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Lincoln's Dreams: An Analysis Of The Sixteenth President's 'Night Terrors' And Other Chimeras, Lucas R. Somers

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Decades before Freud revealed his revolutionary dream theory, Americans became fascinated with the reported dreams of their greatest hero, Abraham Lincoln. Immediately following Lincoln’s assassination, accounts of his dreams and visions were recorded and made public by those who were close to him during his presidency. This thesis evaluates the three most famous dreams and visions that have been ascribed to Lincoln, as their legitimacy is often doubted. Five additional dreams that are more easily documented are also discussed, and, when taken together, they reveal a significant aspect of Lincoln’s worldview and reflect the complicated nature of belief systems in …