The Crucible, written in the early 1950's by Arthur Miller, is a play about the witch trials of 1692 that took place in Salem, Massachusetts. These witch trials are very similar to the hunt for communists of the 1950's. Both trials involved the prosecution, and execution, of people who were most likely innocent. In each trail the accused were indicted on only witness" testimonies and minimal evidence. The Salem witch trials and the hunt for communists are very similar yet have many differences. .
"Salem, Massachusetts, in the spring of the year 1692" (3). As one can read in the first paragraph of The Crucible, the setting of the Salem witch trials is in the town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Salem is a small town where strict Puritan society rules and everybody knows everybody else. The town consists of the town meeting house and "A few small-windowed, dark houses snuggling against the raw Massachusetts winter" (4). The trials took place in the meeting house, which served as both the church and courtroom among other things. The trials were not known around the country until some time after they had taken place. .
The hunt for communists took place on a much wider scale than the Salem witch trials. "McCarthy's Anti-Communist sentiment swept the nation" (Proquest). While the Salem witch trials only affected a small town, the hunt for communists swept the entire nation. Trials trying suspected communists took place all over the United States whereas the Salem witch trials were an isolated occurrence and did not storm the nation.
The people accused in the Salem Witch trials ranged from those who were poor and nobody cared about, to the most well respected citizens of Salem. Lowly beggars and the homeless were accused at first, simply because they were easy targets for the accusers. Soon thereafter, more highly regarded individuals were accused. "Procter, respected and even feared in Salem" (20).