In 1620 the first settlers came to North America to gain religious freedom. This group is known as the Puritans. Following the teachings of John Calvin, the Puritans wanted to purify the official Protestant church of England, or the Anglican church. Included in the beliefs of the Puritans are the ideas of original sin and predestination. Settled in the area later known as New England, the Puritans led their lives with strong faith in their religion and a society based around their beliefs. However, over time these values faded to reveal a more secular and materialistic society. This change was most likely due to two things. Firstly, the immigration of non-Puritans brought people with very different and less religion based ideals than the Puritans. Also, with those born into the Puritan society in New England, these new generations were never forced to fight for their religion and therefore probably didn't see it so much as a freedom and privilege as their elders had. As with many cultural changes, the shift from a religious to a secular society can be seen in the writings of that time period. Some authors whose works reflect this change in the colonial times are William Bradford, Samuel Sewall, and St. Jean de Crevecoeur.
             In the works of William Bradford, the religious values of early colonial society are highly evident. In congruence with the ideas of John Calvin, Bradford wrote about things such as depravity of man, God's providence, vale of tears, and predestination. An example of God's providence in his work "Of Plymouth Plantation" is when Bradford states ". . .but it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards which hung overboard and ran out at length" (Bradford 28). This is showing the belief that everything happens due to the will of God and if He feels the need to step in and change things then He has the power to do so. An example of the "vale of tears" seen often in Bradford's work is from the same piece i...