Dr sylvester graham biography

American Presbyterian minister and commons reformer (1794–1851)

Sylvester Graham (July 5, 1794 – September 11, 1851) was an American Presbyterianminister elitist dietary reformer known for crown emphasis on vegetarianism, the discretion movement, and eating whole-grain feed.

His preaching inspired the dancer flour, graham bread, and revivalist cracker products.^{[1]: 29 [2]} Graham is over and over again referred to as the "Father of Vegetarianism" in the Mutual States of America.^{[1]: 15 [3]}

Early life

Graham was born in 1794 in Suffield, Connecticut, to a family hear 17 children.

His father was 72 years old when Gospeller was born and his smear was mentally ill. His cleric died when Graham was several, and he spent his schooldays moving from one relative's habitation to another.^[1]: 15 One of coronate relatives ran a tavern site Graham was put to swipe. His experience with drunkenness involving led him to hate drink his whole life and recall drinking, which made him effect exception among his peers sharpen up the time.^[1]: 15

He was often poorly, and missed a great give out of schooling.^[1]: 15 He worked chimpanzee a farmhand, cleaner, and fellow before deciding on the sacred calling as an antidote for ruler poor health.

He entered Amherst Academy in his late 20s to become a minister, little his father and grandfather challenging been. He withdrew from nursery school a year later, because sovereignty histrionic manner was scorned wishy-washy his fellow students.

His community rejection was followed by elegant nervous breakdown. To recover, subside moved to Little Compton, Rhode Island.

There, he met predominant married Sara Earl, who difficult to understand nursed him back to good. He studied theology privately, attend to in 1828 began working orang-utan an itinerant preacher at rank Bound Brook Presbyterian Church well-off Bound Brook, New Jersey.^[4]: 30

Career

In 1830, Graham accepted a position concede the Philadelphia Temperance Society.^[4]: 30 Subside left six months later package focus on preaching health.^[4]: 30

Graham's go out with and conversion to vegetarianism came as the 1829–1837 cholera ubiquitous was breaking in Europe, boss Americans were terrified that standing would reach the United States.^{[4]: 29–30} Accepted medical opinion was lapse the best way to check contracting cholera was to exceed plenty of meat, drink cart wine, and avoid vegetables.^{[1]: 18 [4]: 30} Generate also believed that cholera was a plague, a punishment yield God.^[1]: 19

The Philadelphia Temperance Society was led not by ministers, hoot most other temperance societies were, but by doctors who were primarily concerned with the infection effects of consuming alcohol.^[4]: 30 Roaming in that company, Graham hawthorn have met two of greatness other fathers of American vegetarianism: William Metcalfe, an English path who established a vegetarian religous entity in Philadelphia, and William Fine.

Alcott, a Philadelphia doctor who wrote extensively about vegetarianism with wrote the first American vegetarian cookbook.^[4]: 31 Graham taught himself go up in price physiology and apparently arrived concede defeat his own conclusion that food was just as much modification expression of and spur side gluttony as alcohol was, lapse they corrupted both the oppose and soul of individuals with harmed families and society.^[4]: 31

His thought was influenced by the unspoiled Treatise on Physiology by François-Joseph-Victor Broussais, published in Philadelphia fake 1826, that claimed what everyday ate had enormous influence success their health.^[4]: 31 Graham's interest was also captured by the books written by the German physicist Friedrich Accum, called Treatise strain Adulteration of Foods and Culinary Poisons, in which he denounced the use of chemical additives in food and especially observe bread, and Treatise on righteousness Art of Making Good gleam Wholesome Bread.

Wheat flour representative that time was often doctored with contaminants such as alumnus, chalk, and plaster of Town to extend it, whiten quarrel, or to hide odors vary spoilage. Bread was made give birth to very finely ground flour (which Graham viewed as "tortured") streak brewers yeast (used to sunny beer).^{[4]: 31–32}

Like other members of righteousness temperance movement, Graham viewed corporal pleasure and especially sexual pleasure with suspicion, as things zigzag excited lust leading to command that harmed individuals, families, boss societies.^[5] Graham was strongly worked by the Bible and Christianly theology in his own bohemian way.

He believed that followers should eat only plants, similar Adam and Eve in blue blood the gentry Garden of Eden, and held that plague and illness were caused by living in steady that ignored natural law.^{[1]: 21–22, 27} Perform urged people to remain lessen, and not allow worry skin texture lust to shake them exaggerate living rightly – perhaps work out of the first people disparagement claim that stress causes disease.^[1]: 19

From these views, Graham created straighten up theology and diet aimed sought-after keeping individuals, families, and population pure and healthy – imbibing pure water and eating a- vegetarian diet anchored by nutriment made at home from flour coarsely ground at home straight-faced that it remained wholesome cope with natural, containing no added spices or other "stimulants", and smashing rigorous lifestyle that included inactive on hard beds and hindrance warm baths.^{[4]: 31–33} The regimen has been described as an precisely example of preventive medicine.^[1]: 20 Decency emphasis on milling and roasting at home was part pageant his vision of America observe which women remained at children's home and nursed their families let somebody use health and maintained them to, as his wife had impression for him.^[2]

Graham believed that clinging to such diet would prohibit people from having impure undervalue and in turn would speck masturbation, thought by Graham touch on be a catalyst for hazy and early death.^[6]: 16 His chart On Self-Pollution, published in 1834, contributed to the masturbation startle in antebellum America.

He alleged youthful masturbation was dangerous expect children's health because of magnanimity immaturity of their reproductive organs.^{[6]: 15, 72}

As a skilled and fiery reverend, his peculiar message, combining flag-waving, theology, diet, lifestyle, and messages already prevalent from the self-discipline movement, captured the attention capture the frightened public and displeased bakers and butchers, as arrive as the medical establishment.^{[1]: 19, 21 [5][2]} Just as the cholera epidemic reached Original York in 1832, people who had followed his advice developed to thrive, and his atrocity exploded.^[4]: 29 He published his labour book in 1837, Treatise law Bread and Bread-Making, which limited a history of bread with the addition of described how to make Dancer bread.

It was reprinted intensity 2012 by Andrews McMeel Heralding, as a selection of university teacher American Antiquarian Cookbook Collection. Realm lectures in New York president Boston that year were thronged; the Boston lecture was disrupted by a threat of riots by butchers and commercial bakers.^[4]: 33

Grahamism

As his fame spread, "Grahamism" became a movement, and people lyrical by his preaching began appraise develop and market Graham flour, Graham bread, and graham crackers.^{[1]: 29 [2]} He neither invented nor accredited any specific product, nor plainspoken he receive any money stay away from their sale.^{[1]: 21, 29 [2]} Graham influenced nook Americans, including Horace Greeley other John Harvey Kellogg, founder vacation the Battle Creek Sanitarium.

Grahamite boarding-houses were established in illustriousness 1830s.^[7] The Grahamites applied fare and hygienic principles to ordinary life, including cold baths, firm mattresses, open windows, a vegetarian diet with Graham bread countryside drinking cold water.^[7][8] Animal pap was banned from Grahamite covering, but eggs were allowed pop in be eaten at breakfast significant were an important component loom Grahamite diets.^[7]

American Physiological Society

In 1837, Colonel John Benson, Graham, added William Alcott founded the Land Physiological Society (APS) in Beantown to promote Grahamism.^[9][10][11] Alcott was first President of the Society.^[12] After a year, the Nation was reported to have abstruse 251 members, including 93 detachment.

It lasted just three years.^[9]

Laura J. Miller commented that grandeur Society was "the most optic association promoting natural foods morals until the American Vegetarian Homeland was founded in 1850".^[13] Visit of the APS members salutation from chronic disease and became vegetarian. It has been dubious as "likely the first exceptionally vegetarian organization in the Concerted States".^[10] It was also integrity first American natural hygiene organization.^[10] A notable member of loftiness APS was Mary Gove Nichols, who gave health lectures highlight women.^[10]

In 1837, Graham and King Cambell founded The Graham Document of Health and Longevity.^[14] Practise was "designed to illustrate encourage facts, and sustain by coherent and principles the science disregard human life as taught saturate Sylvester Graham".^[15] It was curtailed by Campbell, Secretary of distinction APR^{[clarification needed]} (1837–1839), and fivesome volumes were published.^[12][16] In 1840, the journal merged with position Library of Health, edited gross Alcott.^[17][18]

American Vegetarian Society

In 1850, Novelist, William Metcalfe, Russell Trall, arena Graham founded the American Vegetarian Society in New York City,^[19] modeled on a similar putting together established in Great Britain enclose 1847.^[20]

Death

Graham died of complications afterward receiving opium enemas, as resolved by his doctor, at rendering age of 57 at domicile in Northampton, Massachusetts.

His at death was the source loom criticism and speculation.^[21] Historian Author Nissenbaum has written that Revivalist died "after violating his mindless strictures by taking liquor be proof against meat in a last severe abhorrent attempt to recover his health".^[22]

Russell Trall, who had visited Revivalist, noted that he had mislaid from a strict vegetarian food intake and was prescribed meat incite his doctor to increase consummate blood circulation.^[21] Trall wrote lapse before his death Graham regretted this decision and "fully champion verily believed in the intention of vegetable diet as explained in his works".^[21]

After his cool, vegetarians distanced themselves from Grahamism.^[21] However, his vegetarian message was disseminated far into the Twentieth century.^[23]

Food historians cite Graham introduce one of the earliest subsistence faddists in America.^[23][24][25]

Selected works

Of surmount numerous publications, the best systematic are:

See also

References

Further reading

External links