The Crucible and The McCarthys Hearings It is common knowledge that Author Miller wrote The Crucible as a reaction to a tragic time in our countries history. The McCarthy hearings, as they came to be known, which dominated our country from 1950 to 1954, where hearings in which many, suspected of being related to communism, where interviewed and forced to give up names of others, or they where imprisoned, and their names were black listed. There are several parallels between the McCarthy Era, and the time of the Salem which trials. One similarity one will see is what I call the scare factor. Another parallel between the two groups is the "everybody is doing it" mentality. One also sees a parallel in the lives that were ruined in both eras because of the accusations and punishments. Both those accused in The Crucible and those accused during the McCarthy hearings were found guilty with such little evidence. One would think that such wild accusations, with so little proof, would easily be dismissed. I believe the primary source for McCarthy and the accusers in Salem's support comes from what I call the scare factor. Our country was going through a scary time, with the fear of the spread of communism on everybody's mind. These rumors of communist in the state department sparked a hunt that many backed because they were scared. In Salem the children where acting unusually and everyone was scared. When a source for this problem was suggested, because of their fear, everyone was willing to support it. Another source of support was the get on board, or everybody is doing it mentality. Because it is human nature for one to go with the flow the people of Salem, who had religion rammed down their throats, followed their leaders, and the rest of their neighbors in the witch hunt. Those who disagreed where considered witches. They were watching out for themselves, and because of their fear, the situation escalated and more were accused. Just as those in the story, many in our nation, and government, jumped on board and backed McCarthy. Because of the Red Scare, everyone feared the thought of communism in our government. Just as the people of Salem folded and got on board, our country supported the McCarthy hearings. The situation escalated and became something our country would soon regret. The crucible is a port or vessel commonly made from some sort of a highly heat-resistant material. For centuries, people have used crucibles for melting metals, such as gold or silver, to test them for purity. The word crucible probably derives from the Latin word crux, meaning "cross" or "trial." It is also become a word describing a severe test. The time of the Salem witch trials is deservingly referred to as a crucible. Those accused where put in a melting pot to test their purity, and they were severely tested. The innocent were punished in Salem. The same is seen in the McCarthy hearings. The innocent were considered impure, and tested. Unfairly accused their lives were ruined by the rampage that swept the nation. One can obviously see the similarities between the McCarthy period of history and the period of time in which the Salem witch trials took place. The people were scared of something, because they were told to be scared of it. Everyone backed the hunts and those who did not where accused. Due to this scare everyone desired to rid themselves of the impurities. The innocent where accused and put in a melting pot. Their careers, and lives where ruined. Another similarity the two periods of history have is the regret that America has when looking back on these tragic misfortunes.
The Battle of Gettysburg lasted three days in the summer of 1863. On July 1st, the confederates drove the Union defenders back to Cemetery Hill. The following day Lee attacked the flanks of the Union line which resulted in brutal fighting at Devil’s Den, Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, Peach Orchard, Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill. Although the confederates gained ground on July 2nd, they failed to budge the Union army from many of their positions. On the third day of the battle,...
Lee to confederate President Davis written in the days following The Battle of Gettysburg. In these letters, Lee expresses that he no longer feels capable of fulfilling his duties as general and asks President Davis to replace him. President Davis decides to reject Davis’s request leaving a man who is not confident in his abilities to guide the Confederate Troops. General Lee’s lack in confidence could have caused him to become a weak leader which resulted in a weak army.
LILLYMAN, FRANK L. Report of D-Day Pathfinder Activities. July 1, 1944. http://www.6juin1944.com/assaut/aeropus/en_page.php?page=after_pathf_101 (accessed March 27, 2012).
In 1943, the decision was made to attack the Germans in the spring of 1944. It was called Operation Overlord. On June 6, 1944, Allied troops invaded Normandy on the northern coast of France. The invasion was originally planned for June the fifth, but due to bad weather it was postponed until June the sixth. The Allies consisted of the United States, Britain, France, and Canada.
Confederate Lt. General Richard Ewell’s corps charged the Union line in their right flank. General Robert E. Lee seeing this as a attack ordered an attack along the entire line. The Union troops were quickly overwhelmed and fled. In response Union General Howard ordered a retreat to higher ground on Cemetery Ridge. Lee quickly realized that the Union retreat to Cemetery Ridge and where in an excellent defensive position and suggested that Ewell to take control of it. However, despite the urging of his subordinates Ewell decided against it. Meanwhile on the Union side, General Hancock had arrived, calmed down the troops, and decided they were in an advantageous defensive position. It was this knowledge that led to the Union to decide to stay put. And with this decision day one of the battle of Gettysburg came to a close.
It seems that the United States has been one of the most dominant, if not the most dominant, countries in the world, since the Declaration of Independence. Yet, on Monday, April 17, 1961, our government experienced incredible criticism and extreme embarrassment when Fidel Castro, dictator of Cuba, instantly stopped an invasion on the Cuban beach known as the Bay of Pigs. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, his advisors, and many Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officials, made the largest error of their political careers. Once the decision was made to invade Cuba, to end Castro and his Communist government, Kennedy and his administration were never looked at in the same light nor trusted again. Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev was affiliated with Castro, and the two countries made many military decisions together. As Kennedy and the United States tried to stop Cuba and Russia from becoming a threat to the world, an invasion was planned out and executed. The results were a disaster. The Bay of Pigs invasion was the largest military mistake ever made by the United States government and the CIA in the 20th century and brought America to the brink of war with Cuba and Russia. The Bay of Pigs invasion was not a quick decision, many hours of meetings and conferences occurred before President Kennedy gave permission for the attack. President Kennedy was inaugurated on January 20, 1961, and immediately wanted to take the initiative with the Soviet and Cuban governments (Pearson 12). Russia was already under Communist control, and Fidel Castro took over the Cuban government with heavily armed troops and policeman. Castro’s policemen filled the streets, and he ran the newspapers, as well as many assembly buildings (Frankel 60). At the beginning, Castro did not run a Communist government, but once he began to meet with Russian leader, Nikita Khrushchev, Castro started a Communist government (Crassweller 23). Max Frankel, writer for the New York Times, summarizes the situation in Cuba by saying, “Little by little, the vise tightened. Little by little the free people of Cuba came to realize it could happen there. The grim facts of life on an island that became a police state” (Frankel 59). Every day, Castro came closer to controlling every aspect in life in Cuba. Fidel Castro even took control of the schools in Cuba, throwing out any teacher who he thought...
... in the fighting for Iwo Jima are a subject of debate. Depending from 17,845, to as high as 21,570. During the battle only about 216 Japanese soldiers were captured. When the island was declared secured again, on March 26, there was approximately 3,000 Japanese remained alive in the tunnel system. American losses for the battle were 6,821 killed/missing and 19,217 wounded. In the end , Iwo Jima was not only by the fighting spirit of the Marines, but by the great planning and support provided by the Navy and Army through supply efforts, medical care, and air and naval gunfire.
the Union won the Battle of Gettysburg, and the battle itself was largely determined by the Battle of Little Round Top. From the famous Civil War speech by
The Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism are very similar in what they talk about during each period of time. The definition of McCarthyism is “a voracious campaign against alleged communists in the United States government. The first paragraph of McCarthyism states McCarthy spent five years trying in vain to expose communists. His words were so intimidating that only few people dared to speak against him. McCarthy insinuates disloyalty which is what convinced many Americans to believe that their government was packed with traitors and spies. When McCarthy won his election, he did so by criticizing his c
The Bay of Pigs project came to life when President Eisenhower approved an initial budget of $4,400,000; political action, $950,000; propaganda, $1,700,000; paramilitary, $1,500,000; intelligence collection, $250,000. (“BAY OF PIGS: THE PLAN”) The invasion, a year later, would cost over $46 million. (“BAY OF PIGS: THE PLAN”) The Bay of Pigs affair was an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba on April 17, 1961, at Playa Girón (the Bay of Pigs) by about two thousand Cubans who had gone into exile after the 1959 revolution. (“BAY OF PIGS: THE PLAN”) Encouraged by members of the CIA who trained them, the invaders believed they would have air and naval support from the United States and that the invasion would cause the people of Cuba to rise up and overthrow. (“BAY OF PIGS: THE PLAN”) The landing began shortly before midnight on Sunday, April 16, after a team of frogmen went ashore and set up landing lights to guide the operation. (“THE CUBAN MISSLE CRISIS”) The failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion was due to a lack of planned strategy, miscommunication, and mismanagement of planning.
After the Confederate victory at Chancellorsville in May of 1863, General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia embarked on their 2nd invasion of the north. General Lee’s first campaign into the north resulted in the Confederate defeat at Antietam. The failure of Lee’s first northern campaign raises the question of his motives. The Confederate Army was...
During the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Era, many people were accused of awful crimes and given harsh punishments over nothing more than speculations. These times during history were filled with fear and paranoia that people were lying about who they said they were. Often times the initial accusations that these people were witches, during the Salem Witch Trials, or communists, during the McCarthy Era, were based off of poor reasoning, or little evidence at all. Although the reasoning behind these claims are very different, it is easy to see just how unreasonable they were, and how paranoid and ready to jump to conclusions everyone was at these times.
In taking his army north from the Rappahannock, General Lee's objective was to persuade the Union Army to spread across a broad front along the Mason-Dixon line, and then, by maneuver, draw it to a point far from its base of supply where it could be attacked and beaten in detail.
Within the first few weeks of 1944 Nazi Germany took over an allied city in France. General Eisenhower started to make a plan to stop Germany from taking more of France. He is known for his excellence in planning operations from his training. With his excellence in planning, he got the plan done in the short time period he had.
Authors often have underlying reasons for giving their stories certain themes or settings. Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, The Crucible, is a work of art inspired by actual events as a response to political and moral issues. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, The Crucible proves to have its roots in events of the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as the activities of the House Un-American Committee and the “Red Scare.” Though the play provides an accurate account of the Salem witch trials, its real achievement lies in the many important issues of Miller’s time that it dealswith.