Sylvester Graham (July 5, 1794 – September 11, 1851) was an American

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

minister and

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

ary reformer known for his emphasis on

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat ( red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetaria ...

, the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

, and eating whole-grain bread. His preaching inspired the

graham flour Graham flour is a type of coarse-ground flour of whole wheat named after Sylvester Graham. It is similar to conventional whole-wheat flour in that both are made from the whole grain, but graham flour is ground more coarsely. It is not sifted ( ...

graham bread Graham bread is a name for whole wheat bread that was inspired by the teachings of famous health reformer Sylvester Graham. History Sylvester Graham was a 19th-century health reformer who argued that a vegetarian diet, anchored by bread that wa ...

, and

graham cracker A graham cracker (pronounced or in America) is a sweet flavored cracker made with graham flour that originated in the United States in the mid-19th century, with commercial development from about 1880. It is eaten as a snack food, usually ho ...

products. Graham is often referred to as the "Father of Vegetarianism" in the United States of America.

Early life

Graham was born in 1794 in

Suffield, Connecticut Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield neighboring to the east. As of the 2020 census, t ...

, to a family with 17 children; his father was 72 years old when Graham was born and his mother was mentally ill. His father died when Graham was two, and he spent his childhood moving from one relative's home to another. One of his relatives ran a tavern where Graham was put to work; his experience with drunkenness there led him to hate alcohol his whole life and forswear drinking, which made him an exception among his peers at the time. He was often sick, and missed a great deal of schooling. He worked as a farmhand, cleaner, and teacher before deciding on the ministry as an antidote for his poor health. He entered Amherst Academy in his late 20s to become a minister, as his father and grandfather had been. He withdrew from school a year later though because his histrionic manner was scorned by his fellow students. The expulsion caused Graham a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

. To recover, he moved to

Little Compton, Rhode Island Little Compton is a coastal town in Newport County, Rhode Island, bounded on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by the Sakonnet River, on the north by the town of Tiverton, and on the east by the town of Westport, Massachusetts. The pop ...

. There, he met and married Sara Earl, who had nursed him back to health. He studied theology privately, and in 1828 began working as an

itinerant preacher An itinerant preacher (also known as an itinerant minister or evangelist or circuit rider) is a Christian evangelist who preaches the basic Christian redemption message while traveling around to different groups of people within a relatively sh ...

at the Bound Brook Presbyterian Church in

Bound Brook, New Jersey Bound Brook is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, located along the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 10,402,1829–51 cholera pandemic was breaking in Europe, and Americans were terrified that it would reach the United States. Accepted medical opinion was that the best way to prevent contracting cholera was to eat plenty of meat, drink

port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, sem ...

, and avoid vegetables. People also believed that cholera was a plague, a punishment from God. The Philadelphia Temperance Society was led not by ministers, as most other temperance societies were, but by doctors who were primarily concerned with the health effects of consuming alcohol. Moving in that company, Graham may have met two of the other fathers of American vegetarianism: William Metcalfe, an English minister who established a vegetarian church in Philadelphia, and William A. Alcott, a Philadelphia doctor who wrote extensively about vegetarianism and wrote the first American vegetarian cookbook. Graham taught himself about physiology and apparently arrived at his own conclusion that meat was just as much an expression of and spur to

gluttony Gluttony ( la, gula, derived from the Latin ''gluttire'' meaning "to gulp down or swallow") means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth items, particularly as status symbols. In Christianity, it is considered a sin ...

as alcohol was, that they corrupted both the body and soul of individuals and harmed families and society. His belief was influenced by the book ''Treatise on Physiology'' by François-Joseph-Victor Broussais, published in Philadelphia in 1826, that claimed what people ate had enormous influence on their health. Graham's interest was also captured by the books written by the German chemist, Friedrich Accum, called ''Treatise on Adulteration of Foods, and Culinary Poisons'', in which he denounced the use of chemical additives in food and especially in bread, and ''Treatise on the Art of Making Good and Wholesome Bread''. Wheat flour at that time was often doctored to hide odors from spoilage, to extend it, and to whiten it, and bread was made from very finely ground flour (which Graham viewed as "tortured") and brewers yeast (used to make beer). Like other members of the temperance movement, Graham viewed physical pleasure and especially sexual stimulation with suspicion, as things that excited lust leading to behavior that harmed individuals, families, and societies. Graham was strongly influenced by the Bible and Christian theology in his own idiosyncratic way. He believed that people should eat only plants, like

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors ...

in the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...

, and believed that plague and illness were caused by living in ways that ignored

natural law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacted ...

. He urged people to remain calm, and not allow worry or lust to shake them from living rightly – perhaps one of the first people to claim that stress causes disease. From these views, Graham created a theology and diet aimed at keeping individuals, families, and society pure and healthy – drinking pure water and eating a vegetarian diet anchored by bread made at home from flour coarsely ground at home so that it remained wholesome and natural, containing no added spices or other "stimulants" and a rigorous lifestyle that included sleeping on hard beds and avoiding warm baths. The regimen has been described as an early example of

preventive medicine Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

. The emphasis on milling and baking at home was part of his vision of America in which women remained at home and nursed their families into health and maintained them there, as his wife had done for him. Graham believed that adhering to such diet would prevent people from having impure thoughts and in turn would stop masturbation (thought by Graham to be a catalyst for

blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

and early deathHelen Lefkowitz Horowitz (Ed.), ''Attitudes toward Sex in Antebellum America,'' 2006, See specific pages.). His piece ''On Self-Pollution'', published in 1834, contributed to the masturbation scare in antebellum America. He believed youthful masturbation was dangerous to children's health because of the immaturity of their reproductive organs. As a skilled and fiery preacher, his peculiar message, combining patriotism, theology, diet, lifestyle, and messages already prevalent from the temperance movement, captured the attention of the frightened public and outraged bakers and butchers, as well as the medical establishment. When the cholera epidemic reached New York in 1832, people who had followed his advice appeared to thrive, and his fame exploded. He published his first book in 1837, ''Treatise on Bread and Bread-Making'', which included a history of bread and described how to make Graham bread. It was reprinted in 2012 by

Andrews McMeel Publishing Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC (formerly Andrews, McMeel and Parker (1975–1986) and Andrews and McMeel (1986–1997)) is a company that publishes books, calendars, and related toys. It is a part of Andrews McMeel Universal (which comprises AM ...

, as a selection of its American Antiquarian Cookbook Collection. His lectures in New York and Boston that year were thronged; the Boston lecture was disrupted by a threat of riots by

butcher A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...

s and commercial bakers.

Grahamism

As his fame spread, "Grahamism" became a movement, and people inspired by his preaching began to develop and market

Graham flour Graham flour is a type of coarse-ground flour of whole wheat named after Sylvester Graham. It is similar to conventional whole-wheat flour in that both are made from the whole grain, but graham flour is ground more coarsely. It is not sifted ( ...

Graham bread Graham bread is a name for whole wheat bread that was inspired by the teachings of famous health reformer Sylvester Graham. History Sylvester Graham was a 19th-century health reformer who argued that a vegetarian diet, anchored by bread that wa ...

, and

graham crackers A graham cracker (pronounced or in America) is a sweet flavored cracker made with graham flour that originated in the United States in the mid-19th century, with commercial development from about 1880. It is eaten as a snack food, usually hon ...

. He neither invented nor endorsed any specific product, nor did he receive any money from their sale. Graham influenced other Americans including

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and editor of the '' New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressman from New York, ...

and

John Harvey Kellogg John Harvey Kellogg (February 26, 1852 – December 14, 1943) was an American medical doctor, nutritionist, inventor, health activist, eugenicist, and businessman. He was the director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. ...

, founder of the

Battle Creek Sanitarium The Battle Creek Sanitarium was a world-renowned health resort in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. It started in 1866 on health principles advocated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and from 1876 to 1943 was managed by Dr. John ...

. Grahamite boarding-houses were established in the 1830s.Shprintzen, Adam D. (2013). ''The Vegetarian Crusade: The Rise of an American Reform Movement, 1817–1921''. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 27–30. The Grahamites applied dietetic and hygienic principles to everyday life including cold baths, hard mattresses, open windows, a vegetarian diet with Graham bread and drinking cold water. Animal flesh was banned from Grahamite homes but eggs were allowed to be eaten at breakfast and were an important component of Grahamite diets.

American Physiological Society

In 1837, Colonel John Benson, Graham and

William Alcott William Andrus Alcott (August 6, 1798 – March 29, 1859), also known as William Alexander Alcott, was an American educator, educational reformer, physician, vegetarian and author of 108 books. His works, which include a wide range of topics in ...

founded the American Physiological Society (APS) in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

to promote Grahamism.Iacobbo, Karen; Iacobbo, Michael. (2004). ''Vegetarian America: A History''. Praeger Publishing. pp. 36–37. Alcott was first President of the Society.Tompkins, Kyla Wazana. (2012). ''Racial Indigestion: Eating Bodies in the 19th Century''. New York University Press. p. 88. After a year, the Society was reported to have had 251 members, including 93 women. It lasted just three years. Laura J. Miller commented that the Society was "the most visible association promoting natural foods principles until the American Vegetarian Society was founded in 1850". 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 also the first American natural hygiene organization. A notable member of the APS was Mary Gove Nichols, who gave health lectures to women. In 1837, Graham and David Cambell founded ''The Graham Journal of Health and Longevity''. 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.

Death

Graham died of complications after receiving opium enemas, as directed by his doctor, at the age of 57 at home in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an a ...

. His early death was the source of criticism and speculation.Shprintzen, Adam D. (2013). ''The Vegetarian Crusade: The Rise of an American Reform Movement, 1817–1921''. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 73–76. Historian

Stephen Nissenbaum Stephen Nissenbaum (A.B. Harvard College, 1961; M.A. Columbia University, 1963; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1968 ), is an American scholar, a Professor Emeritus of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's History Department spec ...

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 The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

. Trall wrote that before his death Graham regretted this decision and "fully and verily believed in the theory of vegetable diet as explained in his works". After his death, vegetarians distanced themselves from Grahamism. However, his vegetarian message was disseminated far into the 20th century.Gratzer, Walter. (2005). ''Terrors of the Table: The Curious History of Nutrition''. Oxford University Press. pp. 192–197. Food historians cite Graham as one of the earliest food faddists in America.Barrett, Stephen; Herbert, Victor. (1994). ''The Vitamin Pushers: How the "Health Food" Industry Is Selling Americans a Bill of Goods''. pp. 321–322.

Selected works

Of his numerous publications, the best known are: * ''Treatise on Bread and Bread-Making (''1837, and reissued in 2012 by

) * ''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''.
''A lecture on epidemic diseases generally: and particularly the spasmodic cholera'' (1833)

''A lecture to young men on chastity: intended also for the serious consideration of parents and guardians'' (1837)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Sylvester 1794 births 1851 deaths 19th-century American clergy American health and wellness writers American Presbyterian ministers American nutritionists American temperance activists American vegetarianism activists Native American people Orthopaths Opposition to masturbation People from Suffield, Connecticut Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers Pseudoscientific diet advocates Writers from Connecticut