Is it because, as a lot of critics say, deep down we always have been and always will be Puritans at heart?
Weinergate: Men Will Always Cheat|Kay Hymowitz|June 17, 2011|DAILY BEAST
So spoke the “Puritans” of Arkansas, blind to their own especial blemish.
The Fatal Cord|Mayne Reid
In such a place and at such an hour the assembly of witches and wizards plotted against the saints of God, namely, the Puritans.
Woman's Life in Colonial Days|Carl Holliday
Now, we cannot but agree with the Puritans, that adultery is not a subject for comedy at all.
Plays and Puritans|Charles Kingsley
They did not like the Puritans any better than they liked the Roman Catholics.
A Short History of the United States|Edward Channing
Eventually sold by the Puritans, the house and gardens were purchased by Dr. Harvey and given to the society.
Old and New London|Walter Thornbury
Puritans
A group of radical English Protestants that arose in the late sixteenth century and became a major force in England during the seventeenth century. Puritans wanted to “purify” the Church of England by eliminating traces of its origins in the Roman Catholic Church. In addition, they urged a strict moral code and placed a high value on hard work (see work ethic). After the execution of King Charles I in 1649, they controlled the new government, the Commonwealth. Oliver Cromwell, who became leader of the Commonwealth, is the best-known Puritan.
notes for Puritans
Many Puritans, persecuted in their homeland, came to America in the 1620s and 1630s, settling colonies that eventually became Massachusetts. (See Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony.)
notes for Puritans
The words puritan and puritanical have come to suggest a zeal for keeping people from enjoying themselves.