I'll address, as best I can anyway, the sentiments of "better days" in Antebellum America (1790-1865). As for the 1600's, I'm not well read enough to give you a detailed answer outside of the sentiments felt by colonial governments in Subsaharan Africa.

In simple terms, people of the Antebellum period in America did not often reminisce about the better days of old in the manner that people do today.

When considering Antebellum America, it is important to realize that the advancements being made during that period did not merely extend to technology. While Eli Whitney's cotton gin may well be among the greatest inventions in American history and certainly had a great impact on Antebellum American economics, the ideas of enlightenment had a far greater affect on society during the Antebellum years. Social progress (in part due to enlightenment ideas) rather than technology drew the interest of people throughout Antebellum America.

A brief look at the typical lifestyle of an American family in 1800 would show a very different model of living than that of present society. In 1800, the common household functioned as both the private place where families lived and operated and as the means of production for the American economy. During this time, men did not necessarily leave their dwellings to go to work, instead, the entire household became a labor force and the land on which a family lived became the work place. Both men and women had their own roles in household economies, and those roles were defined by the societal perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of each gender. Men were thought to be strong, calculated, logical, and concise by nature, and as such, they often performed all tasks relative to public life. Women were thought to be intimate, emotional, considerate, and affectionate and usually performed all tasks relative to private life. Although men ultimately had the final word in all decisions, women were an integral part of early American life and often functioned as equals inside of early American households.

The roles of men and women changed quickly with industrialization. The rise of industrialization saw the transformation of the household. No longer was the common household a place of production. Instead, the household became a place to be kept orderly by women and a place for men to escape from the pressures of the outside world. The rise of industrialism also coincided with the rise of the middle class, a group that wholly embraced the idea of different "spheres" of influence for men and women. Because production was now taking place in a designated workplace outside of homes, the role of women during the rise of industrialism was seriously marginalized for a brief period of time. To mitigate what women perceived to be a shrinking sphere of influence in society, women began to create and embrace different types of reform movements. Many of these reform movements were religious in nature and were aimed to "raise up" the lower class of Americans to the standards of the middle class. It is important to note that most industrialization in America before 1885 occurred in the north.

The south maintained a patriarchal identity in domestic affairs while the north industrialized and experienced wide-ranging social reforms. The south also maintained the system of household economics that encompassed most of American life before industrialism. While the institution of slavery would become a key point of contention between north and south, the basic lifestyle differences between north and south were the basis for the beginning of a divided nation. Both north and south saw the other side as having an inadequate way of life. Because of this, both north and south never seemed to yearn for the "good ole days" of the past.

Sources Christine Stansell, "City of Women"
Mary Ryan, "Cradle of the Middle Class"
Charles Sellers, "Market Revolution"
Nina Silber, "Romance of Reunion"