His vindictive nature was demonstrated long before the witchcraft began. A former Salem minister, George Burroughs, had had to borrow money to pay for his wife’s funeral, and, since the parish was remiss in his salary, he was soon bankrupt. Thomas and his brother John had Burroughs jailed for debts the man did not owe. The incident is important only in that Burroughs succeeded in becoming minister where Bayley, Thomas Putnam’s brother-in-law, had been rejected; the motif of resentment is clear here. Thomas Putnam felt that his own name and the honor of his family had been smirched by the village, and he meant to right matters however he could.
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 1. This explanation about Thomas Putnam reveals his vindictive and vengeful nature. When his brother-in-law was rejected for position of town minister in favor of another man, he ensured that the man was jailed for debts he didn’t owe. This was in retaliation for what he felt was a smirch on the family name.