Here is an interesting post about the Puritans by Peter Lawler. What is most interesting about it is the original observations of de Tocqueville about the money-grubbing Virginians and the simple living Puritans.
http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/postmodernconservative/2010/11/24/thanking-the-puritans-on-thanksgiving-with-of-course-the-help-of-tocqueville/