1. The Crucible Historical Context
by Arthur Miller

2. The 1950s

3. The Post-War Era 1950s - “Age of Anxiety”
this “Silent Generation” had lived through WWII and the Great Depression - tired of uncertainty and hard times
people craved normalcy and social conformity
What life was like during the 1950s:
widespread prosperity
suburban living areas expanded
economy flourished
Underneath the idyllic, “perfect” surface, people also very fearful of bad things happening
Result: regular air-raid drills, Red Scare/Communist hunts

4. Duck and Cover What to do in case of Atomic Bomb:

5. Rise of the Soviet Union
Space Race
the Soviet Union launches Sputnik
into space > U.S. feels need to compete
Communist aggression -
spreading through Eastern Europe and in North Korea -
perceived as a major threat to Western culture and U.S.
as a result >> espionage, economic sanctions, treaties, defense measures, and diplomatic conflict were always in the news
Even Thoreau’s Walden was banned for being “socialist”
Leads to “witch hunts” for Communists hiding among Americans

6. How to Spot a Communist

7. McCarthyism
Definition: the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, especially of pro-communist activity, in many instances unsupported by proof or based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence.
During this era, thousands of Americans were accused of being communist sympathizers and were forced to undergo investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels.
Hundreds were imprisoned and 10,000 to 12,000 people lost their jobs

8. Senator Joseph McCarthy
Republican U.S. senator from Wisconsin.
In 1950, during a McCarthy produced a piece of paper of “known communists” working for the government (probably faked document meant to scare people)
Led the anti-Communist crusade known as the Second Red Scare.
Resulted in creation of HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)
Investigated Hollywood film industry
2 choices when questioned: admit to being a Communist and be jailed or name other people who are Communist
Those who refused to answer were jailed
McCarthy’s downfall
Tried to investigate the Army
Created major backlash and lost his support

9. Modern Day Connection
Take out a piece of paper - write your responses for the questions as we go. I will ask you to share. This counts as credit at the end of class.
What was your first experience learning about 9/11?
Do you notice Muslims or people of Middle Eastern descent being treated differently than other people?
Is it ok for them to be treated differently? Why or why not? Think of situations. Watch video
What were your thoughts of what happened in the video?
What would you have done as a bystander? Does it surprise
you to see/hear people being so discriminatory?
Does this remind you of other times in history when people
were discriminated against? If so, when? What is dangerous
about this?

10. HW Copy definitions - Vocab #37-45:
pg 970: international, diplomacy, protest
pg 974: prosperity, rebellion, avant-garde
pg 976: cityscape, underground, suburbs
**Remember the synonym, picture, or mnemonic!