A little known senator from Wheeling, West Virginia quickly gained national attention by accusing the Democratic Party of supporting communism. Senator McCarthy created an epidemic that swept through the entire nation by this seemingly harmless accusation. Although his accusations gained much support, he had many critics who believed his claims were excessive or completely false. Comparisons were often made during this time period and the 1690's in which the Salem Witch trials occurred. The author, Arthur Miller, wrote The Crucible to show people McCarthyism was going far, to show the similarities in the time periods, and to help our nation use facts instead of fear. .
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to show people McCarthyism was getting taken too far. Miller's drama entailed a literary work that centralized the theme of McCarthyism. He did so to prove the extremities of McCarthyism in this time period. In his writings he warned us of this philosophy's dangers by bringing to light a tragic but meaningful event in our history. These historical accounts in colonial America were written to empower his reader when decisions were made about the red scare in the 1950s. Miller took it upon himself to use his literary genius to single handily enlighten the American people from a one-sided view to a more liberal two-sided view. .
Miller wrote The Crucible to show the similarities in the time periods. Miller purposely made The Crucible to clearly illustrate similarities of the 1950s. One similarity was that anyone who undermined the authority of the judges in Salem was accused of witchcraft and the same held true during the red scare when people were accused of being communist. When Judge Danforth said "You will confess yourself or hang," it reflected the whole theme of the play and that of a communistic society. This common attitude in both eras is clearly represented by the non-American notion of guilty until proven innocent.