Dorothea DixParticipation: Mariana Blaceri & Jackie Mena

Dorothea Lynne Dix was born April 4, 1802 to Joseph Dix and Mary Bigelow Dix.

Mother was not in a healthy mental state, and the father was an abusive alcoholic.

Harsh conditions led her to care for 3 young brothers and later states “I never knew childhood.

Early Life :-)

Dorothea Dix

At age 15 she was faced with her first class of 20 students between the of 6-8.

By the time she was 20 she began to teach two classes.

Early Career

At the age of 39, Dix volunteered to teach Sunday School to women inmates at The East Cambridge Jail.

While teaching at the jail, Dix became aware of the harsh living conditions pertaining to especially to the mentally ill.

Seeing this helped her take matters into her own hands and change how the mentally ill were treated not only in MA, but in the newley growing America.

Secondary Career

After witnessing the conditions, she immediately took the information to her local court and won.

She then visited many jailhouses around Massachusetts to ensure the mentally ill were housed separately from the jailhouses.

Later every jailhouse in MA was investigated to relocate the mentally ill from the jailhouses.

Reforming Massachusetts

Once MA was fully investigated, Dix managed to travel along the east side of the Mississippi River.

She established 32 mental hospitals, 15 school for the feeble-minded, a house for the blind, and many training facilities for nurses.

Reforming America

After being denied 5 million acres of land to be set aside by the government to aid the mentally ill, she grew tired and decided to travel.

She traveled to England, Scotland, France, Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and Germany.

Whilst there she inspected many jailhouses and almshouses and successfully reformed the way the mentally ill were treated.

Reforming Europe

In 1854, she returned from her crusade and continued to reform the jailhouses in the states she had missed before.

The state of New Jersey to notice in Dix and decided to build a mental hospital through her efforts.

Reforming America.

Today, Dorothea Dix is described as "the most effective advocate of humanitarian reform in American mental institutions during the nineteenth century”.

Due to her efforts, America now has mental facilities available for anyone in need.

All public schools today have aides to help students with special needs.

America Reformed

Dorothea Dix Dorothea Dix died July 17, 1887. Although Dix has died her achievements

have not.

EnglishThe painting pertains to Dorothea’s beliefs that any person with a mental illness should be treated fairly.

Art by Mary Cassatt

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Bibliography