“A belief in God’s universal love to all his creatures, and that he will finally restore all those of them that are miserable to happiness, is a polar truth. It leads to truths upon all subjects, more especially upon the subject of government. It establishes the equality of mankind–it abolishes the punishment of death for any crime–and converts jails into houses of repentance and reformation.”
–- Benjamin Rush, letter to Jeremy Belknap, 1791.