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Sylvester Graham (July 5, 1794 – September 11, 1851) Presbyterian Minister Dietary Reformer

Sylvester Graham was a minister who got involved with the temperance movement. He thought that alcohol was something that was not needed, but he took it a step further with designing a new diet that would help people fight disease, stop impure thoughts and sex and be a cure for alcoholism. His diet was a vegetarian diet that encouraged the eating of fresh fruit and vegetables along with whole grain and high fibers. He discouraged meat and said to only eat animal byproducts in moderation. He though that animal products and meat were the cause of sexual urges and masturbation, which he thought, led to insanity and blindness. He also encouraged frequent bathing, as a hygienic precaution and thought that all types of excitement were unhealthy, which led to his advocating for sexual abstinence.

Criticism Graham was hated by butchers and commercial bakers. They did not like his preaching’s and did not appreciate the harm he was doing to their business. The bakers denounced him because he did not like the refined flour that was now commonly used in bread to make it back faster. He also was against the chemicals that were put into breads to make them whiter; these chemicals are now known to be toxic. He was also ridiculed by the public and media.

Goals Graham's goal was to save human kind from corruption and eternal death. He thought that sex and masturbation along with alcoholism is immoral. He also thought that his diet fought disease so he wanted to save them from death too.

Achievement Graham went all over the country lecturing on his new way of life. His lectures were attended by thousands of listeners and eventually had many followers who were called Grahamites. He had many writings, but is best known for his //Lectures on the Science of Human Life.// In this lecture he describes his thinking on who animals are bad, alcoholism can be avoided, the relationship between diet and disease along with many other important subjects to his reformation. Success Graham had many followers, especially in the former puritan areas. They strictly followed their mentor’s teachings and lived a relatively bland life. He did leave an impact and started the idea the frequent bathing was important. He also impacted the vegan movement and invented the commonly eaten Graham Cracker, even though today’s is not like the ones from Graham’s time. The movement of the Graham Diet was most popular in the 1860's through the 1880's. Though Graham did not convert as many people as he liked his success was good for the drastic changes he was asking of them.

Goal Evaluation For the time period the more efficient way to get information out was to lecture, which were attended by many and to publish books. Graham did both of these to get the word out. He also had the people he converted into Grahamites convert others and preach his teachings. These were effective to an extent and for the limited time Graham had to teach before he did he did convert a good number, though he did not reach his goal of converting the whole world.

Mr. President If you would support Mr. Graham and his cause it would spread more rapidly. Also if you would outlaw alcohol, refined flour and meat sales in the country you would help protect Americans for eternity, cure many disease and alcoholism, and stop insanity. You would be saving the American people, which is your job.

My Sources John and Will Kellogg- These inventors of the corn flack and founders of Kellogg were Grahamites. They used his nutrition ideas in their invention and were strict followers of his teachings. They were very influenced by Graham’s doctrines and they tried to spread his ideas around.

Horace Greeley- He was a great newspaper editor who was influenced by Graham’s movement. He was most notable for finding the Liberal-Republican Party and fights the corrupt Grant administration. He was influenced by Grant to become a reformer and also followed his teachings.

Works Cited "Sylvester Graham." __People, Places, Events__. Memorial Hall. 27 Feb. 2009 . Tompkins, Kayala W. "Sylvester Graham's Imterial Detetics." __Gastronomica__. 5 Feb. 2009. University of California Press. 27 Feb. 2009 .