Conflict is a disagreement between two or more sides. The townspeople within Salem, Massachusetts had a growing conflict that they never planned for. The townspeople in Salem thought that others inside of the town were practicing the devils magic. The devils magic was believed to be the use of witchcraft, such as casting spells, speaking with spirts, and seeing visions of the devil himself. Was it true or was it, “the motives of the young girls themselves. In a society where women had no power, particularly young women, is it not understandable how a few adolescent girls, drunk with unforeseen attention, allowed their imaginations to run wild?” (UShistory.org, 2017) Samuel Parris was trying to make a better life for himself and his family when …show more content…
The minister called upon others in the community and surrounding areas to observe the behaviors. The children acted as if they were being pinched and bitten by things that no one else could see. Their actions led to a town pitting neighbor against neighbor. The townspeople were fueled by fear and anxiety that they may be accused of being witches themselves. The townspeople began to point fingers towards anyone they thought may be a witch or practicing witchcraft. The first accused witch was Tituba, who was the Native American slave owned by Samuel Parris. Many more people were accused on the “suspicion of witchcraft.” (Baker, 2017) Accusations began to spread to other towns such as Andover and Wells. During the witch trials 200 plus people were thought to be accused of being a witch. “Not everyone who was accused was pursued by authorities or arrested.” (Historyofmassachusetts.org, 2018). When someone was accused of witchcraft they only needed the word of the townspeople to support the claim, there was never really any evidence that anyone was actually a witch. Salem set up its own formal court to handle the witch trials, the court of Oyer and Terminer, which was made up of judges and