Why was THE CRUCIBLE set in Salem, Massachusetts?
At the time that Authur Miller wrote The Crucible the Mccarthy hearings were going on and he was using the history of Salem as a response to those hearing as an example of how society has a tendency to repeat itself when people jump to conclusion and are scared. I know that wikipedia isn’t the best sight but it explains why sorta. You might also look at the info for MIller to answer your other question.
