Don't forget to ask the librarian if there are books set aside on school reserve for this topic!

The Age of McCarthyism: A Brief History with Documents

This text by Ellen Schrecker is concise and well-written. See particularly the "Legacy" section.

Arthur Miller

A biography of the playwright with links to information about The Crucible.

Arthur Miller's The Crucible: Fact & Fiction

A critical essay.

Accused of Witchcraft

Accounts (by their descendants) of the lives of several women accused of witchcraft in Salem and elsewhere.

The American Sense of Puritan

A work on Puritans and Pilgrims completed for the Capitol Project, from the American Studies group at the University of Virginia.

The Carey Document: On the Trial of a Salem Death Warrent

The alleged original warrent for Martha Carey, dated Salem, Massachusetts, June 10, 1692.

The Cold War, Episode 6: Reds

From the CNN Perspectives series on the Cold War. Read transcripts of trials and interviews with participants; get background on the major players from CNN's own research on the topic. Then, go inside the HUAC trials with this multimedia re-presentation (would YOU name names?).

Lecture 23: The Coils of Cold War

From the University of Wisconsin, this page presents information about the Second Red Scare, which was known popularly as McCarthyism. The trials, denouncements, black lists, and paranoia about Communism in the Second Red Scare showed the public face of the Cold War.

A Problem of Authority

This review for Contra Mundum of the book, The Salem Witch Crisis by Larry Gragg, includes analysis of the trials and Puritan society.

Salem, Massachusetts: What About Witches

A brief history and current tour of the site of the famous trials including links to Salem Witchtrial Memorial and a chronology of events.

Salem Witchcraft Hysteria

This multimedia presentation from National Geographic takes you into the hysteria surrounding the Salem Witch trials.

Salem Witchcraft Papers

Complete court documents and information on trial participants.

The Salem Witch Museum

The FAQ and History sections of this site are particularly useful.

Why I Wrote The Crucible: An Artist's Answer to Politics

By Arthur Miller, this article appeared in the October 21 & 28th (1996) issue of The New Yorker, pages 158-164.

Witchcraft in Salem Village

Drawing from the collections of the Danvers Archival Center (Danvers, MA is what was colonial Salem Village, site of the infamous witchcraft trials) and other local archives, this site has verbatim transcripts of many 1692 trials as well as firsthand accounts of witchcraft hysteria. Both collections are searchable. Also included is the full text of a 1693 treatise on witchcraft, maps of Salem Village, and an FAQ about witchcraft.