the various factors that influenced the witch hunting to spread. The first factor that helps put the whole story in motion is the arrival of the arrival of Reverend Samuel Parris as the new minister for the church in Salem Village. On November 19, 1689 the Reverend Parris, with his family at his side, was ordained the new minister for the Salem Village Church. (Boyer & Nissenbaum, 153) Reverend Parris came to Salem at a very tumultuous time. The church had just gained its independence from the church in Salem Town, thus causing many rifts among residents of both the village and the town. From the start, Parris was a poor leader for the town. He was continually concerned more with increasing his salary and living allowances than he was with the happenings of the village. Parris himself also became a centerpiece of the factionalism that was plaguing the town. He continued to push his parishioners toward a more conservative and moralistic way of life that he felt would cleanse the town of all of it's problems. It was Parris's daughter and niece in fact that began the Salem witch hysteria. The Reverend Parris agreed fully with the findings of the authorities and began to vehemently preach against all forms of witchcraft as the Devil's work. He pushed his congregation to seek out all those believed to be witches and to rid the village of their souls. He continued in this manner throughout the entire event, even encouraging the hysteria to continue.As was stated earlier, Reverend Parris came to Salem during a time of conflict among the villagers that involved economic, social, and geographic differences. The conflict stemmed from the ongoing feud between two very prominent families, the Putnams and the Porters. The Putnams felt that the Porter family was crowding them out of land that rightfully belonged to the Putnam family. To add to the feud, the village at the time was deeply divided over staying autonomous or joining with Sa...
