Graham crackers are an American snack food consisting of crackers made from graham flower. They were developed in the nineteenth century, and became commercially available around 1880. Originally, they were made without sugar; graham crackers were inspired by the philosophy of preacher Sylvester Graham, who was a spearhead of the temperance movement which taught that people were meant to live with minimal earthly pleasures. Graham flower and its associated products are named after him, although he did not invent them or profit from them. As the temperance movement lost popularity, the graham cracker evolved from a simple vegetarian food into a sweetened snack, and in the modern day is generally flavored with sugar and mass-produced for consumption.
