One thing the Puritans had was "personal control over the envirornment". When first arriving to America, they thought that they could just come and take over all the land. They fought the rightful owners of the land, the Indians, and took it as there own. In order for them to survive, they had to build their own coummunity. By doing this, they had to knock down trees and control the envirornment. Puritans didn't control the envirornment as much as we do today but they definately started it here in the United States. The Indians who originally were the only people living in the United States were one with nature and did not distrurb it.