THERE IS DEATH IN THE POT - The University of Texas at Arlington

Again” and “The Sugar-Plums” were also published in Garrison’s collection, Juvenile
Poems for the Use of Free American Children of Every Complexion. 67
Chandler’s anti-sugar poetry for children coincided with debates about the
increasing availability of confectionary. For example, The Colored American warned
parents of the danger of confectionary shops and, through its advertisements, promoted
the purchase of free-labor sugar, which suggests the two issues were mutually
reinforcing. In an article published in 1837, the anonymous author despaired of parents
withholding money from their children to spend in confectionary shops. “Most parents
excuse themselves by saying that they don’t spend a ‘great amount’ in confectionery, and
don’t go to a confectionery shop very often,” the author noted. Still, “some men do not
go to brothels very often; but then they go; and they go for the same purposes that those
do, who go to them every night.” Consumption of confectionery, the author concluded,
supported “the whole iniquity” regardless of the number of purchases. 68 The Moral
Reformer, the Christian Watchman, The Friend, and The Boston Recorder all published
similar jeremiads against the consumption of sugar.
Some warnings linked the consumption of sugar to drinking. The Temperance
Advocate and Cold Water Magazine, for example, published the story of Henry Haycroft,
who began drinking as a youth. In one scene, Henry is offered a glass of peppermint
cordial, which he finds so sweet that he takes “a large quantity.” To further emphasize
67 [Elizabeth Margaret Chandler], “Oh Press Me Not to Taste Again” and “The Sugar-Plums,” in
Juvenile Poems for the Use of Free American Children of Every Complexion, 68-69, 19.
68 The Colored American, April 8, 1837. An earlier article in the Episcopal Recorder made
similar links between confectionary shops and brothels. See “Where Are Your Children,” Episcopal
Recorder, December 20, 1834.
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