During the American Civil War, he enlisted on April 5, 1861, in the Second Regiment of the Virginia Infantry of the Union Army.

[5] Following his honorable discharge from the military, Graham engaged in the leather business in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.

[7] Elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fifth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William A.

He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Ventilation and Acoustics during the Sixtieth Congress, and of the United States House Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Agriculture during the Sixty-first Congress.

[9][10] After his time in Congress, Graham served as a member of the Allegheny County Board of Viewers from 1911 to 1923.