How Did Dorothea Dix Treat Women In Jail

The nurse I decided to write about is Dorothea Dix. She was an author, teacher, and a reformer. Dix fought for the mentally ill and prisoners on how they were treated across the United States as well as in Europe. She established many hospitals for the mentally ill, along with how the mentally ill can be helped or even cured. Her troubling background and family history served as an impact of her career. Dix started off with creating an elementary school within her grandmother’s home. She desired to be a school teacher and wanted to share her knowledge to young women “who dominated the teaching profession” (ncbi). Along with all of her accomplishments with teaching and being an advocate for the mentally ill, Dix volunteered during the American Civil War and was appointed to organize the Union Army hospitals as well as oversee majority of the nursing staff (history).

Ida Tarbell became one of the most influential muckrakers of the Gilded age. Ida Tarbell was born in 1857 in western Pennsylvania 's oil region. Her town of Titusville and encompassing territories in the oil river valley had been created into a prosperous industry.Then suddenly this town received a detrimental blow. That blow originated from the South Improvement Company, an enterprise established in 1871 and generally viewed as an exertion by Rockefeller and Standard Oil in Ohio to control the oil and gas ventures in that district.The three top railroads that ran through Cleveland agreed to raise their shipping fees while paying rebates to Rockefeller .Small oil refiners were hurt from these brutal tactics and Ida decided to write “ The History Of Standard Oil Company” which exposed these harsh business practices

She first discovered how horrendously the prisons were treating the prisoners and immediately took off for court and guaranteed heat and other improvements for the prisoners. Dix also tried to grant more than 12 million acres of land to be used for the benefit of the mentally ill. If a person were to encounter Dorothea Dix in the 1800s it would be either a negative or a positive encounter, this is said because if a male was talking to her it would be more of a negative encounter than if a female were to be talking to her.

In the 1840’s there was a wave of democratization created after Jackson’s presidency. It was created the value of the common man, and the importance of every person who was in the government. Of course, there were exceptions to this rule as there still certain groups like blacks or women that were viewed as inferior, but the majority of the population felt like they had worth. This led to series of reforms: hospitals for the mentally ill, schools for people with physical disabilities, the temperance movement, and labor unions. This movements fought a better society with better treatment even though there would be no economic incentives to do so.

The efforts made by the feminist movement of the Antebellum-era set forth a precedent for the expansion of women’s rights in the decades following and up until present day. The patriarchal society that had controlled the nation since its birth was finally met with opposition from those who had been oppressed for so long. Through the dismissal of restrictive gender roles and expectations, the voices of women were finally allowed to influence decision making, and ultimately create changes that would promote equal opportunity for all

¨Ain I got a right to talk to nobody…?¨ This is a line directly said from Curly’s wife in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck introduced Curly’s wife as a tart, eyeing men up and down, while married, and always finding herself in the men’s cabin area. He also introduces her as a lonely average wife during the 1900s, having nothing to look forward too. Steinbeck gives information about what women felt like during these tough times, especially how lonely they were, and how they couldn’t follow their own dreams.

The issue of women’s rights and how different societies and cultures deal with it had been on the table for many centuries. In the United States of America during the 1800s, women began to move toward and demand getting equal rights as men, they decided to speak up and fight for their stolen rights. In the 1960s, continued working toward their goal, women broadened their activities through the women’s rights movement which aimed to help them in gaining their right to receive education, occupy the same jobs that were once titled only for men, and get an access to leadership positions. The women’s rights movement has a great impact on women today, although it started a long time ago, but it did not stop and women are reaping their fruit today,

During the 1800’s, those who saw social prejudice or corruption started many reform movements to correct the difficulties in America. The Second Great Awakening really helped shape the United States into a religious nation and paved the way through the reform movements, while stressing individual choice that caused an uprising in denominations leading to followers by the masses. Antislavery abolitionism became a movement mostly because of influence from the religious revival that was taking place, and demonstrating to all of those religious that slavery is a sin.

Her first name, Sojourner, means that she was to “travel up an´down the land, showin´ people their sins.”

One of the major impacts that women had on progressivism was their backlash against traditional roles in society. “Many women were having fewer children, and more women began looking for activities outside the home. Some educated women shunned marriage entirely, believing that only by remaining single could they play roles in the public world” (Brinkley, 481). Essentially, women began focusing on their education and careers and spent less time thinking of marriage and starting a family. They were removing the stigma of women being subjected to the household by pursing more activities in the public sector of society. “Beginning in the 1880s, women’s clubs began largely as cultural organizations to provide women with an outlet for their intellectual energies” (Brinkley, 481). Women began gathering as groups to assess issues in society and this was the mark of a cultural shift. This is because prior to these groups, women had a limited voice in society and had little interaction with the public. Now, that women were more involved they began to create a voice for themselves during the Progressive Era. This then led to the battle for woman’s suffrage. “Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote… if we are to consider her as a citizen, as a member of a great nation, she must have the same rights as all other members” (Brinkley, 483). Woman began fighting for equality by pushing for voting rights. Furthermore, women affected progressivism by developing roles outside of the household and also urging for suffrage which led to the passage of the 19th amendment that granted women the right to

Before the eighteenth century, mental illness was thought to be a problem spiritually. Whenever people started acting weird ,they were thought to be wracked with sin or even possessed by demons (“The Asylum Movement”, 1997). One woman, Dorothea Dix, became a reformer for mentally ill patients. Dix was not alone, however. In addition, a woman named Nellie Bly, a journalist, also helped show the inhumane treatments of the mentally ill. Finally, they could not have had their success without stories like that of Rhoda Derry, a patient. The Asylum Movement would have never begun if it was not for the handiwork of Dorothea Dix, Nellie Bly, and Rhoda Derry.

Under article 8 of the Bill of Human Rights it states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted (The Eighth Amendment).” Placing a mentally ill inmate inside four walls away from any social interaction and medical attention is in fact cruel. As said by a federal judge, putting a mentally ill person in segregation is the “equivalent of putting an asthmatic in a place with little air to breathe (Wallace 11).” A mentally ill person needs help, not a poor environment in which they won’t get any better. Not only does solitary confinement mess with the mind, but it inflicts inmates to self-harm in any way possible. According to Bassett, 50% of suicides occur inside solitary confinmenet (419). Not to mention, inmates are sometimes physically abused by the guards in power. Through the Solitary Nation documentary, it is seen that guards sometimes have to use bigger forces like a toxic gas to get an inmate out of their cell. While it makes sense that guards have to do it for their own protection, there needs to be thought about why inmates do the things they do. When inmates suffer from their mental illnesses, they begin to lose their sense of reality as well as sense of right and wrong. It is not valid to say that these mentally ill people act out because they want to

During the 19th century Women still were not allowed to vote or be in politics. Women were an accessory to men; they were pretty and could produce children. They were there to do the cleaning around the house so the men didn’t have to. They weren’t something anyone appreciated. They weren’t “smart enough” to vote, or have anything to do with politics or government because they were women. They weren’t given a chance because men had already decided for them, they didn’t pick to be a woman, yet men acted as if they did. But Nellie Tayloe Ross changed history for all women.

Some of the adjustments made during this time included women holding a higher social status, attending Ivy League colleges, defending a client in court, and holding high-ranked political offices. The bringing about of these new changes not only helped the feminist group progress but helped encourage other innovated groups to progress as well. Today their example has helped shape feminist groups that are still pushing for more of an equal status to men. Although not easy, women were able to overcome many unique challenges during this era and therefore made it possible for women to gain equal rights reshaping our country to what it is

Women have always played an important role in the history of the United States. Throughout different time periods, their roles in society and in government have changed in many ways. Whether women were helping the war manufacturing effort, striving for suffrage, helping soldiers during the war, or just raising their children; their roles have been influential to the social structure of the United States today. Their desire for equal rights, their willingness to help American soldiers, and the absence of men in the workplace are responsible for the changing role of women.