Wards of the State

    The nineteenth century is the period where correctional institutes, poor relief, and the care for the insane truly set their roots in the ground. Awareness was aroused among each community, city, state, and finally the country. Through the hardwork of certain individuals such as Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Samuel Gridley Howe, troubled misdemeanants, indigent poors, deaf-mutes and blinds, and despised insanes were corrected, protected, educated, and cared. These innovative reforms have taken away the veil of discrimination, distance, and disinterest between men and created communities of compassion that serve as examples for many years to come.