In reading chapter 12 in our text by Foner, I took an interest in Dorothea Dix, who at the age of 39 decided, I believe, mostly for health reasons to resign her teaching career altogether and start a new career as a advocate for the mentally ill. Her attention was first brought to the mentally ill living in jail houses when she went one Sunday “to teach a Sunday School class for women inmates.” In my research I came across a document called “ Memorial Soliciting a State Hospital north Carolina
It was interesting to me to read this document and to feel how strongly Dix felt about her work advocating for the mentally ill. It showed how she felt about the conditions they were living in and how they were being treated. Many mentally ill patients were being housed “In the cells and dungeons of the County jails, in comfortless rooms and cages in the county poor-houses, in the dwellings of private families, and by sending the patients to distant hospitals.” (4) These places were not equipped with the Doctors or facilities that the mentally ill needed in order to cope and manage their illnesses with. While the mentally ill were living in these places the conditions were completely unsuitable for them. It was said that “they had been chained day and night to their bedsteads, and kept in a state so filthy it was sickening to go near them.” (14) Others were “restrained by the straight waist-coat and with collars round their necks” (14) in reading these conditions I am starting to understand why Dix would be such an advocate for the mentally ill. If she wasn’t going to try and help them then who would?
I am still searching for more information regarding Dorothea Dix and I look forward to posting that information in blog 3.
Dix, Dorothea. North Carolina United States State Hospital 27 Oct 2010 . <http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/dixdl/dixdl.html>.
Bumb, Jean. "Dorothea Dix." Web. <http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/dorotheadix.html>.
