The Graham System (1836)
AUTHOR: Alcott, William Andrus
PUBLICATION: “The Graham System.” Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 4 May 1836. 199-201.
https://books.google.ch/books?vid=HARVARD:32044018686121&printsec=titlepage&redir_esc=y&hl=de#v=onepage&q&f=false
KEYWORDS: diet, food, health
Alcott, William.“Caucasian Vegetarians”
---. “Fair-Weather Vegetarians”
---. Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders
---. Vegetable Diet
---. “What We May Eat”
---. “The Wild Men of Borneo”
---. The Young Mother
Allen, James Madison. Figs or Pigs? Fruit or Brute?
Anderson, Martha Jane. Social Life and Vegetarianism
Clubb, Henry Stephen. History of the Philadelphia Bible-Christian Church for the First Century of its Existence
Dodds, Susanna Way. Health in the Household
Graham, Sylvester. The Aesculapian Tablets of the Nineteenth Century
---. A Lecture on Epidemic Diseases
---. Lectures on the Science of Human Life
---. A Treatise on Bread, and Bread-Making
Greeley, Horace. Recollections of a Busy Life
Kellogg, Ella Ervilla. Natural Food Recipes
Kellogg, John Harvey. The Natural Diet of Man
Moore, J. Howard. The New Ethics
Nichols, Mary Sargeant Gove. Lectures to Women on Anatomy and Physiology
---. Mary Lyndon
Nichols, Thomas Low. “Dietetics”
---. Dr. Nichols' Penny Vegetarian Cookery
---. [Eating to Live] The Diet Cure
---. How to Live on a Dime and A-Half A-Day
---. “The Staff of Life”
Nicholson, Asenath. Nature’s Own Book
Shew, Joel. The Water-Cure Manual
Smith, Ellen Goodell. The Fat of the Land and How to Live on It
Trall, Russell Thacher. John Smith, Fruits and Farinacea the Proper Food of Man
SUMMARY (Bryn Skibo & Ridvan Askin, edited Deborah Madsen):
In this letter to the editor, William Alcott enters an ongoing discussion surrounding the work of Sylvester Graham, writing that he has witnessed “for some time […] the contest now going on in your Journal” (199). Alcott disputes a number of myths about Graham's program: that he would prohibit his followers from eating meat if they were starving; that Grahamism cheats the Grahamite of food or limits them to bread alone (though Alcott writes that bread is one of the most nutritious foods available); and that an entirely vegetable diet causes mental health issues and reduces virility or physical strength. Alcott points to the Irish, German, Polish, and Swedish peasants and laborers – “millions of potato eaters” (200) – as evidence against the claim of “emasculation.”
Pointing to his own experience, both as a physician and as a vegan, he writes: “I have seen great numbers of vegetable eaters, and watched their progress from childhood to middle age.” What is more, he himself “abstained suddenly, about six years ago from animal food, and from all fermented, narcotic, and alcoholic drinks” without experiencing the least inconvenience (200). On the contrary, “in the judgment of some who know me,” Alcott writes, he did so “with great gain” (201).