Social Reforms of America: Early to Mid 19th Century
Dorothea Dix (1802-1887)
Dorothea Dix was an American activist and social reformer who reported the abuses in prison to the legislature and formed the first generation of American mental asylums. She has been honored by the United States Postal Service with a 1¢ Great Americans series postage stamp.
Born to Joseph Dix and Mary Bigelow in Hampden, Maine on April 4, 1802, she then lived respectively in Worcester, Massachusetts and in Boston for her early life.
She opened a school in Boston in 1821 and afterwards began home-teaching poor and neglected children. In 1831, she opened a girl model school and ran the school for five years.
In order to recover her failing health, she went to England in 1836 to meet the Rathbone family, who were Quakers and prominent social reformers and invited her to stay in Greenbank, Liverpool for a year. There she met people believed in government-supported care.
Born to Joseph Dix and Mary Bigelow in Hampden, Maine on April 4, 1802, she then lived respectively in Worcester, Massachusetts and in Boston for her early life.
She opened a school in Boston in 1821 and afterwards began home-teaching poor and neglected children. In 1831, she opened a girl model school and ran the school for five years.
In order to recover her failing health, she went to England in 1836 to meet the Rathbone family, who were Quakers and prominent social reformers and invited her to stay in Greenbank, Liverpool for a year. There she met people believed in government-supported care.
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After returning to America, She began her visit to the prisons in Massachusetts in 1841 and finished the preparation of her report within a few years. She gave her report in the legislative session in January in 1847. In the following years, she successfully helped form hospitals for mentally ill patients in many states, including the Dorothea Dix Hospital, which was named in honor of her, and the Harrisburg State Hospital, the first mental hospital in Pennsylvania.
The Bill for Benefit of the Indigent Insane was her land bill which first passed both houses of Congress but later vetoed by President Franklin Pierce. Stung by the defeat of her land bill, she traveled to Europe and England in 1854 and 1855 and again visited the Rathbones.
During the Civil War, She was appointed Superintendent of Union Army Nurses.
However, as her health went worse in later years, she moved into the New Jersey State Hospital, Morris Plains, where the state legislature designated a suite for her private use as long as she lived. She died on July 17, 1887, and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Bill for Benefit of the Indigent Insane was her land bill which first passed both houses of Congress but later vetoed by President Franklin Pierce. Stung by the defeat of her land bill, she traveled to Europe and England in 1854 and 1855 and again visited the Rathbones.
During the Civil War, She was appointed Superintendent of Union Army Nurses.
However, as her health went worse in later years, she moved into the New Jersey State Hospital, Morris Plains, where the state legislature designated a suite for her private use as long as she lived. She died on July 17, 1887, and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
