Throughout the 17 th and 18 th centuries the American colonists, who were mostly of Anglo-Saxon extraction, gradually abandoned their ‘English’ identity and adopted a new uniquely American identity. This change in identity was not only the result of historical, environmental, social, and geographical factors it was a self-conscious project in the minds of many of those who abandoned England to live their lives in the New World, this factor, more than any other, contributed to the general population in America, viewing themselves as a people distinct from those who inhabited England. The Puritans were religious fanatics who considered England to be a place of depravity and vice. According to the beliefs of the Puritans, the English people were promiscuous and debauched false Christians whose beliefs and customs and bordered on paganism (Zakai 228). They felt that to preserve their ‘True Christian’ faith and manner of life, they had to abandon the wicked and sinful society of England (Conforti 27). The Puritans felt that the descent of Divine wrath upon the corrupt and iniquitous land was imminent, they had the idea they could form a new spiritually elevated Christian society in what they imagined were the pristine un-peopled ‘wild lands’ of the New World (Zakai 140). The Puritan’ view of America was cast in a religious light, they saw America as a second “promised land” and viewed their move to the New World as a religious migration, similar to the story of the exodus of the ancient Hebrews from Egypt and their settlement in the lands of Canaan as told in the Bible (Zakai 66). The Puritans saw themselves as the new ‘Chosen Nation’ of God and thought that it was God’s will that they leave their corrupt homelands behind, sever their ties to the corrupt English society and forge a new ‘Truly Christian’ society in America (Conforti 48). The Puritans were not the only ones seeking to start afresh and pure society in America, in the late 17 th century, mass immigration of English Quakers to America occurred with the blessings of the King of England who wished an end to the religious conflict between the Quakers and the Anglican religious authorities. Led by William Penn they formed utopian communities in present-day Pennsylvania and Delaware (Conlin, 52). While the rejectionist beliefs of religious partisans were the main reason for the rise of a unique American identity, there were several other factors at work as well; the English society was heavily afflicted with the class system. In English society, social standing was strongly connected to ancestral ownership of land. The landless peasants of ignoble birth had few opportunities to improve their lot in life; in the New World, poor White people had more opportunities to employ their talents and labor to better their lot in life, become rich and gain a better social position (Murrin 78). Gradually in America, the importance of a person’s lineage was considerably reduced and the wealth and property of a person had become the most important factor in their social standing. Another factor that separated Americans from the English was the political system of the American colonies. The government of England had strong central