Goodell spent several years of his early childhood confined to his room due to illness.

As a young adult, Goodell spent several years in various jobs in several different areas of the country, yet none of the work incorporated both of his interests in writing and religion.

In 1827, at age 35, Goodell became a journalist for a reform journal in Providence, allowing him to write from a religious perspective.

Two year later, Goodell left The Friend of Man and formed his own paper in order to promote church reform that followed abolitionist principles.

His party fought for the complete abolition of slavery as well as equal rights for African Americans.

If abolition were to instigate true societal changes, he believed, prejudices would have to be eliminated and equal rights gained for African Americans.

When the Civil War ended, Goodell returned to fighting for his original cause of temperance and assisted in the creation of the Prohibition Party.