Entrepreneurialism had become the default American mode. What succeeded in business succeeded in religion and vice versa, charismatic visionaries persuading people to believe golden dreams. Medicine shows were revivalist camp meetings selling a different form of instant salvation. Both were conducted by itinerant showmen appealing to Americans’ hunger for magic and drama. In fact, when the Hamlin’s Wizard Oil medicine show arrived in a new town, it always offered donations to local churches.
