They truly believed in the equality of all living things and held a very spiritual view of the natural world. The Puritans on the contrary believed that it was their divine right to take possession of all lands in his name and any resistance by the natives was God testing their mettle. Although there were limited attempts at anthropology and translations of their languages, overall the intolerance of the colonists set them at odds with the Native Americans.
Women.
For the most part women in the Puritan colonies where negated to their traditional roles as the homemakers. The ideal Puritan housewife was based on the biblical figure Bathsheba who displayed skills at house work and was a charitable soul. Women were responsible for spinning weaving, making soap, preserving food, overseeing cooking and laundering. Three women stood out from the crowd at this time. Anne Hutchinson challenged the Puritan status quo by claiming her own interpretation of the bible but that was considered heresy by Puritan law and she was banished from the Bay Colony. Also significant was Mary Rowlandson. She was acclaimed because she used her skills as a housewife proved so formidable that despite capture by the Natives she was kept alive for that purpose. Finally there was Hannah Dustin who took a slightly different approach than that followed by Mary. Upon being captured by Native Americans she slew "10" of them and returned with their scalps. She was praised and compared to the warrior Jael from the scriptures.
A "Vale of Plenty": The South.
The Southern colonists came to America with a distinctly different approach to the American Dream. Unlike the cold and rockiness of New England the South was an agricultural paradise that the Europeans could not wait to cultivate. The early southern writers were farmers merchants and ministers. All described their new home as a "vale" meaning a valley of plenty.