The Puritan Society was a very restrictive, repressive, and socially constrictive one. Every member of the society had a strict role to fill. Any one who fell outside of their appropriate role in society was shunned, insulted, exiled, or tortured to death.
The Puritan Society was stratified by many different factors. Gender, class, profession, and race all contributed to a person's social position. Those who fit their prescribed roles were rewarded, and those that didn't were punished.
Men were supposed to be dominant over women. Men were supposed to be the only land owners and the only religious leaders; women could not be truly touched by God. Women were not supposed to be able to survive without a man. White puritan Protestants were supposed to be inherently superior to any other race or religion. The White rich male holy men were threatened by anyone different from them who fulfilled the same role as they did.
These holy men, devoid of Original Sin, were the only ones allowed to commune with God. Any women who dared to speak the word of God must surely be an instrument of the devil. Any one who preached a different religion than the religion of the Puritan holy man must also be a servant of the devil.
The Puritan ruling class of holy white males lashed out at those who threatened them. They persecuted any women who held land, who preached religion, or who subscribed to a different religion. These conditions were reflected in the politics of the time.
