyone who was believed to be unloyal to the American way. This is very similar to the Salem Witch Trials that were occurring in the story and had occurred before where the citizens became paranoid of the people practicing witchcraft, but also paranoid of being accused. All of which caused hysteria. -
The Un-American Activities Commitee
The Un-American Activities Commitee was first formed to investigate radicals like Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, and Communists. Later in the decade, however, the focused mainly on Communists. This organization caused a lot of controversy as they started to investigate important people like government officials of being Communists. This is similar to how gossip and worry went through Salem like a shockwave whenever people who were known to be good Christians were accused of being Witches. -
Domestic Subversion
Domestic Subversion is the attempt to overthrow internal power structures or domestic authority. This was brought up during the time of the Communist scares as there was a fear that this was taking place as it was believed that since the end of WWII there were Communists trying to take over America. This is what happened in The Crucible, as well. There was a fear while all the Witchcraft accusations were being made that Devil worship would take over. -
The Hollywood Ten
The Hollywood Ten were people who worked in the film industry who were brought to question after there were thoughts that the Communists in America were having an effect on the film industry and releasing their ideas to the public through films. Ex-members of the Communist Party had told the Senator McCarthy (who can be related to Judge Hathorne) that the actors, writers, and producers, as well as other workers in the industries were involved in the Communist activity. -
Waldorf Statement
The Waldorf Statement was a press release written by Eric Johnston that was issued during the trials of the Hollywood Ten. The statement had over three hundred employs in the movie industry that had been accused of Communism. This publication lead to these people losing their jobs and became unable to find work in their profession.