The Puritans considered those chosen by the Lord to be wise about the scripture to be saints. The saints had the power to rule in both secular and ecclesiastical matters; using the scripture as their guide. Therefore, although the Puritans had come to America in search of religious freedom, it is clear that they did not believe in any separation between church and state.

             Once Winthrop had established the MBC, Puritan presence in America grew dramatically. For example, in 1630 there were approximately 1,200 settlers in Boston, but by 1636 that number had grown to over 11,000. As a result, the settlers desired even more land. Their desire for land was solved, in part, by an outbreak of small box in 1634, which decimated much of the Native American population. While modern people are aware that the Puritans brought the small pox to America with them, and that the Native Americans were vulnerable because they had no resistance to small pox, the Puritan's viewed the epidemic as God's way of providing more land for them. In fact, William Bradford wrote, "It pleased God to visit these Indians with a great sickness."7 Bradford was not alone in his lack of sympathy for the dead Native Americans; John Winthrop also believed that, "God was just making room for the colonists."8.

             The Puritan attitude towards the deaths of those Native Americans foretold an increase in the inhumanity shown by the Puritans towards Native Americans. The facts were simple: the Puritans needed land and the Native Americans had it. In fact, although the Puritans believed that they made better use of the land than the Native Americans, they actually needed much more land to sustain each person. As a result, Native Americans were pushed out of their own lands, and forced to encroach upon lands belonging to other Native groups. The result was displaced Native Americans and conflicts between the Native American nations.