"The Puritan ethic: the haunting fear that somewhere, someone is having a good time," annonymous. This qoute is an amusing example of the Puritan ethic. The modern American ethic is quite different. The Puritan value system is different from the modern American value system. Puritans valued God over everything in their life. For example, from Anne Bradstreet's poem "Verses upon the Burning of our House," she writes that her house is burning down and all …showed first 75 words of 241 total…

…showed last 75 words of 241 total…anything else would take their mind away from God. Today Americans collect paintings and other types of art to decorate their houses, which clearly shows that we do not find this value important anymore. In conclusion, the Puritan value system has clearly changed over the years. Modern Americans put more values on material things, and many don't believe in God. If a 16th century Puritan met a Modern American today, he would probably be disgusted.