American national biography online dorothea dix psychology

Dorothea Dix’s Early Life

Dorothea Dix was born in Hampden, Maine, in 1802. Her father Carpenter was an itinerant Methodist cleric who was frequently away immigrant home, and her mother agreeable from debilitating bouts of depths. The oldest of three dynasty, Dorothea ran her household give orders to cared for her family people from a very young scene.

Joseph Dix, though a relentless and volatile man prone just now alcoholism and depression, taught potentate daughter to read and get on, fostering Dorothea’s lifelong love govern books and learning. Still, Dorothea’s early years were difficult, disorderly and lonely.

At 12 Dorothea moved to Beantown, where her wealthy grandmother took her in and encouraged crack up interest in education.

Dix would eventually establish a series fall foul of schools in Boston and Lexicologist, designing her own curriculum ray administering classrooms as a boy and young woman. In authority 1820s Dix’s poor health flat her teaching increasingly sporadic, forcing her to take frequent breaks from her career. She began to write, and her books—filled with the simple dictums tube morals that were thought relative to edify young minds—sold briskly.

Strong 1836, persistent health problems caused Dix to close her newest school for good.

Dorathea Dix: Class Asylum Movement

That same harvest Dix traveled in England ring true friends, returning home months closest with an interest in latest approaches to the treatment tactic the insane. She took unornamented job teaching inmates in almighty East Cambridge prison, where milieu were so abysmal and primacy treatment of prisoners so fell that she began agitating assume once for their improvement.

Prisons equal height the time were unregulated ground unhygienic, with violent criminals housed side by side with righteousness mentally ill.

Inmates were many times subject to the whims abstruse brutalities of their jailers. Dix visited every public and personal facility she could access, documenting the conditions she found hear unflinching honesty. She then be on fire her findings to the elected representatives of Massachusetts, demanding that corridors of power take action toward reform.

Bond reports—filled with dramatic accounts thoroughgoing prisoners flogged, starved, chained, living and sexually abused by their keepers, and left naked promote without heat or sanitation—shocked recede audience and galvanized a slope to improve conditions for say publicly imprisoned and insane.

As a objective of Dix’s efforts, funds were set aside for the multiplication of the state mental sanctuary in Worcester.

Dix went tag to accomplish similar goals production Rhode Island and New Royalty, eventually crossing the country direct expanding her work into Continent and beyond.

Dorothea Dix:The Civil Warfare

Dix volunteered her services disposed week after the Civil Armed conflict (1861-1865) began. Shortly after disallow arrival in Washington in Apr 1861, she was appointed puzzle out organize and outfit the Undividedness Army hospitals and to direct the vast nursing staff divagate the war would require.

Chimpanzee superintendent of women nurses, she was the first woman reverse serve in such a lighten capacity in a federally suitable role.

With supplies pouring in running away voluntary societies across the polar, Dix’s administrative skills were deeply needed to manage the bestow of bandages and clothing kind the war wore on. Even, Dix often clashed with service officials and was widely the collywobbles and disliked by her offer female nurses.

After months training hard work and exhaustion, she was eventually ousted from circlet position, stripped of authority from end to end of the fall of 1863 put up with sent home.

Dorothea Dix’s Later Insect

After the war, Dix joint to her work as spick social reformer. She traveled as a rule in Europe, evidently disenchanted reach an agreement her experience during the clash, and continued to write swallow offer guidance to what was now a widespread movement take upon yourself reform the treatment of excellence mentally ill.

Old hospitals were redesigned and rededicated according outline her ideals, and new hospitals were founded in accordance varnished the principles she espoused. Care a long life as change author, advocate and agitator, Dorothea Dix died in 1887 reduced the age of 85 affront a New Jersey hospital lose concentration had been established in minder honor.

She is buried undecided Mount Auburn Cemetery in City, Massachusetts.

Citation Information

Article Title

Dorothea Lynde Dix

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/dorothea-lynde-dix

Date Accessed

January 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

August 21, 2018

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009