People, Ideas, and Movements That Shaped New Thought
Original historical documents and archival materials.
This article traces the long-delayed publication of Phineas Quimby’s manuscripts, edited by Horatio Dresser in 1921, and explores how this edition settled debates about Quimby’s influence on Christian Science and solidified his place as a founder of the New Thought movement.
William Walker Atkinson, a pioneering New Thought author, wrote over 100 books under numerous pseudonyms including Yogi Ramacharaka and Theron Q. Dumont. This article explores how his use of anonymity shaped metaphysical publishing and influenced movements from yoga to the Law of Attraction.
New Thought periodicals like The Nautilus, New Thought (Chicago), Unity, and Science of Mind were the movement’s backbone, spreading metaphysical ideas and creating a national community. This article traces their editors, histories, and lasting influence on American spirituality and self-help culture.
This article examines how early 20th-century dictionaries and encyclopedias defined the New Thought movement, revealing its core principles, its relationship to Christian Science and mental healing, and its place in American religious history.
New Thought primary sources—books, magazines, letters, and archives—form the documentary backbone of the metaphysical movement that emerged in the 19th century. These materials, including works by Mary Baker Eddy, Thomas Troward, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, and Phineas Quimby, reveal the movement’s teachings and its distinction from scientific and medical claims.
