The McCarthy Period :: Joseph McCarthy McCarthyism Communism

The McCarthy PeriodAs a result of the Red die from the Cold War between the USA andthe Soviet Union, Americans were concerned that communistics were dour theircountry from within. Senator Joseph McCarthy, operating under the House Un-AmericanActivities Committee, directed his face towards Hollywood and the intellectual lodge.McCarthys committee called many members of the film and theatre communityto testifiy about Communist activities, and to name any individuals who were believed tohave been involved with Communist groups. Many artists and intellectuals had beeninvolved with leftist ideas and causes, including Arthur Miller himself. Miller was heldon foot race for his previous support of left-wing causes and was found guilty for contempt ofCongress. This was change two years later when an appeal proved he wasnt adequatelyinformed about the risks surrounding the charges of contempt.Miller states that he was motivated in some great part by the paralysis that hadset in among many liberals who, despite their discomfort with the inquisitions violations ofcivil rights, were fearful, and with good reason, of being set as covert Communistsif they should protect too strongly (Bender, 21). He goes on to say that he feels the playstill holds some relevancy right away in that its paranoid center is still pumping out the samein darkness attractive warning that it did in the fifties (Bender, 21). Miller felt that _TheCrucible_ whole works on the basis that where evidence is only circumstantial, the dividingline between deception and reality is difficult to draw (Welland, 55).During the McCarthy trials, many people were named and called before courts