This was a great comfort to grieving people. They had no closure. Death on this scale hadn’t happened before. This great loss and immense sorrow of so many families contributed to the rise and appeal of Spiritualism. Spiritualism gave someone a chance to speak to their loved one or hear from a medium that their loved one was at peace. It is estimated that 750,000 men died in the Civil War - hundreds of thousands of families who were unable to be with their loved ones when they passed. They never saw the body. The Civil War changed that for thousands of families. Prior to the Civil War, when a loved one died the family handled the process at home. The dying would be surrounded by family and friends. Wakes and funerals were held in homes allowing people the chance to grieve together. He produced portraits that had ghostly images in the background or near the person being photographed. Former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln was one of Mumler’s clients. She visited him after her husband’s murder. His photograph of her had an image of Abraham Lincoln behind her with his hands on her shoulders. Whether this was a scam or not, it gave many comfort to think their dead loved ones were near even if they couldn’t see them. These pictures were published in newspapers and Spiritualism benefited despite critics and proof that some of these pictures were manipulated. Mumler was a well-known spirit photographer during the mid-1800s. There were plenty of photographs that were produced during this time that made it look like spirits were revealed through this scientific process of capturing images on paper. William H. Invention and science were factors in the popularity of Spiritualism in the mid-1800s. Some even saw Spiritualism as a scientific religion. The invention of photography played into Spiritualism beautifully. This brand-new technology fascinated and terrified at the same time. Photography allowed us to see the unseen or what we are unable to see from our perspective. Photographs taken from hot air balloons gave people their first aerial images of towns and cities. Civil War photographs showed death and destruction on a scale that few had ever seen. Why did Spiritualism become such a phenomenon during the mid-1800s? First, we need to look at the two previous centuries. The 16th and 17th centuries in America were dominated by a very puritanical form of Christianity. Anyone who practiced anything like Spiritualism during that time would have been risking their life. It is estimated that thousands of people were executed for witchcraft in Europe and America during those centuries. Life was very rural, harsh, and rigid and people were held to very strict mores. It was a matter of life or death.Īmerica was drastically changing in the mid-1800s. There was more industrialization and urbanization, which meant cities were growing and work was evolving. Inventions and science were transforming how people looked at the world around them. Immigrants were bringing in new religious practices and beliefs into American towns. There was literature and scientific discoveries that challenged religious beliefs and the Bible. America was on the verge of a Civil War and tensions were high. People were looking for assurance because life seemed uncertain.Īnother big factor for the rise of Spiritualism was that people were not as comforted by traditional Christian beliefs when loved ones died. The death of children especially led parents to seek comfort in other places besides their community church. Spiritualism offered grieving people solace while coping with their loss. All these factors helped create an opening for Spiritualism to rise. Spiritualism may conjure up many skeptical thoughts for us today, but this was a real movement that millions of people wholeheartedly believed and participated in. Spiritualism has been considered a religion, a fad, a hoax but whatever our thoughts it was a national phenomenon during the mid-1800s. They believed we could communicate with those who have died. Spiritualists would hold meetings in homes or community buildings where lectures would be given or séances would be conducted so people could speak to their dead loved ones. There were demonstrations by mediums and other sensitive individuals who would bring forth the dead, who would communicate via knocks on the walls or floors. Spiritualists didn’t build churches or have preachers.
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