Written in 1953,The Crucibleis a mirror Miller uses to reflect the anti-communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthys witch-hunts in the United States. Within the text itself, Miller contemplates the parallels, writing: Political oppositionis given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence.