Photo of the Day

It is June 17, 2000.

Arthur Miller, the playwright, is reflecting on his contempt of Congress conviction and Hollywood blacklisting during the McCarthy era of the 1950s.

Arthur Miller and Marily Monroe, show here in 1957, were married from 1956 to 1961. This marriage, Monroe's third, was the longest lasting. Richard Avedon photo, held by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

Miller had become a target of the US House Un-American Activities Committee after the staging of his play, “The Crucible,” a story about the Salem witch trials of the 1690s.

Cast shown in the original Broadway production of "The Crucible" at the Martin Beck Theatre in 1953. The play won the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play.

In the play, Miller had drawn a parallel between the conviction and execution of Salem women on baseless charges of witchcraft and the persecution of people accused of being communist in the 1950s.

Actor Gary Cooper testifies before the House Un-American Activities Committee, 1947.

In subpoenaed testimony before the Committee, Miller had refused to identify people who had attended meetings of Communist writers many years before, resulting in his conviction for contempt of Congress.¹

Now, writing more than forty years later, Miller says the hunt for communists during the 1950s became an ideological war driven by ‘the radical right’ which ‘reached hysterical proportions.’

New York newsletter which warned people about radio programs which had alleged Communists as guests, May 1948.

From Miller’s essay:

“The heart of the darkness was the belief

that a massive, profoundly organized conspiracy was in place

and carried forward mainly by a concealed phalanx of intellectuals,

including labor activists, teachers, [and] professionals,

sworn to undermine the American government…

Early 1950s.

“It is always with us, this anxiety,

sometimes directed towards foreigners, Jews, Catholics,

fluoridated water,

aliens in space, …

homosexuality,

or the [IRS].”

Martin Dies, Democratic Congressman from Texas, was a co-founder and first chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee. He claimed the mission of the Committee was to root out subversives in government and other organizations. Right: Dies relaxes with reporters, 1938.

‘Evidence is effort,

while leaping to conclusions is a wonderful pleasure

which provides an escape from daily tedium

with entertaining revelations,

news

and surprises which confirm the conspiracy.’

***

It was a time of lazy anti-intellectualism

where fact-free hyperbole got attention and votes.

Just like today.

******************************

I’ll see you tomorrow.

— Brenda

Miller’s full text can be found here.

Miller’s conviction was overturned on appeal in 1958.

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