The citizens of Salem were divided into two groups—those who wanted to leave Salem and form a new village, and those who wanted to stay together as one community. The citizens that wanted to leave consisted of families of farmers, and those that wanted to stay had relations to Salem's rich harbors. The farmers of Salem based their argument—about departing—on the truth that Salem's economy was legitimately very egocentric and thus contested the communal nature that Puritanism mandated. There were two families that were the heads of each group, with the Porters at the head of the farmers and the Putnams at the head of the wealthier population. Due to their different beliefs, the two families had grown a sort of rivalry. The debate over separation
