Sylvester Graham: Antebellum Reformist
Sylvester Graham, though not as well-known as some of the other Antebellum reformists, influenced not only 18th century culture, but culture today. Graham was born on July 5, 1794, in Connecticut. His father was 72 when he was born, and died when he was barely a toddler. His mother suffered from emotional and mental trauma later in his life, resulting in Graham being brought up in various households. Eventually, he turned to the ministry, and became a Presbyterian clergyman before becoming a leading figure in the temperance movement.
In the 1820s, Sylvester Graham married Sarah Earl and went on to work for the Pennsylvania Temperance Society. Many of his ideas were derived from English minister William Metcalfe’s own on vegetarianism and abstinence.
These focused on the fact that making these life choices improved both health and overall life. Graham advocated a diet that eliminated things such as coffee or tea, condiments, and meat, and was centered around consumption of fruits and vegetables. Advocated a diet where meat, condiments, coffee and tea were eliminated, focusing instead on fresh fruits and vegetables. His followers were called “Grahamites”, and most followed his “Graham Diet” strictly, one even enforcing it as the diet of all students at his university. Grahamites followed many other life regulations that Graham believed would benefit their moral character, such as wearing loose-fitting clothing, taking cold baths, sleeping on hard bedding, exercising and relaxing, having three scheduled meals without snacks, unheated food, and dancing.The “Graham cracker” we eat today is derivative of the Graham bread that he advocated and gave the recipe to in his book, A Treatise on Bread, and Bread-making. This book is one of his most famous, as he describes not only the recipe for his Graham Bread, but the history of bread and reasons why one should take part in his diet. Graham and his large base of followers faced ridicule in the media, because of the radicality of their ideas. However, the diet reform movement did influence many Americans who were not Grahamites. Nineteenth-century published cookbooks included recipes for Graham bread, Protestant ministers offered sermons on the connection between diet and morality, and advice books urged healthy living based on Grahamite principles. The values of the diet reform movement (that were initiated by Graham) became part of mainstream American culture in the nineteenth century.
In the 1820s, Sylvester Graham married Sarah Earl and went on to work for the Pennsylvania Temperance Society. Many of his ideas were derived from English minister William Metcalfe’s own on vegetarianism and abstinence.
These focused on the fact that making these life choices improved both health and overall life. Graham advocated a diet that eliminated things such as coffee or tea, condiments, and meat, and was centered around consumption of fruits and vegetables. Advocated a diet where meat, condiments, coffee and tea were eliminated, focusing instead on fresh fruits and vegetables. His followers were called “Grahamites”, and most followed his “Graham Diet” strictly, one even enforcing it as the diet of all students at his university. Grahamites followed many other life regulations that Graham believed would benefit their moral character, such as wearing loose-fitting clothing, taking cold baths, sleeping on hard bedding, exercising and relaxing, having three scheduled meals without snacks, unheated food, and dancing.The “Graham cracker” we eat today is derivative of the Graham bread that he advocated and gave the recipe to in his book, A Treatise on Bread, and Bread-making. This book is one of his most famous, as he describes not only the recipe for his Graham Bread, but the history of bread and reasons why one should take part in his diet. Graham and his large base of followers faced ridicule in the media, because of the radicality of their ideas. However, the diet reform movement did influence many Americans who were not Grahamites. Nineteenth-century published cookbooks included recipes for Graham bread, Protestant ministers offered sermons on the connection between diet and morality, and advice books urged healthy living based on Grahamite principles. The values of the diet reform movement (that were initiated by Graham) became part of mainstream American culture in the nineteenth century.