In the mid-nineteenth century, the United States was a rapidly changing society. Many Americans were excited by the new possibilities available through the growing population and economic complexity of the time. Others, however, were not as thrilled with the challenges against the traditional values and institutions, along with social instability, inequality, and uncertainty of the future, brought about during this time. This period was called the Antebellum Era. Marking the time before the Civil War and after the War of 1812, the Antebellum Era called for self discovery and reformations that shaped American society.1
The Antebellum Era was the first of four major reform periods in American history.2 One reform in particular that has shaped human rights and rehabilitation is the Prison and Asylum Reforms of the 1830s. The creation of asylums, for criminals and for the mentally ill, was society’s reaction to the overcrowded and inhumane state that criminals of all varieties—debtors, the mentally ill, and even senile paupers—were automatically sectioned to.3 There were many individuals that took charge in leading this reform; one of these reformers was Dorothea Dix.
Dorothea Dix was born on April 4, 1802 in Hampden, District of Maine, Massachusetts. Growing up, Dix had a very difficult childhood. She rarely saw her father, who was a traveling Methodist preacher and writer of tracts, and her mother was often too ill to give attention to the children. Unhappy at home, Dix moved in with her grandmother at the age of twelve, where academic and social discipline were insisted upon. After two years, she was sent to live with her great aunt, where she found her permanent home. Dix soon after opened a school for small children that became successful. After returning to Boston, she opened a school for girls two years later. During the 1820’s Dix became ill with tuberculosis. While recovering from the illness, she became very interested in Unitarianism and the ideas of William Ellery Channing.4 In 1841, she was asked to teach Sunday School for women at the East Cambridge Jail. Upon her arrival she witnessed the innocent and guilty, young and old, sane and insane individuals crowded into an unsegregated group. There was no distinction between the mentally ill and those convicted of a crime. Dix instantly felt that something needed to be done. Dix sought after the help of other reformers, such as Samuel Gridley Howe and Charles Sumner, to guide her as she embarked on this journey. She began surveying hospitals for the insane in Massachusetts. Most of the mentally ill were living in poorhouses or jails, chained, and subjected to horrendous conditions. Dix met up with some of the most renowned doctors in order to search for a humane alternative treatment. After several months, Dix wrote a petition to the Massachusetts Legislature.5
Dorothea Dix’s petition called for psychiatric hospitals to work to cure diseased minds on a foundation of kindness and respect. The creation of asylums was to help rehabilitate and reform mentally unstable patients. Many of the mentally ill were moved out of the jails and were placed in these asylums. Dix continued to work towards improving the care of the mentally ill, which was her primary focus, as she expanded her efforts to prison reform, which she pursued soon after her work on asylum reform.6 Asylum and Prison reforms, still topics of importance today, have changed drastically from the era of Dorothea Dix’s reforms. Dix’s movement for the creation of asylums sparked the reforms of such institutions across the world, causing wholesale reevaluations of current institutions and the adoption of more appropriate facilities for the betterment and care of the mentally ill. Dix’s vision set noble goals for penitentiaries and mental institutions across the nation, which are still challenges we are trying to live up to today. Dorothea Dix’s reform were part of a larger movement of reform in the Antebellum Era, reforms that included reforming gender roles as well as the major reform movement of the era, abolitionism.
- Alan Brinkley, American History: Connecting with the Past Volume 2, 15 edition (New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2015), 315. ↵
- The second wave of reform was at the end of the nineteenth century (The Progressive Era); the third wave was the period of the New Deal in the 1930s, and the fourth wave was the Civil Rights Era of the 1950s and 1960s. ↵
- Brinkley, American History: Connecting with the Past Volume 2, 326. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, January 2016, s.v. “William Ellery Channing,” by James W. Oberly. ↵
- Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, January 2016, s.v. “Dorothea Dix,” by Fred R. Van Hartesveldt. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, September 2013, s.v. “Prison Reform,” by Kathy Warnes. ↵
40 comments
Engelbert Madrid
Although the article is short, I think it does a great job on providing good information on why Dorothea Dix felt there should be a reform that provides proper care and attention to people who suffer mental illness. Furthermore, authorities treated mental-ill people as criminals, which was wrong, because they needed some sort of medical treatment to help them fight their illness.
Samire Adam
Thank you for writing an article that many can learn from. I think many forget the change that insane asylums have progressed during the course of American history. I have previously learned about Dorothea Dix but never looked into this specific subject before and the description of the Bloomingdale Asylum was a new thing for me to learn about. Thank you for writing this article.
Arieana Martinez
It is extremely sickening to read of the horrendous conditions that people in insane asylums endured while living there. Just because they have a mental condition, does not mean that they had to be treated as more of a creature than an actual human. It is because of people like Dorothy Dix that we do not still have horrible conditions, and were able to have reforms within the mental health facilities. She is truly a leader and a strong force who embodies selflessness and integrity.
Roman Olivera
Dorothea Dix definitely was the one who spearheaded the programs that helped mentally ill people get the care they needed and get the out of system that were more harmful than good for them such as the prison system. Today I think that with the closure of many mental health facilities and asylums due to underfunding, abuses and the lack of health care professionals wanted to work in those kind of environments, we have gone backwards in our treatment for these types of people. Sadly today these people are not treated and are living homeless on the streets and overcrowd the jail and prison systems.
Marina Castro
It is not uncommon to read about how mentally ill people were treated inhumanely. People who were mentally ill were outcasts of society. Furthermore, they were treated with the same denigration as someone who committed a crime. Some people broke this stigma, such as Dorothea Dix. She was one of the few people who was able to see beyond an illness and saw a human being.
Destiny Flores
Reading this article caused me to have much respect for Dorothea Dix. Creating humane conditions for the mentally sick and criminal populations can be a huge task to take on due to the immense controversy that comes along with it. I enjoyed how the article laid out the information, first giving a little background of Dix, then following with what motivated her, then following with what she went on to do with that motivation.
Grace Bell
I enjoyed reading this article, and learning about the Antebellum Era. It’s interesting to learn about the Era itself and the influencers of that time, such as Dorothea Dix. I like that you gave a short biography on her in order to get a better understanding of where she’s coming from and her certain beliefs. You did a very good job on this article.
Mario Sosa
This is a very interesting topic, so it makes me wonder why Dorothea Dix’s legacy is often overlooked at in schools. I never knew that there was a time when the mentally ill, criminals and debtors were all crowded together in jail. It is really nice to hear that Dix’s reforms had such a great influence around the world. Very enlightening article, good work!
Belene Cuellar
I’m so upset at the state mentally ill people were kept in, I can’t believe they were treated like animals and kept in such unsanitary conditions. The author clearly did their research well and introduced a very important person Dorthea Dix. I’ve only heard superficial facts about her, but this article went into depth about her life and how she dedicated herself in helping the mentally ill be treated in humane conditions.
Natalia Zuniga
Interesting article! I can tell you did a lot of research fo this. I never knew about Dorothea Dix or anything related this. This a great article and so interesting because of how they would pleading insanity instead of jail. The photo of the drawing of the Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane was great and caught my attention, as well as your photo Dorothea Dix. Overall great article!