The original immigrants/colonists were Puritans and their approach to the governing and liberties, well, it can be arguably called proto-totalitarian. Remember, those were the same kind of people that managed, of all things, to push the Parliament to prohibit celebrations of Christmas and Easter during the English Interregnum, despite massive popular backlash. The Puritans in the American colonies had roughly the same attitude:

    Christmas observance was outlawed in Boston in 1659, with a fine of five shillings. The ban
    by the Puritans was revoked in 1681 by an English appointed governor, Edmund Andros; however,
    it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the
    Boston region. Before the Declaration of Independence in 1776, it was not widely celebrated
    in the American Colonies.

There is much written about the Puritans in the North America; their ideas, sadly, influenced the American political thinking and culture a lot.