John Calvin Teal

The people of early nineteenth century America were a people in motion. Many moved to improve their financial or social status, for upward mobility was possible and even probably in the West. Others planned to begin life fresh in a new land with few restraints; where a man could become anything he was man enough to become; where children could grow strong and tall, free from the diseases of city slums; where women could safely walk the streets, day or night; where people were free to worship as their own personal convictions led them to. The freedom of religion was the most basic freedom of this new land. It was the cornerstone upon which everything else was built.