At this period in New England history religion was rife, and in 1831, particularly in the section where Barnum lived and throughout the rest of New England as well, it was also violent. Converts were being made wholesale by means of protracted religious meetings and hortatory witchery; some of these converts worked themselves into religious frenzy, and suicides as well as murders in the name of God were common occurrences. Many of the more imaginative ministers advocated a Christian Party in politics, and were in favor of confining the right to hold public office to those only who professed faith in God and belief in Jesus Christ. At the age of twenty-one Barnum was sagacious enough to realize that in spite of all his respect for clergymen and his reliance on their work they must be kept in their proper place, which was in church. Many persons besides himself were alarmed at the prospect of a religious fanaticism that would conquer civil government to the destruction of liberty. Barnum wrote several articles on the dangers of religious usurpation, which he sent to the nearest weekly newspaper, a Danbury publication. The editor regretted that he could not find space for Mr. Barnum’s contributions, whereupon, like many writers on controversial subjects, Barnum was convinced that the editor did not dare to print his articles, and that there was no free press. But unlike most of his rejected brethren, Barnum took action. He purchased a press and types, and within a few weeks after the rejection of his religious opinions began publication of his own weekly newspaper in Danbury, Connecticut, which was called, of course, _The Herald of Freedom_.