The Vegetarian Crusade: The Rise of an American Reform Movement, 1817-1921

Chapter Seven: Muscular Vegetarianism

183 chap ter seven Muscular Vegetarianism ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Between flesh eating and rational vegetarianism, the flesh eaters do not begin to be in it when it comes to endurance. —Los Angeles Times, April 26, 1908 Writing in 1898 in his book documenting the history of worldwide vegetarianism in the nineteenth century, vegetarian and World’s Vegetarian Congress speaker Charles Forward commented on the state of physical fitness in the vegetarian movement. “In the earlier days of Vegetarian propaganda,” he wrote, “it was difficult to convince an audience of the possibility of any feats of physical strength or endurance being performed without the consumption of butcher’s meat.” There were two reasons for this, Forward explained . Athletes traditionally trained on a diet of mostly meat. In addition, “Vegetarianteachingswerepropagatedmostlybymenofintellectualmould, many of whom . . . not presenting the robust and plethoric condition which is looked upon by so many people as a sure sign of health.” Forward believed it was necessary for vegetarians to spread news of vegetarians’ physical strength and athletic accomplishments as proof of the diet’s efficacy. In doing so, vegetarians could “meet objectors on their own grounds.”1 American movement vegetarians soon embraced similar ideas. Writing in Vegetarian Magazine in February 1900, Henry S. Clubb, president of the Vegetarian Society of America (VSA), prophetically reported that “the various methods of health culture and . . . physical exercises calculated to promote and secure a sound mind in a sound body” would soon “be within our recognized sphere.”2 Soon after, physical culturists—individuals offering to train others on how to sculpt their bodies—began advertising in the VSA’s magazine.3 Movement vegetarians were among a growing audience of Americans enamored with the possibilities of transforming themselves physically in order to survive the perceived weakening caused by America’s expanding corporate culture.4 For the physical culturists themselves, the lifestyle frequently 184 :: Muscular Vegetarianism proved profitable, allowing them to sell a variety of products, including exercise equipment and training manuals, that promised consumers both corporeal and social transformation. Although rooted in the antebellum years, American physical culture hit its peak of popularity during the Progressive Era. As this lifestyle evolved, movement vegetarianism became indelibly linked to physical culture and athletics. Physical culture’s widespread popularity began at the Columbian Exposition . The fair featured displays of strength and physical fitness, wowing visitors with muscularity, power, and the suggestion of a link between physical and social advancement. Famed boxing champion “Gentleman Jim” Corbett—fresh off of his knockout victory over John L. Sullivan the previous year—put his pugilistic expertise on display to the gathered crowds. Corbett was known for his measured, scientific approach to boxing, qualities similar to those the vegetarians meeting at the Art Institute emphasized in explaining their approach to dietary choices.5 Fairgoers paid a nominal fee to have their measurements taken and compared to the shapes documented as “normal” by Harvard physical education expert Dudley Sargent.6 Revelers visiting Chicago because of the fair also flocked to gaze at the rippling, bulging muscles of the recently imported Prussian bodybuilder Eugen Sandow. Large audiences gathered at the Trocadero Theater on State Street, drawn by the promise of watching a “veritable Colossus of Rhodes” flex in classical Greek poses. Sandow—a living embodiment of strength, power, control, and seeming perfection— captivated spectators for three months, inspiring some audience members to sculpt their bodies as well.7 Physical culture (the linguistic precursor to the term physical education) referred to a general regimen of health, strength, and physical fitness, all tied to the development of individual morality. Gymnastics and calisthenics gained popularity initially in the United States during the 1850s and 1860s, but the movement to utilize athletics for physical health remained largely fractured and decentralized. In the 1880s the physical culture movement began the process of professionalization, and was introduced into the curriculum of colleges and universities. The movement coalesced with the founding of the American Physical Education Association in 1895 and its monthly journal, the American Physical Education Review. Physical culture advocates represented a wide spectrum of Progressive Era reform, supported by politicians, urban reformers, journalists , and the athletes themselves.8 Exploring vegetarianism was a natural path for those interested in the connections between the strenuous life and Muscular Vegetarianism :: 185 the development of individual character. With movement vegetarianism gaining mainstream acceptance through its glorification of the individual, physical culture had inherent appeal to dietary reformers. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth...