This system came to be called the "The New England Way". Churches came into being only by means of a local covenant, so individual members could be released from their sacred oath, only with the concurrence of the local body. Or, persons leaving without the consent of the body sacrificed not only their church membership, but also property titles, which was reliant on local residence. These measures, combined economic and spiritual restraints, therefore New England towns achieved extraordinarily high levels of persistence and social cohesion (Rohr, 63).
Puritans in one region of England, was quite different in its culture and social organization from what was considered Puritan's in another region (Cohen, 55). In order to understand different aspects of aspects of life, Bradstreet liked to turn to the Bible for help in answering many of her own questions whether during writing or during daily activities (Cohen, 55). .
As an original resident of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Anne Bradstreet was a remarkable woman, admired highly by her family and community. Anne Bradstreet was born in 1612, to a nonconformist soldier of Queen Elizabeth. At age eighteen, Anne was among the hundreds of English Puritans who sailed for America under the leadership of John Winthrop in 1630. Thomas and Dorothy Dudley, her parents, and her husband, Simon Bradstreet, were also along on this great migration. In England, Thomas Dudley had been warden to the Earl of Lincoln, and Anne and her family got a chance to enjoy the advantages of wealth. Anne loved to learn, and when she was about seven years old, tutors were hired to teach her dancing, languages, music, and several other subjects. When she turned sixteen, she married Simon Bradstreet, the son of a Puritan minister. Even though the young couple would have a comfortable life materialistically, they chose to move to America to serve their God. Anne's father and husband both served several terms as governor of the colony, were Anne's identity is primarily linked.