The Cruciblebackground Fill in Study Guide

The CrucibleBackground Fill In Study Guide

Slide 2: What does “crucible” mean?

a ______or ______in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development
a vessel of a very refractory material (as porcelain) used for melting and calcining a substance that requires a high degree of ______
a severe ______

Slide 3: Arthur Miller Background

Slide 4: Arthur Miller Background cont.

Slide 5: Arthur Miller Background cont.

Slide 6: Arthur Miller’s successes

Slide 7: The Cold War in America

The US & the USSR emerged as the world’s major ______at the end of ______
became involved in the ______[a state of hostility (short of direct military conflict) between the two nations]
Many Americans feared ______around the world & even disloyalty at home
Suspicion about Communist infiltration of the government
A lot of Americans thought the Soviets got the atomic bomb by using ______.
People thought that secret agents had stolen our secrets & gave them to the enemy
these spies were actually often average ______citizens [not ______spies]

Slide 8: Joseph McCarthy (Senator of Wisconsin)

Gained power by accusing others of ______
Claimed to have a list of ______Communists who worked in the State Department (in 1950)
______accusations but helped him win a national ______
a Senate committee labeled them “a ______and a ______”
Branded the Democrats as a party of ______
Denounced his political foes as “soft on Communism”
Called Truman’s secretary of state, Dean Acheson, ______

Slide 9: McCarthyism

September 1950
Congress passed the ______goaded (provoked/incited) by ______
established a Subversive Activities Control Board to monitor ______in the United States
“McCarthyism” came to mean ______

Slide 10: End of McCarthy’s career

Slide 11: HUAC = House Un-American Activities Committee

Sought to expose ______influence in American life
Created in ______
Congress wanted to investigate suspicions of ______
Called witnesses & investigated the ______industry
Result of the HUAC investigations: the entertainment industry ______to hire artists & writers suspected of being Communists
Over ______people, including ______

Slide 12: 3 options of the accused

Could claim they were ______had been members of the Communist Party
this would have meant ______
Could ______membership & then be forced to name other members
this would have meant ______both because of their former membership and their dubious position as informers
could refuse to answer any questions
what the______did

Slide 13: HUAC in Hollywood

Prominent film directors and screenwriters who refused to cooperate were ______on ______charges
Some, including film director ______, testified for the committee to avoid prison sentences
The Hollywood Ten, a group of entertainers, refused to ______
were convicted of ______
sentenced to up to ______year in prison

Slide 14: Miller’s involvement

He admitted to the HUAC that he had ______meetings, but denied that he was a Communist
Had attended, among others, 4 or 5 writers’ meetings sponsored by ______in 1947
Had supported a ______Conference at the Waldorf-Astoria in NY
Had signed many ______and ______.
He refused to ______who had associated with leftist or suspected Communist groups
Was cited for contempt of Congress

Slide 15: Why miller wrote The crucible

Response to ______
It’s not simply a straight historical play detailing the Salem witch trials
A lot of the information in the play ______the literal events of the trial
example: at the time of the trial, John Proctor was 60 old & Abigail Williams only 11
The play is a ______for the McCarthy era
similar ______occurred targeting citizens as communists, rather than disciples of the devil