In the play, The Crucible, many parallels can be found in reference to the 1950 Communist trials led by Joe McCarthy. In this work by Arthur Miller, the events of the 1692 Salem witch trials parallel those of the McCarthy trials, in that, both events were not only based on insubstantial evidence but caused mass hysteria that destroyed the lives and reputations of those involved. In the Salem witch trials, insubstantial evidence was present in each of …showed first 75 words of 352 total…

…showed last 75 words of 352 total…that insubstantial evidence, and insignificant people being blamed not only causes lives, jobs, reputations, and families to be ruined, but also mass hysteria takes over the town, or even the country, and upsets people to no extent. Bibliography Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 98. CD-ROM. 2 discs. Joseph Raymond McCarthy. Ellen Schrecker. The Age of McCarthyism: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: St. Martin’s Press, 1994 The American Expedition: Arthur, Miller The Crucible. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1991