William J. Palmer originally grew up on the east coast in Delaware and Pennsylvania and he was a Quaker, a person who did not believe in violence. He lived when slavery was still allowed in the Southern United States. He felt that slavery was wrong so even though he was a pacifist he went and fought for the Union in the Civil War. He ended up being a very effective general which is why we call him General Palmer he then started working in the railroad industry and moved out to Colorado.
Ms. Sweet, teacher at Palmer high school , says “Palmer wanted to make sure that the railroad had a great place for people to visit as he was promoting the west and so he set up Colorado Springs to have tree-lined streets wide boulevards and just to be a beautiful place for people at the base of Pikes Peak.” That’s why Colorado springs look good and it’s big city city in Colorado he needed to develop this region so that the railroad could get some of the natural resources out of nearby places such as Cripple Creek and he just wanted to stop on the railroad where people could enjoy themselves and the beauty of Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods.
And also Palmer fought in the Civil War because his principle against slavery outweighed his belief that violence was wrong and so it was a moral decision for him. This was a choice that was criticized by some of the other people who had Quaker beliefs but personally I’m grateful that he made that choice and stood up for the rights of all people…