TERMINALE LV1 · UPPER SECONDARY · B2 to C1 · C1/C2 extension track in every session

Session 5: Salem and McCarthyism

Part 5. Why did Arthur Miller use 1692 to speak about the America of the 1950s?

Objectives

Understand McCarthyism and the HUAC
Read short extracts from Miller's 1996 essay
Compare Salem and the Red Scare

Warm-up

Students see the word blacklist. What could it mean? What would happen to you if your name were on it?

Documents

Document 5: the Red Scare.

After 1945, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union creates a fear of communist spies.
In February 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy claims he has a list of communists working in the State Department.
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) questions writers, actors and directors. They are asked to "name names". Those who refuse can lose their jobs and be blacklisted in Hollywood.
In March 1954, the journalist Edward R. Murrow criticises McCarthy on his CBS programme See It Now. In December 1954, the Senate censures McCarthy.
In June 1956, Arthur Miller appears before HUAC and refuses to name others. He is convicted of contempt of Congress in 1957; the conviction is overturned in 1958.

"“The Crucible” was an act of desperation."
Arthur Miller, “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible’”, The New Yorker, October 1996

"Fear doesn't travel well; just as it can warp judgment, its absence can diminish memory's truth."
Arthur Miller, “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible’”, The New Yorker, October 1996

Easy to find: "What is McCarthyism? And how did it happen?", Ellen Schrecker, TED-Ed; the film Good Night, and Good Luck (2005).

Activities

Compare in a table: Salem 1692 / America 1950s. The accusers, the accused, the "proof", the punishment, the way to escape.
Read Miller's two sentences. Why "desperation"? What does "fear doesn't travel well" mean?
Vocabulary: Red Scare, blacklist, informer, to name names, allegiance, contempt, witch hunt.
Watch the trailer of Good Night, and Good Luck: how does a journalist stand up to fear?

More activities

Web enquiry: McCarthyism

In pairs, use reliable sites (encyclopaedias, museums, newspapers) to answer. Note the source of each answer.

Where did Senator Joseph McCarthy give his famous speech in February 1950, and what did he claim?
What does HUAC stand for?
Who were the Hollywood Ten?
What did Joseph Welch ask McCarthy during the Army McCarthy hearings in June 1954?
When was McCarthy censured by the Senate?
Which famous director, a friend of Miller, named names in 1952?

Answer key

In Wheeling, West Virginia; he claimed to have a list of communists in the State Department.
House Un-American Activities Committee.
Ten Hollywood screenwriters and directors who refused to answer HUAC in 1947 and were jailed and blacklisted.
"Have you no sense of decency, sir?" (9 June 1954).
On 2 December 1954.
Elia Kazan.

Sentence starters

Just like in Salem,...
Whereas in 1692..., in the 1950s...
Miller wanted to show that...
To name names means...
The play is still relevant because...

Role play

Pairs: a HUAC member and a playwright in 1956. The committee member asks for the names of people seen at a meeting; the playwright talks about himself but refuses to name others.

Gap-fill worksheet

Word bank: Red Scare, blacklist, name names, censured, communist, contempt, allegory, informer

The fear of communism was called the ______.
Writers were asked to ______.
Those who refused could be put on a ______.
Miller was convicted of ______ of Congress.
The Senate ______ McCarthy in 1954.
McCarthy hunted every suspected ______.
Someone who gives names is an ______.
The Crucible is an ______: Salem stands for the 1950s.

Answer key

Red Scare
name names
blacklist
contempt
censured
communist
informer
allegory

Homework

Write a paragraph (150 words): "Salem and McCarthyism: same fear, same mechanism?"

Watch the film at home

The Crucible (1996), directed by Nicholas Hytner. In France, the film is called La Chasse aux sorcières.

Where to watch: see the list of streaming and rental options on JustWatch France.
DVD: ask at your local library or médiathèque.
Official trailer: on the Apple TV page of the film.
Scenes to watch: Act I: the girls dance in the forest at night (the opening of the film). Act II: the officers arrest Elizabeth at home. Act III: in court, the girls turn against Mary Warren. Act IV: Proctor tears his confession and walks to the gallows.

Watch with English subtitles if you can.

Assessment grid

Criteria	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Comparison	None	One point	Three points	Three points, precise and dated
Use of sources	None	Copied	Explained	Explained and linked
Connectors	Few	Some	Varied	Varied and accurate
Language	Many errors	Some errors	Few errors	Accurate and varied

Terminale LV1 · C1/C2 extension track

For strong or anglophone students. Salem and McCarthyism through an official public domain text.

Extended extract

I do not want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny: Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear.
Senator Margaret Chase Smith, Declaration of Conscience, US Senate, 1 June 1950 (public domain)

Critical analysis

Analyse the allegory of the Four Horsemen: why borrow an image of the Apocalypse?
Why does a senator criticise her own party here?
How does Miller's allegory work in the same direction?

Nuanced vocabulary

Word or phrase	Meaning and use
allegory	a story with a second, hidden meaning
blacklist	a list of people excluded from work
calumny	a false statement that damages a reputation
arguably	to present a view as defensible but open to debate
to hinge on	to depend entirely on

Argued writing (C1: 300 words · C2: 400 words)

Essay: 'Literature can resist where politics fails.' Discuss with Miller and Smith.

Debate

Senate simulation: speeches for and against an investigation committee.