Sylvester Graham

Sylvester Graham (July 5, 1794 – September 11, 1851) was an American Presbyterian minister and dietary reformer. He was known for his emphasis on vegetarianism, the temperance movement, and eating whole-grain bread. His preaching inspired the graham flour, graham bread, and graham cracker products. Graham is often referred to as the "Father of Vegetarianism" in the United States of America. Graham's lectures caused riots on multiple occasions.

Early life

Graham was born July 5, 1794 in Suffield, Connecticut, into a family of 17 children. His father, who was 72 years old at the time of Graham's birth, died when Graham was two years old. His mother was reported to have had mental health issues. During his childhood, Graham lived with various relatives. At one point, he was placed with a relative who operated a tavern, where he worked. Witnessing alcohol abuse during this time reportedly influenced his lifelong opposition to drinking, which was uncommon among his peers. Accepted medical opinion was that the best way to prevent contracting cholera was to eat plenty of meat, drink port wine, and avoid vegetables. His thinking was shaped by the Bible and Christian theology, though interpreted in a distinctive manner. He believed that humans were intended to follow a plant diet, as exemplified by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and that disease and plague were consequences of violating natural law. His 1834 publication On Self-Pollution contributed to the widespread anxiety about masturbation in antebellum America. He argued that masturbation was particularly harmful to children, given the perceived immaturity of their reproductive organs. Residents adhered to a regimen that emphasized dietetic and hygienic reform, including cold baths, sleeping on hard mattresses, maintaining ventilation with open windows, a vegetarian diet featuring Graham bread, and drinking cold water. While the consumption of animal flesh was prohibited, eggs were permitted at breakfast and constituted an important part of the Grahamite diet. Alcott was first President of the Society. After a year, the Society was reported to have had 251 members, including 93 women. It lasted just three years. Many of the APS members suffered from chronic disease and became vegetarian. It has been described as "likely the first exclusively vegetarian organization in the United States". It was "designed to illustrate by facts, and sustain by reason and principles the science of human life as taught by Sylvester Graham". It was edited by Campbell, Secretary of the APR (1837–1839), and five volumes were published. In 1840, the journal merged with the Library of Health, edited by Alcott.

American Vegetarian Society

In 1850, Alcott, William Metcalfe, Russell Trall, and Graham founded the American Vegetarian Society in New York City, modeled on a similar organization established in Great Britain in 1847.

Graham Riots Sylvester Graham's lectures caused riots on multiple occasions by men opposed to his moral reform ideas. In 1837, his lectures in New York and Boston drew large crowds, but the lectures drew critics.

In 1833, Graham's lectures in Providence, Rhode Island were disrupted by a riot.

In 1837, Graham's Boston lectures were disrupted by riots from local butchers and commercial bakers. Standing on the roof of the hotel where he was speaking, his supporters shoveled lime on the rioters. Historian Stephen Nissenbaum has written that Graham died "after violating his own strictures by taking liquor and meat in a last desperate attempt to recover his health".

Russell Trall, who had visited Graham, noted that he had strayed from a strict vegetarian diet and was prescribed meat by his doctor to increase his blood circulation.

Food historians cite Graham as one of the earliest food faddists in America.

Selected works

Of his numerous publications, the best known are: Treatise on Bread and Bread-Making (1837, and reissued in 2012 by Andrews McMeel Publishing) Lectures on the Science of Human Life (Boston, 1839), of which several editions of the two-volume work were printed in the United States and sales in England were widespread Lectures to Young Men on Chastity.