As the theme of traditional American culture, Puritanism and puritans are the major concerns that should always be brought into consideration in the study of American culture. Over the century, American scholars have been making extensive and profound studies of Puritanism from various angles. Their studies have roughly undergone the following three stages: (Lan Hongmei, 2010:3-5)

From the late nineteenth century to the 1920s, the studies of Puritanism were still influenced by the early history tradition which focused on studying the framework of political and institutional history, trying to explore the democratic problems under the authority of Puritanism and holding a negative view towards the puritans. (Lan Hongmei, 2010:3)

 From the 1930s to the 1950s, as historians became more and more conscious of the necessity of affirming the traditional values, they began to reexamine the role of Puritanism in American civilization. Studies of Puritanism achieved a major breakthrough during that period. (Lan Hongmei, 2010:3)

From the 1960s to the present, the studies of Puritanism have experienced a period of prosperity. More scholars have devoted themselves to this field and have achieved unprecedentedly fruitful accomplishments. One of them is the first issue of Early American Literature, which is one of the most important periodicals in promoting American Puritanism studies and symbolizes that the studies of American Puritanism have entered into a “golden age”. (Lan Hongmei, 2010:3-4)