The Crucible Background

The Crucible Background

Arthur Miller

1.  Arthur Miller lived from which year to which year? 1915- 2005

2.  What did he do? He was a playwright

3.  Name four plays for which he is famous. Death of a Salesman, All My Sons, The Crucible, The Misfits

4.  Name the well-known woman he was married to. Marilyn Monroe

5.  Of what was he accused? Cpntempt of court for refusing to name people he knew who were believed to hold communist sympathies

Joseph McCarthy

1.  Joseph McCarthy lived from which year to which year? November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957

2.  What did he do? He was a US senator

3.  For what was he famous? He was noted for making claims that there were large numbers of Communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers inside the United States federal government and elsewhere.

4.  What term was coined in his honor? McCarthyism was a term coined in his honor.

5.  When and how did he die? He died on May 2, 1957, at the age of 48 from hepatitis that was fueled by alcoholism.

Hollywood Blacklist

1.  What was it? It was a list of people in the Hollywood industry who were denied employment because they were believed to have been associated with the Communist party.

2.  When was it first instituted? Why? It was first instituted on November 25, 1947 because ten screenwriters refused to give testimony to the House Committee on Un-American Activities

3.  Who were the Hollywood Ten? Herbert Biberman, Alvah Bessie, Lester Cole, Edward Dmytryk, Ring Lardner Jr., John Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, Samuel Ornitz, Adrian Scott, and Dalton Trumbo.

4.  Name 2 others who were blacklisted. The actor Charlie Chaplin and writer Langston Hughes were also blacklisted.

5.  In what year was Arthur Miller blacklisted? He was blacklisted in 1957

McCarthyism

1.  What is it? It is a term used to identify accusations made of people being disloyal or Un-American without proper evidence

2.  When did it occur? It occurred from the late 1940s to the late 1950s

3.  Name two effects of McCarthyism on the American people. People lost their jobs, were imprisoned, and their careers destroyed.

4.  Today, what does McCarthyism mean? It can mean aggressively questioning a person's patriotism, making poorly supported accusations, using accusations of disloyalty to pressure a person to adhere to conformist politics or to discredit an opponent, and/or subverting civil rights in the name of national security

House of Un-American Activities Committee

1.  What was the House of Un-American Activities Committee designed to do? It was designed to investigate Communist activities in the US

2.  When did it achieve its height in fame? It reached its height in fame in October 1947 when it began accusing Hollywood writers of Communism.

3.  Was anyone actually convicted through the investigations of this committee? Ten people were sentenced to 6 months to 1 year in prison for refusing to identify names.

4.  Under which amendment did the Hollywood Ten feel protected? They felt protected under the 5th amendment.

5.  Does it still exist? Explain. The House abolished the committee in 1975, and its functions were transferred to the House Judiciary Committee.