Arthur Miller's play The Crucible parallels two time periods within US history that strikes profound hysteria. As the play recounts Salem, Massachusetts at the time of the Witch Trials, the story is an allegory for the 1950s McCarthyism.
In both situations, The Salem Witch Trials and The Red Scare were indicative of backlash of the societies. The 1692 Massachusetts was inhabited by Puritans, a strongly religious -Protestant to be exact- community, that heavily influenced the foundation of New England. Their community stressed the fine line between saintly and satanic. Therefore, the hysteria over dark magic was out of it's taboo nature within the Puritans -the evil of all evils. Similarly, McCarthy's movement for accusing communist government workers was motivated by the societal view that communism was the purest evil. The postbellum understanding was that Russia was spreading it's power through political ideology. Through focusing on third world nations, their mission was to spread communism to as many nations as possible. This act caused the Cold War tensions to peak as the nations fought proxy-wars in Korea and Vietnam. President Kennedy in the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis were all following World War II and revamped the hysteria over the fear of Communism.
As John Proctor, a small and well respected farmer in the city, lives with a harrowing secret affair, he sets the story in motion. The affair with his servant, Reverend Parris' niece creates a vindictive character out to get Mrs.Proctor out of jealousy. Hence, the accusations were out of personal tension. In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy began accusing government workers for secretly confiding with the Communists. Arguably, his actions may have been a media tactic for his incumbency campaign, but it reflects that of John Proctor. McCarthy set in place the hysteria for a Communist hunt, with pure motives to uphold his reputation.
In both situations the people accused were mostly innocent, and chosen out of personal vendettas, but they were supposedly the root of the problem. The hunt for government workers with secret communist communications was an act to fight the terror in the nation, whereas the witches were the reason for sudden illnesses and misfortune.
While the play is not a perfect allegory for the Eras, it does reflect the inherent fear that plagued the nation. In modern context, the War against Terrorism is a similar fear thrown into the absurd as citizens are afraid of groups. The rising tension among the Middle East and the US is not just from the Terrorist Organizations within it, but the laymen itself. The nation encroaches upon fighting through media, mistaking their fear through hatred, as they alienate groups and accuse entire sects as being the cause of the problem. Newsflash, entire groups of people cannot be properly categorized, this rhetoric is no better than recruiters for terrorist organizations or even Germany promoting Aryan supremacy. This overwhelming entitlement polarize nations and lead to global and national disarray.
This old theme plays in contemporary media. The witch hunt and inherent bigotry is the status quo. As islamophobia justifies presidential candidate’s policies, the nation places all their blame and fear in terrorism abroad. Citizens and office holders alike are under the impression that the international problems stem from the same source of evil. Therefore, the connection between McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials are apparent throughout US history and in modern times. The social bigotry and nativism has not evolved beyond the media, rather the outcomes have been more dangerous due to the stronger weapons.
In The Crucible, the justification for their malicious behavior may be through the societal expectations and entitlement. The people of God paradoxically bends the rules for personal gain with the assumption that the accused is far worse. Every character has their own elevated sense that is beyond God, therefore justifying the cruelty and pain they are inflicting. In the Red Scare, bending the powers of the government to extend espionage is used to further propel certain officials and sway the nation to supporting war efforts.