In the late 19th century, Hypnotism reached the United States bringing with it medical and legal ramifications. This guide provides access to materials related to "Hypnotism" in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers.
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About Chronicling America
Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages through 1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
Introduction
Despite hypnotism’s deep roots in ancient culture, most Americans weren’t even aware of the practice until the late 1800’s. In a matter of a few decades, hypnotism moves from obscurity to becoming a valid medical practice, even serving as a legal defense against murder. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
Timeline
1882-1892
Influenced by its popularity in Europe, Americans begin to take an interest in hypnotism.
August 1896
Scientists invent a hypnosis machine, built to both perform and measure hypnosis.
1896-1917
Usefulness of hypnosis in the medical field becomes a huge debate, with the general consensus being that it’s a medical breakthrough.
1919-1921
For the first time ever, the U.S. court considers hypnotism to be a valid defense against criminal prosecution. This ruling creates huge debate in the legal field for the legality of hypnotism.