The New Land of New Ideas The 18th century Americans turned their backs on the old ideas of the Puritans. The Puritans believed in the population acting within the religious ways of the times. The 18th century population turned their lifestyles to a lifestyle of self interest. This lifestyle was dedicated to the goal of obtaining wealth and prestige among the community. DeCrevecouer writes: He is arrived on a new continent; a modern society offers itself to his contemptation, different from what he had hitherto seen. It is not composed, as in Europe, of great lords who possess every thing and of a