Editing Thomas Danforth (section)

==Fictional character in ''The Crucible''==
In [[Arthur Miller]]'s 1953 play ''[[The Crucible]],'' Thomas Danforth is depicted as the leading judicial figure overseeing the Salem trials.  William Stoughton is not a character in the play, and Miller portrays Danforth as an honest but domineering and selfish judge, under whose authority many are imprisoned and sentenced to hang.<ref>Bloom, p. 72</ref><ref>Abbotson, p. 119</ref> When [[John Proctor (convicted witch)|John Proctor]], an accused, defies his authority at the end of the play by refusing to lie and sign a public confession saying that he is a wizard and accusing others, he is mercilessly sentenced to hang.<ref>Bloom, p. 60</ref>

In an introduction to the play, Miller wrote that he had combined several persons and made other changes to the historical characters for dramatic purposes.<ref>{{cite web|last=Miller|first=Arthur|title=The Crucible|url=http://asbamericanlit.edublogs.org/files/2011/10/21078735-The-Crucible-Arthur-Miller-2hmdzot.pdf|work=Cynthia Sinsap's American Literature blog}}</ref>

Miller also wrote the screenplay for the [[The Crucible (1996 film)|1996 film version]] of the play, in which the name Danforth was retained (portrayed by actor [[Paul Scofield]]) as the principal judicial antagonist.<ref>Abbotson, pp. 127–128</ref> In the [[The Crucible (1957 film)|1957 film adaptation of the play]], whose screenplay was written by [[Jean-Paul Sartre]], Danforth (portrayed by [[Raymond Rouleau]], who also directed the picture) is portrayed the same way.<ref>Bloom, pp. 65, 191–93</ref>