CBEs are often controversial today for various cultural reasons, and the Pioneer Line was similarly divisive. Some citizens of upstate New York bristled against the notion that someone might force them to take off the first day of the week, and others, following their religious practice, wanted to take off the last day of the week. The Pioneer also struggled to authentically deliver on its promises. Few of its drivers were the pious, upstanding men the line had promised to hire, and critics charged that some of the line’s business practices were duplicitous and deceptive.

But what makes the controversy that surrounded the Pioneer Line different from that of today’s CBEs is that the Pioneer was established to reform and redeem the emerging capitalist system. For many progressives today, the mere existence of Chick-fil-A is offensive because of its corporate donations to Protestant institutions that prohibit their leaders from engaging in same-sex behavior, such as the Salvation Army and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. What made the Pioneer controversial was that it was part of a larger vanguard of businesses in the early decades of the nineteenth century that sought to transform the American marketplace. The proprietors of the Pioneer were not content with establishing a pious alternative to their competitors; their ultimate goal was to reform the American economic system by making it godlier and thus save the nation from God’s judgment—something they were certain was inevitable if the work week continued on its trajectory toward a full seven days.

So the next time you pass a darkened Chick-fil-A storefront as you hustle through a bustling airport on a Sunday, remember that its fusion of religion and business is nothing new in American history. Indeed, the Pioneer is just one example of the long history of CBE. Although I suspect its proprietors would surely be disappointed to know that all of America’s airlines fly seven days a week.