The Blacklist and the Witches: The Crucible as a Reflection of the Conspiratorial Cancellations of Innocuous Adversaries in Communist America Open Access

Abstract

Conspiracy theories and cancel culture dominate today’s social discourse. These two responsive actions often stem from a singular source—moral panics. The sociologist Stanley Cohen popularized the theory of moral panics, highlighting their ubiquitous cultural presence and detrimental outcomes. When paranoia and fear infect human thought, there lies a tendency for cultural leaders to create, identify, or unearth enemies; what Cohen calls folk devils. Those same leaders then engage in conspiratorial behavior to build a case against the folk devil, often overexaggerating or outright misdiagnosing the threat posed by supposed deviants. The frenzied public, too frightened to notice the fraught nature of the accusation, adopts the conspiracy and advocates for persecution, or cancellation, of the folk devil. The relationship between moral panics, conspiracy, and cancellation is often imperceptible to the public, but it consistently pervades cultural life. In the late 1940s, the United States government, led by the House for Un-American Activities Committee, swore to eliminate Communist infiltration of America. Their conspiratorial behavior led to systemic purges, most notably the Hollywood blacklist. The playwright Arthur Miller was a target of these conspirators. The Crucible, his 1953 play that dramatizes the Salem Witch Trials, mirrored the cultural structures and accusatorial tactics present in Miller’s America. Miller’s play, born out of his experience with the anti-Communist movement, emphasized the manner in which moral panics empower leaders to weaponize conspiracy. While conspiracists hope to alleviate panic, they only further fragment their communities, spawning environments wherein fact becomes subjective and societal factions become more estranged.

Table of Contents

Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1

The Moral Panics ............................................................................................................................ 5

The Communist Moral Panic ...................................................................................................... 6

The Puritan’s Moral Panic ........................................................................................................ 11

Conspiracy .................................................................................................................................... 20

The Un-American Conspiracy .................................................................................................. 24

Salem’s Conspiracy .................................................................................................................. 33

The Conspiratorial Effects ........................................................................................................ 49

Cancellation .................................................................................................................................. 51

The Hollywood Blacklist’s Cancellations ................................................................................ 52

The Deadly Cancellation of Salem’s Witches .......................................................................... 58

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 65

Complete Works Cited.................................................................................................................. 68 

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School	Emory College
Department	English
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Literature, American American Studies Sociology, Theory and Methods
Keyword	Salem conspiracy cancellation Arthur Miller folk devils blacklist The Crucible moral panic Hollywood
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Dan Sinykin, Emory University
Committee Members	T Cooper, Emory University Dr. Matthew Bernstein, Emory University William Tolbert, Emory University

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