Curated OER
Kazan, Miller, and the McCarthy Era
Young scholars read The Crucible in order to investigate the McCarthy era and the Hollywood Blacklist. Students watch video clips of the McCarthy witch hunts and investigate the time period through online research. Young scholars...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The House Un-American Activities Committee
Was the House Un-American Activities Committee justified in investigating subversive influences in the entertainment industry? Part two of the three-part series of lessons that examine the anti-communism movement after World War II,...
Curated OER
The Crucible
Display information regarding Arthur Miller and some of his well-known plays. The majority of these slides give facts, biographical, and historical information; only one slide lists information on the Salem witch trials as they pertain...
Curated OER
Whose Business Is It Anyway? McCarthyism and Its Effect on Individual Rights
Students explore the concept of individual rights. In this McCarthyism lesson, students determine how government may affect the rights of individuals as they examine the Constitution, participate in class discussions, and research the...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Huac and Hollywood
This video and support materials detail the Hollywood blacklist and House Un-American Activities Committee, chronicling the fear of Communism and resulting blacklist based on political ideology. The video is from the American Masters...
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania: The Hollywood Blacklist
This site describes what went on in Hollywood during the Red Scare of the 1950s when many actors and directors were asked to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee about possible communist activity in Hollywood.
PBS
Pbs News Hour: Hollywood Blacklisting
Provides a written transcript or a Real Audio version of the interview of two blacklisted artists.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: "The Crucible": Inspiration and Reception
This media gallery explores the inspiration for and reception of "The Crucible" during the Hollywood Blacklist with videos from the American Masters film "None Without Sin." The videos and support materials are best used during or after...
Michigan State University
Michigan State University: Msu Libraries: Digital Collections: Hollywood Ten
Primary source documents related to the Hollywood Ten, a group of writers, directors, and producers who were blacklisted for purported un-American activities and ties to Communism. All materials can be downloaded.
George Mason University
Blacklisting Hollywood's Communists: A Qualified Defense
This site from George Mason University describes the blacklisting of Hollywood communists during the Red Scare.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Anticommunism in the 1950s
Looks at the paranoia of the 1950s when Americans lived in fear of communism. The House Committee on Un-American Activities created blacklists of people working in Hollywood, McCarthyism flourished, and the Rosenberg couple were tried...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: American Masters Collection: Arthur Miller
This is a collection of three video lessons about Arthur Miller and his play "The Crucible." Teaching materials including handouts and discussion questions are included.
The History Cat
The History Cat: Red Scare America
Describes the events that took place during the McCarthy Era and actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Ordinary Americans feared being identified as a Communist sympathizer and libraries removed books from their shelves...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Anti Communism in the 1950s
[Free Registration/Login Required] An essay tracing the anti-Communist hysteria beginning in earnest at the end of World War II that resulted in Truman's federal Loyalty Security program and ending with McCarthyism in the 1950s.
PBS
Pbs: American Masters:elia Kazan
Discussion on the life of controversial director Elia Kazan, who was a member of the American Communist Party in the McCarthy era. Featured is a timeline of his career and video footage of interviews.