Question

i have here in my hand a list of 205, a list of names that were made known to the secretary of state as being members of the communist party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the state department.
as you know, very recently the secretary of state proclaimed his loyalty to a man guilty of what has always been considered as the most abominable of all crimes—being a traitor to the people who gave him a position of great trust—high treason.
he has lighted the spark which is resulting in a moral uprising and will end only when the whole sorry mess of twisted, warped thinkers are swept from the national scene so that we may have a new birth of honesty and decency in government.

1. what threat is mccarthy describing?
2. how does this compare to salem’s fear of the devil hidden within the community? cite specific textual evidence.
3. what is the allegorical connection to the crucible?

Explanation:

1. Question 1: McCarthy is describing the threat of communist infiltration within the U.S. State Department. He claims there are 205 Communist Party members working there and shaping policy, portraying communism as a subversive threat to the U.S. government.
2. Question 2: In The Crucible, Salem’s fear of the devil (and witchcraft) led to a moral panic where people accused others of witchcraft out of fear/hysteria, and innocent people were persecuted. Similarly, McCarthy’s claims about communists (the “devil” of his era) led to a Red Scare, with baseless accusations (like the 205 names) and a moral uprising to “sweep” these supposed threats. For example, in Salem, people like Abigail accused others to gain power/avoid punishment; McCarthy used accusations of communism to gain political power, both relying on fear of an invisible, subversive threat.
3. Question 3: The Crucible is an allegory for McCarthyism. The Salem witch trials’ mass hysteria, false accusations, and persecution of innocent people mirror the McCarthy era’s Red Scare: both involve a moral panic, unjust accusations (of witchcraft/communism), and the desire to purge a perceived evil (witches/communists) from society, even if it means violating justice and due process. Miller wrote The Crucible to critique McCarthy’s tactics by drawing parallels to Salem’s irrational fear and persecution.

Answer:

1. The threat is communist infiltration (specifically, members of the Communist Party working in the State Department and influencing policy).
2. Salem’s fear of the devil (witchcraft) caused mass hysteria, false accusations, and persecution of innocents, similar to McCarthy’s Red Scare (fear of communism) with baseless accusations (e.g., the 205 names) and a “moral uprising” to purge threats. Both used fear of a subversive evil to justify persecution.
3. The Crucible is an allegory for McCarthyism: Salem’s witch trials (mass hysteria, false accusations, unjust persecution) mirror the Red Scare (McCarthy’s baseless communist accusations, moral panic, and violation of civil liberties), critiquing McCarthy’s tactics through the parallel of irrational fear and persecution.