I, _________________ do voluntarily agree to abstain from all intoxicating liquors as beverages, from tobacco in every form, and from the flesh of animals; to promote social, moral, and political freedom; to maintain the observance of all good and righteous laws, and to otherwise conform to the rules adopted by a majority of the Vegetarian Settlement Company.
—Declaration from the Constitution of the Vegetarian Settlement Company

MetaFilter has a great post up this morning about the history of Kansas's Vegetarian Settlement Company, including a memoir from one of its settlers (Went To Kansas: Being A Thrilling Account Of An Ill-Fated Expedition To That Fairy Land, And Its Sad Results).