This collection uses primary sources to explore Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

This Hyperdoc asks students to read background and primary source material from the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy Trials in order to understand a primary theme from the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The Hyperdoc asks students to consider the way that fear impacts people by presenting opportunties for students to consider fear in their personal lives, in history, and in current events. 

In the 1950s, as part of a campaign to expose suspected Communists, thousands of individuals were aggressively investigated and questioned before government panels. Named after its most notorious practitioner, the phenomenon known as McCarthyism destroyed lives and careers. But how did this episode of political repression take off? Ellen Schrecker traces the history of McCarthyism. [5:42]

Contains links to articles which discuss the age of McCarthyism. Covers issues of national security, anti-communism, congressional committees, blacklists, and the legacy of the McCarthy Era.