Fasttrack to America's Past
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Page 119
 Page 119 - Dorothea Dix Pleads for the Mentally Ill

The reading selection

   This reading is from a famous appeal made by Dorothea Dix before the Massachusetts legislature in 1843.  She details the miserable condition of the mentally ill, and demands that the legislature act.  Notice that she addresses the state legislators as "Gentlemen" - none were women.  Her appearance before the legislature was itself unusual for a woman of that time.
 
   Dix had taken on the role of social reformer after running a school and publishing several books for children.  Her crusade counts as one of the great achievements of the mid-19th century.  Massachusetts and many other states began creating special hospitals for the mentally ill and insane.
 
   Remind students that none of today's powerful drugs to help the mentally ill were available then, and little was known about the source or treatment of mental illness.  The people of the various towns Dix visited were not being deliberately cruel.


The picture

   A young woman of the 19th century suffering from a mental illness.  Modern drugs can often allow patients with mental illness to live a normal life on their own.

Group discussion questions

   The conditions for the mentally ill individuals described by Dorothea Dix can only be called horrific.  Many were kept in jails or even cages.  Some were also chained up.  In some cases, the victims were beaten with sticks or lashed into obedience.
 
   In some cases, mentally ill people wandered from town to town unprotected.  Even those whose condition was not too severe lacked the attention that would have allowed them a decent life.

   To get her evidence, Dix personally traveled from town to town in Massachusetts.  She took notes to document exactly what she witnessed.  By collecting and presenting facts this way, she made her case more convincing.

   Dix clearly believes that the Massachusetts legislature, representing the people of the state, has the main obligation to do something to help the situation.  Speaking to the legislature, she both demands action, and reminds them of their moral obligation.  She tells them that whatever action they take will have an impact on the "present and future condition of hundreds and thousands" of people.







Copyright Notice

   Copyright 2018 by David Burns.  All rights reserved.  Illustrations and reading selections appearing in this work are taken from sources in the public domain and from private collections used by permission.  Sources include: the Dover Pictorial Archive, the Library of Congress, The National Archives, The Hart Publishing Co., Corel Corporation and its licensors, Nova Development Corporation and its licensors, and others.  Maps were created or adapted by the author using reference maps from the United States Geological Survey and Cartesia Software.  Please see the home page for this title for more information.