Dorothea Dix Research Paper

“I come to present the strong claims of suffering humanity. I come to place before the Legislature of Massachusetts the condition of the miserable, the desolate, the outcast. I come as the advocate of helpless, forgotten, insane men and women; of beings sunk to a condition from which the unconcerned world would start with real horror.”

Dorothea Dix is well known for her efforts to reform insane asylums and because of her dedication to changing the lives of help themselves who are in need of assistance, such as the mentally ill and the imprisoned. “She was a leading figure in those national and international movements that challenged the idea that people with mental disturbances could not be cured or helped.” Throughout her years of improving and changing of the prison conditions and the mentally ill, Dorothea Dix has made significant changes through her efforts and can be seen all over the U.S, Canada, and many European Countries.

Institutionalization in the 1800’s was Dorothea Dix was a mover and shaker, who together with a few others in her era was responsible for alleviating the plight of the mentally ill. In the 1800's she found them in jails, almshouses and underneath bridges. She then began her major lobby with legislators and authority figures across the land, to get hospitals built in what was then known as the "Moral Treatment Era." Things did get better, with ups and downs, of course. She visited widely, in the Midwest state hospitals in Independence and Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and Winnebago in Wisconsin ca. 1874.

Dorothea Dix played a huge role in acquiring equal rights for the mentally ill in the 1800s. In this time, the mentally ill had little to no rights. There wasn’t care and support available to them, and instead they were thrown in prisons.

Dorothea Dix once said, "in a world where there is so much to be done, I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do." In the 19th century, when Dorothea Dix was born and lived during, many changes were occurring in the United States. The War of 1812, then the Mexican-American War, and the Civil War all occurred during Dorothea Dix's lifetime, which likely had a large impact on her outlook on the United States and her visions for her own future. Dorothea Dix was a powerful, passionate woman, who change the world through her work in insane asylums and through her work as the head of nurses in the Civil War.

“…her changes are still being felt today with the way mental patients are treated. This one woman accomplished much for humanity within her lifespan.” Dorothea Dix was a great woman activist in history who fought for a great cause. Her fight for Prison reform and the fair treatment of the mentally ill is a great achievement because of the impact it has left on modern day Legal System. She felt the need to bring this topic of Prison Reform to light because of the neglect it faced. Many people went to jail for the pettiest things such as not paying their debt, yet were treated the same as a murder. Another major cause was the mentally ill who had done crimes, but were forced to live cruel living conditions in jail. In Dix’s life she went through

Dorothea Dix was born an raised in Hampden, Maine in 1802. She gave America a new insight on how the mentally ill should be treated and demonstrated the appropriate way to care for others by her call for a reform. Dix was very courageous, she took risks despite the consequences. She was described by most people as the greatest humanitarian, and the most useful and distinguished person in America. This woman changed history by turning America’s views of the mentally ill from cruel and not appearing to have a proper place in the world, into something completely different. Furthermore this led her to develop a practice and asylums that gave the mentally ill another chance at life. In addition as one of the many outstanding leaders

Who was Dorothea Dix? Well, for starters, Dix was an author, teacher, and reformer. In the Civil War, she was a Wartime leader of Union’s Women Nurses, volunteering her services one week after war began. She was the first woman to serve in a high capacity, federally appointed role. She had poor health, which made her bed-bound many times in her life. This is when she wrote most of her books, staying up late to do so.

Dorothea Dix had a huge impact on the invention and expansion of the hospitals for the “mentally ill.” Dorothea Lynde Dix was born in Hampden, Maine, in 1802. She was the oldest of three. Her mother was Mary Bigelow Dix and her father was Joseph Dix. In 1814, she moved to Boston to live with her wealthy grandmother. Her grandmother was a wealthy 70 year old. She took the responsibility to take care of Dorothea and her two brothers. Dorothea, 12 was not used to the wealthy life. She was raised to give to those in need and not to take more than she's was supposed to. Her grandmother wanted Dorothea to act as if she had always been wealthy, but Dorothea did not want that. One day Dorothea gave her new clothing to beggar children which were

she had to take frequent breaks from her career as a teacher. She got a job teaching inmates in an East Cambridge prison. Conditions were very inhumane and rough, she then began agitating at once from their improvement, this was known as the Asylum Movement. Dorothea accomplished similar goals in

Dorothea Dix took a stand by recognizing the importance of establishing mental institutions. Her philosophy saved mentally unstable people from the harsh treatments they once received in jails

“In a world where there is so much to be done. I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do” – Dorothea Dix. Dorothea Dix was a public reformer who championed for the treatment of all people in many different aspects. One of the things she was most known for was her attempt to change society’s thinking on how to treat mental patients. Dix was inspired when she toured many insane asylums throughout her home state of Massachusetts. She was horrified to see how they were being treated; so, she started campaigning for the better handling of patients in such a state. Dorothea Dix would later go on to make a very highly recognized name for herself. Throughout her lifetime, Dix made many substantial impacts to American society.

Dorothea Lynde Dix was a woman who had accomplished much in her life. Not only did her achievements help people with mental illnesses during that time, but also significantly changed the treatment of mentally-ill patients today.

Dorothea Puente appeared to be the sweet old lady that couldn’t hurt a fly, but you can’t judge a book by its cover. When you open Puente’s story, you’ll find a long history of lies, manipulation, and crime. This criminal behavior all began with her troubled childhood. Born January 9, 1929 in Redlands, California, she was originally Dorothea Helen Gray. She was abused by both of her parents who died before she even turned sixteen. Her father died in 1937 from tuberculosis. Her mother being a prostitute, a theft, and very unstable, abandoned Puente and her siblings. A year later, Puente’s mother died in a car crash. By the time Puente was sixteen, she was working in a cathouse as a prostitute. That is where she met her first husband, Fred McFaul,

“CLICK. SNAP.CLICK”, sounds of perfection spilled out of Dorothea’s big Graflex camera. Lange snapped photos of unemployed citizens littering the streets like mice. Yet again she captured an astonishing picture. So life like she captivated just how forgotten these lost souls were. Dorothea Lange is an influential photographer. She traveled all over the U.S during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. She had created such inspirational photo’s that they caught sympathy of the nation. Lange brought change everywhere she went with her photos, her work with the FSA, and the start of her photography career.