The people of Salem, wanting to be away with the devil, would blame anyone, and if the accused did not confess to witchery the person would be hanged. The trials allowed people in the town to speak against their neighbors, which normally were not tolerated. .
In 1947, the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) responded to charges that Hollywood was riddled with communists; it investigated people in the movie industry. A group of film directors and writers, known as the Hollywood Ten, refused to answer HUAC's questions and went to jail. They were blacklisted - denied work in the film industry - and their careers were destroyed. Just to be suspected of being a communist meant one was a traitor. Anyone who refused to take a pledge was blacklisted and it was impossible to find work. .
In The Crucible, John Procter and his friends refused to sign the confession, as a result they were sentenced to hang. In the fourth act, Danforth asks Proctor, "Did you see anyone with the Devil?" Proctor responds, "I did not." Danforth would not drop the subject saying, "Proctor, you mistake me. I am not empowered to trade your life for a lie. You have most certainly seen some person with the Devil." This short dialogue shows that anyone that was accused of witchcraft had two choices, both with ill consequences. One was to confess and have their name stained. They also had to name others that they had seen with the Devil and have their names stained as well. The other choice was they could refuse to sign the confession and be hanged.
The Women's International League for Freedom and Peace spoke against HUAC. The League agued that the hearings violated American democratic rights. The league's support for progressivism caused the FBI investigated the national organization and several of its local chapters. The investigations scared many potential members away. People were blacklisted for opposing blacklisting.
