Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience! Her appeal was a legislative petition, a sermon and a compelling statement of factual details. Her lobbying resulted in the immediate enlargement of the Worcester Asylum. To the Legislature of Massachusetts. Menu Home Memories Log in. Image by Freepik from www. Burial Location. Get Directions. Ground-Level Cemetery View. Share a Memory. Close Update Image. Dorothea Dix crusaded tirelessly for reform in the treatment of prisoners and the mentally ill.
She succeeded in inspiring the creation of over institutions for the mentally ill. Read More. Dorothea Dix: A Biographical Portrait. Her father was a travelling Methodist minister who wrote and sold religious tracts and her grandfather Elijah Dix was a wealthy Boston physician and chemical manufacturer.
At the age twelve Dix moved to Boston to live with her widowed grandmother Dorothy Dix. Two years later she moved in with a great-aunt in Worcester and opened her own school for small children.
She was quite a talented teacher and in , at the age of seventeen, Dix opened a school for girls in Boston. Dix attended school in Boston and tutored children. She became ill several times and was forced to stop teaching. During one of her bouts of illness her physicians suggested she spend time in Europe.
While visiting overseas, Dix met with groups of reformers interested in changing the way the mentally ill were cared for. Once Dix returned to the United States, she set out to tour mental hospitals across the country. She often reported her findings to several politicians. Dix pushed states to care for the unfortunate. Although many politicians disagreed with her work, she moved forward. She worked to pass federal legislation that would create a national asylum, though the bill did not pass.
Dix also toured overseas, reporting on the conditions of hospitals in various countries. When the Civil War started, Dix completely dedicated herself to the Union cause. Although many believed she set impossibly high standards for recruited nurses, the army of nurses was extremely successful and crucial in advancing the role of nurses in the war and in the medical field. Dix was also known for treating both Confederate and Union soldiers, a practice which gained her respect from many. She moved to England to recuperate, and ended up learning about reform and treatment of the mentally ill.
This became a pivotal moment in her life and career; after witnessing the terrible living conditions of inmates and the mentally ill, she devoted herself to a life of advocacy and reform.
She delivered her findings in a notorious sermon to the Massachusetts legislature, which immediately resulted in the enlargement of the Worcester Asylum. Dix continued campaigning for improved conditions for the mentally ill, influencing legislation in 15 states and Canada, and establishing 32 state hospitals, which ultimately created over new institutions. Dix emphasized improvement for the mentally ill through clean, spacious atmospheres, daily routines, meaningful employment, intellectual stimulation, religious instruction, and personal identity.
This same system was later applied to inmates, as she pushed for penal reform in with the support of Charles Sumner. The soldiers first refused Dix to talk to them, while they understood her and became friends with her. Dix also set guidelines for the nurses to follow.
For instance, the volunteers should be at the age of and were not allowed to wear jewelry. In the late years, Dix was disappointed by the situation that the hospitals could not operate efficiently due to the overflowing immigrants. She retired at 79, and she was died in Close Drawer. Individual Entries. Explore By Topic. Guides, Videos, and Rubrics. How to Create an Entry.
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