Nineteenth century America experienced an onslaught of changes as the nation moved towards industrialization. People were able to travel farther and faster, to buy ready-made clothes and even experience an equal marriage partnership, but the nineteenth century still possessed fears such as early death from disease and continuous cycles of economic depression. A time period that many Americans nostalgically idealize as lazy plantation days in hoop skirts, or newly bustling cities, is in fact a multi-faceted society bursting with advancements in technology and ideology which is constantly plagued with the fear of early death.
All of these new human advances led the nation to question their religious roots, but this quest for self, left Americans searching for completeness. Mesmerism brought not only hope in a new medical advancement, but also a way to fill the void that Puritan religion once filled; therefore, filling the void that advancement left in many Americans. 1 Mesmerism, or animal magnetism, finds its origins in the practice of a Viennese physician, Franz Anton Mesmer, who first practiced the art in the late 1700s. Johann Gassner, Mesmer's contemporary, claimed he could perform the same healing, which he felt were exorcisms, simply by touching people; the difference between their practices was that Mesmer believed that he was not using supernatural powers, but rather he had discovered "the scientific principle of disease." 2 Mesmer believed a strange magnetic fluid existed throughout the entire universe, which he could manipulate in order to heal ailing individuals. 3 In 1779 Mesmer published twenty-seven principles called Reflections on the Discovery of Animal Magnetism which discussed his beliefs in detail. One of his greatest and most intriguing claims, "There is only one illness and one healing," implying that contemporary medicine was bogus and unnecessary. Conventional physicians did not respond enthusiastically to Mesmer's new cure-all, as his methods challenged their professions and attempts to cure diseases. Still, word spread of Mesmer's success eventually hit Paris, a center for Enlightenment thinking, where his name became famous. 4
Due to the popularity and fantastic claims of Mesmer and other proponents of this new healing, Louis XVI appointed two separate government commissions consisting of respected physicians and scientists to review the validity of animal magnetism. 5 The commissions studied over 100 patients that Mesmer and his colleagues had treated and the conclusion stated: " 'There is no proof of the existence of Animal Magnetism' " and that no such universal fluid existed. After the commission's publication Mesmer began to lose popularity among Parisian intellectuals. 6 Regardless of the commission's findings many Europeans and Americans of all social standing clung to the suggestive healing power that animal magnetism proclaimed. 7 In fact, mesmerism was viewed as a form of applied psychology and although usually seen as mere entertainment among poorer and uneducated Americans, many intellectuals regarded the practices of animal magnetism and phrenology to be scientific theory. 8
The first mention of mesmerism in Athens was 3 March 1843, which is actually a story from the Charleston Observer, giving a brief history of the roots of mesmerism. The article also mentions the commissions, commenting that Benjamin Franklin was on the panel to provide creditability for the public, and finds that there is no existence of animal magnetism. Another point the article makes is that Charleston just received news of mesmerism in the past few weeks. Athenians access to the Charleston Observer allowed them insight into animal magnetism until a lecturer would visit in the next few years. The article not only provides a history of mesmerism, but mentions clairvoyance, which was thought to go hand in hand with mesmerism. Still, the article mentions the concerns of many antebellum Americans and that is the potential danger of the power to control someone's mind and actions. "It will be hard for us to believe that God permits all this… unless we have stronger and more conclusive evidence," the writer sums up many fears for the religious community that Mesmer's works may be satanic. 9
Charles Caldwell a physician from Kentucky and advocator for mesmerism published, Facts In Mesmerism in 1842, in which he sought to explain facts and uses of the potential science to answer questions and quell the doubts of the public. He addressed many issues including, the agent involved in the process, the fear of the misuse of mesmerism, and opposition to religion. Caldwell claimed that mesmerism was the proper name to use instead of animal magnetism, because the word magnetism implies a known source for the procedure. Instead, Caldwell insisted that mesmerism consisted of a "peculiar influence… by the eyes or the entire countenance and the will." Others, including Mesmer himself felt the exact opposite. 10 In the August 10th edition of The Southern Banner, 1843, an article about the agent in animal magnetism appeared based on the experiments of a Rochester writer for the Daily Advertise. The writer, T. J. Smith, claimed to have put a subject in a "magnetic" state and he accomplished this with the use of electrical machines. Due to these procedures the writer concluded that the agent in mesmerism was electricity. He claimed that his subject was only able to summon the use of all his powers with the help of the machine using electricity. Smith also claimed that he had "succeeded in putting a person in communion with the subject" through the use of the machine, and the new subject had complete control over the first. Again, Smith felt that the only way the second subject had control over the first was by through the use of electricity employed by the machine. 11
To the misuse Caldwell makes the point that any discovery can be twisted and employed for evil, even acknowledging that "all past discoveries and inventions have been thus employed" in corruption. Cleverly he makes a plea to the religious community to educate themselves about mesmerism so they can make sure it is only used for good purposes. 12 In contrast, in 1846 a proponent of mesmerism wrote in the Southern Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy that mixing and religion and mesmerism would only add to the skeptic's argument, and a bad light would be shed on both mesmerism and Christianity. He was right because anti-mesmerist linked mesmerism with ill-reputed religious movements in order to discredit its validity. 13 Although, Caldwell sought to eradicate the doubts of the public his book was published in 1842, and in 1843 and 1846 people were still concerned with the dangerous potential of mesmerism as seen in the town of Charleston and the articles in The Southern Banner. Anti-mesmerist sentiment outside of the medical community stemmed mostly from the threat it imposed on "one of the great goals of nineteenth-century society: the achievement of self-control." 14 The introduction mentions that Caldwell's book was not widely read during the years that mesmerism flourished. This fact seems odd that intellectuals did not want to read a book written by a physician that might answers their questions about mesmerism.
Despite the number of skeptics, reforming and intellectual movements found widespread acceptance in nineteenth century America largely due to the nation's desire for a "democratic utopianism" and "the ultimate perfectibility of American society." 15 As America began their need for bigger, better, more in the antebellum age, mesmerism and its sister rage phrenology were able to offer suggestions on how to unlock the secrets of the human mind. Yet, when the next fad from Europe arrived these two ideologies were likely to be abandoned, but not for many years as the fever for mesmerism and the ability to control the mind grew. Animal magnetism swept the United States in the late1830s, only the type that took hold was actually the technique of Mesmer's disciple, A. J. M. de Chastenet, the Marquis de Puységur, which focused on the subconscious mind rather than the entire body. 16
Lectures became a form of recreation and more importantly a forum for education to the people in antebellum America. Topics such as music, science, and reform were addressed to mixed crowds, but mostly to the elite of the community. The lecture tours, which had previously addressed phrenology and helped contribute to its popularity, proved to spark interest in the United States and to the eventual lost of interest in phrenology. In Athens, Georgia, lectures flourished and became such a part of Athens life that the town council granted "educational entertainment explicit exemption from town taxation." In doing this Athens sought to distinguish lectures from other types of entertainment the council found less sophisticated. Construction of a lyceum became the next step that Athens took in order to make "useful information" more easily available to the city. 17
Animal Magnetism gained sizeable followers when Charles Poyen launched a lecture tour in 1836 in Boston, which spread down the eastern seacoast. Articles in southern journals and newspapers appeared addressing animal magnetism like The Southern Banner in 1843 and 1846, which included advertisements and reviews of lectures. One writer for The Southern Banner critiqued and commented upon hearing a lecture and demonstration of mesmerism by a traveling speaker in the 12 May 1846 edition of the newspaper. It has taken three years since the first hearing of mesmerism to be able to hear and see someone perform the act of animal magnetism. Convinced of Mr. Mills's ability he claims that if the whole experiment proved false, "Mr. Mills is certainly one of the most successful magicians we have ever seen." The Banner reporter noted the conversion of many listeners, but that some people remained skeptical. 18
A second article referring to Mr. Mills lecture on animal magnetism appeared in The Southern Banner a week later critiquing his performance and simply titled 'ANIMAL MAGNETISM'. The writer mentions that this is the first time in Athens that "our citizens have met with a successful experimenter in the science," and that many doubters now believed that mesmerism had some value. Mills produced, "magnetic sleep," paralyzed participants extremities, and gained full control over their actions. The next sentence reveals the journalist's disappointment that no phrenology and clairvoyance were part of the animal magnetism demonstration, which suggests that the many Athenians present at the lecture were intellectuals searching for scientific explanation. The last sentence of the article shows the writer's discontent with the fantastic performance that Mr. Mills displayed in his lecture. The writer felt there would have been more converts if Mr. Mills had been "a little less extravagant in his assertions;" Mills performed many acts demonstrating animal magnetism, but did not talk enough about mesmerism itself. 19
Despite this semi-negative reaction lectures were important everywhere in the nation for the spread of animal magnetism, more so on the East Coast because most lecturers came from Europe and due to the large concentration of Americans in the east than elsewhere in the country. Announcements and reviews of lectures more than likely provided a way for smaller towns, without the ability to house a lecture, to gain knowledge and information on this phenomenon. Charleston, for example housed many lectures and in the early years papers like the Observer provided information on animal magnetism that Georgians otherwise may not have known about until years later as the lecturers moved further south. 20
As seen in the Southern Banner articles there were several speculative uses for animal magnetism. For many intellectuals possible medicinal advantages were first and foremost important. Several physicians in Charleston thought mesmerism could be important to use as anesthesia or and for relief of pain. Dr. John Elliotson, of England lectured about the many medical uses animal magnetism, while articles were published that it could be used to treat physical and mental illnesses. Many Charleston intellectuals and physicians were skeptical about attaching themselves to such a fantastic procedure with possibly no scientific backing, but some like physicians claimed to have "performed painful operations while the patients were mesmerized." Elliotson was later forced by his fellow English physicians to cancel lectureships at hospitals in London and eventually became an outcast due to his support of animal magnetism. Many Charleston physicians also felt pressure from their colleagues and some like Robert Gibbs publicly announced their support of mesmerism while others remained silent. 21
In 1838, a traveling mesmerist to Charleston claimed put his participants into states where they could diagnose illness and travel around the world and in time. Other mesmerists courted the masses by claiming to cure every kind of sickness, which provided entertainment and a folk cure that citizens originally from secluded regions could relate to. In Charleston an outbreak of traveling mesmerists brought a controversy in 1843, the first year that such a traveler visited Athens. A number of lecture series and exhibitions linked mesmerism with the general public's view of mesmerism including a Boston newspaper, which said the Charleston citizens were being " 'Mesmeric and Mermaidish.' " The sensationalism over the mermaid incident caused some physicians and intellectuals to finally publicly denounce mesmerism, while others announced their belief and support of mesmerism. 22 Charles Caldwell found the critics of his field to be exhausting and he suggested that they at least research mesmerism and then decide its validity. He even tried to publish an article in the Western Journal of Medicine and Surgery, but they refused to print his work because they felt it was an unworthy topic. 23
Whereas mesmerism was concentrated among the aristocracy in Europe, a large middle class welcomed mesmerism in the United States. Average Americans began to go on lecture tours across the nation, and also formulate psychological theories they published. Middle class Americans contributed to the popular need among the unchurched nation of a new way of dealing with spiritual and psychological problems due to their new industrialized lives. Mesmerism also catered to the lower classes as a form of entertainment. Large crowds flocked to see people under the influence of animal magnetism, but in reality the act was only "stage hypnotism." Serious mesmerists saw the danger in this sideshow production of animal magnetism. What they believed to be a magnetic force used to influence the subconscious for medical reasons, both physiologically and psychologically, was now being used to sway the masses. People were responding to the most ridiculous commands with complete submission and the whole production tainted the connection animal magnetism had with the scientific community. 24
Mesmerism continued to produce a continual wave of followers with an equal amount of skeptics. Largely, the scientific community could not place faith in a procedure like animal magnetism without more concrete evidence, which was a virtual impossibility. This inability to produce hard facts caused mesmerism to become the forerunner and catalyst of American psychology. Proponents of mesmerism were could not decide whether it was a part of physiology or was part of something outside the physical realm and into the supernatural. This indecision allowed both the scientific and religious community to explore the possibilities of mesmerism without denying their respective alignments. While scientists continued to study the potential of mesmerism many concluded that it had the ability to affect brain activity. Dr. Joseph Buchanan demonstrated through mesmerism that the outside world provided information to the brain. This finding led to the discovery that the brain receives sensations. The first comes physically by way of the five senses, and the second was through "spiritual or nonphysical sensations." Buchanan and some his colleagues began to submit the idea that the brain can be influenced by the power of imagination and suggestion, and that mesmerism aided psychologically in the healing process. Most Americans committed to Mesmer and his belief in animal magnetism felt that without the outside physical force of magnets or electricity that the theory would lack meaning. 25
At the close of the 1840s intellectuals and scientists began to lose interest in mesmerism and phrenology. In Charleston the mesmerism's popularity was at its greatest in the early 1840s, but the decline began as early as 1843 when the mermaid controversy caused a rift in the scientific community. 26 At the start of the twentieth century mesmerism had become a forgotten topic of public interest. There are two reasons that contributed to the fading of mesmerism from American pop culture. One is the emphasis of scientific psychology and a second is the revival movements among the American church. As American society recognized the scientific basis of psychology, mesmerism began to be seen as too unscientific to include in the new expanding field. Serious psychologists wishing to assert the discipline's new authoritative place in science distanced themselves from mesmerism and phrenology. Also, church membership growth surpassed the rate of the nation's population growth. The church began to liberalize its theology and pastoral care, which allowed the church to continue its care of an ever-changing and industrializing society. Eventually, church counseling became a psychological approach to ministry. 27
In conclusion, mesmerism and Animal Magnetism had a profound effect on America in many different ways. From science to popular culture to literature, people were literally mesmerized by the numerous implications of mesmerism. Authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe were intrigued by mesmerism and both wrote stories concerning mesmerism. All communities debated and embraced the possibility of influencing the subconscious through an outside force. Although short-lived as a spectacular presence in the collective American thought, mesmerism will never be snuffed out of existence. As the pre-cursor to psychology mesmerism and the fad it caused in the mid-1840s will always be a part of American culture, although not as potent as in antebellum America.