Nearly 200 years ago, the lectures of a celebrity vegetarian visiting Portland caused a riot
But eschewing meat, alcohol and spices and endorsing whole wheat bread and pure water were only part of his message.
By Avery Yale Kamila
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People across the United States were abuzz with talk of the Portland Graham riot in the summer of 1834, a time when vegetarian ideas were in vogue locally. The “Agitation,” as headlines in Boston, Philadelphia and Albany called it, was a violent mob that attacked the Temple Street Chapel, where celebrity vegetarian lecturer Sylvester Graham was giving his popular course on the “Science of Human Life.” Newspapers here and across the country had much to say about the riot but were left to wonder at its cause.