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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.
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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.
An 1893 article speculates dreams are how God speaks to us. Two turn-of-the-century scientists theorized dreams predict physical illness or bodily pain. Modern psychologists wrangled with the meaning of dreams for decades, until Sigmund Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis and the subconscious swept the country. 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.
| March 1893 | Dr. Talmage gives a public discourse explaining dreams as God’s way of communicating special messages with humans. |
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| 1902 | MM. N. Vaschide and H. Pieron of the Paris Institute claim that dreams are mental manifestations of physical maladies. |
| 1911 | Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams and ideas of the subconscious receive attention in the United States. |
| 1920 | Dr. Wilfred Lay publishes an essay on how Freud’s theories can be used to better our lives. |
| 1922 | In response to the critical acclaim Freud’s theories received Dr. Lean Gorodiche, foremost neurologist of France, warns “society women, business girls and flappers, beware of psychoanalysis!” |
