lem Town. The Putnam family and their followers, all very traditional minded people, believed strongly in Salem Village's autonomy. Reverend Parris supported them in their belief. On the flip side, the Porter family and their supporters were very interested in the possibilities Salem Town offered to the village. The Porter family was very active in mercantilism and trading in the town as well as governmental affairs that occurred in Salem Town. It was the differing beliefs along with the feud for land that continued to divide the village.The division just increased on October 16, 1691 when the Porter faction took control of the village committee from the Putnams and their friends. (Le Beau, 57) Following the election, the Porter's refused to collect taxes to pay Parris' salary, and continued to do so. This infuriated the Putnam faction immensely. Which leads up to the beginning of the hysteria.By looking at the conflict itself, people may wonder how it could be connected to the hysteria. The connection becomes very evident when one looks at those accusing witches and those being accused, and the factions they sided with. The overwhelming majority of those accusing villagers of witchcraft, including the three girls, belonged to the Putnam family or its friends. On the other side, the vast majority of those accused, especially at the beginning, belonged to the Porter faction. Examples of that include Rebecca Nurse, Bridget Bishop, as well as Giles and Martha Cory. (Dufour, 249) The feuds and conflicts are possible explanations for the conflict, but there is also another very possible one. In her book "The Devil in the Shape of a Woman." Carol Karlsen focuses her attention on the females in colonial New England. The main thesis supporting this explanation is that most witchcraft accusations were against women who threatened the orderly transfer of land from father to son. The best was to look at this belief is entirely thro...
