|
Annie Scanlon
3e2
Miss Dorothea Dix
EARLY LIFE :
I was born on April 4th, 1802 in the small town of Hampden, Maine. My
father was a preacher. He was also abusive and an alcoholic. My mother was mentally unstable. So I took over the household
responsibilities at a very young age. I later moved to Massachusetts to live with my Great Aunt.
My lifelong dream
was to become a school teacher. In 1816, when I was 15 years old, I faced my first classroom of students with the help of
my cousin, Edward (who was later elected governor). My life was now devoted to teaching and expanding my own horizons.
From
1822-1836, I taught classes and wrote books for children. In 1836, however, I had to take care of my sick grandmother who
had tuberculosis. My health was failing so my doctor told me to take a long vacation, so I had to give up my school teaching.
SECOND
CAREER :
In March of 1841, I volunteered to teach a Sunday-school class at a local jail. There, I witnessed prostitutes,
drunks, criminals, mentally challenged and mentally unstable people who were living in HORRIBLE conditions. I asked why they
were treated this way, and they answered that « the insane do not feel heat or cold », witch is ridiculous because they are
people as well, they are just in a different state of mind. Their quarters were un-heated, un-furnished and foul smelling.
I took this matter to court, and, after many struggles, I won my case. So then, I started visiting other jail houses throughout
Massachusetts. I took notes and made a document I called the Massachusetts Legislature. (It was basically asking the government
for better living conditions for the mentally ill.) I had support within the legislature because my cousin, Edward, had been
elected governor. I was also very convincing in my debates. The support and funds that were won were set aside for the Worcester
State Hospital.
People had a tendency to think that my views were radical. The popular belief was that the insane could never be cured.
I covered all the states on the East Side of the Mississippi River with a document like the Massachusetts Legislature. I founded
32 mental hospitals, 15 schools for the feeble minded, a school for the blind and numerous training facilities for nurses.
I established libraries in prisons and mental hospitals.
In 1848, I sent a document to the US Congress asking that
5 million acres be set aside and to be used to build facilities for the mentally ill. In 1854, the bill was passed, but was
later vetoed by President Franklin Pierce. After all these events, my health was starting to fail again ; I was physically
worn out. So I traveled to Europe. There, I inspected jails in England, Scotland, France, Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey,
Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and Germany. In a two year period, I made an effective change to the way Europeans
dealt with the mentally ill.
I traveled back to the US in 1859. There, I continued to investigate many states that
I had missed. At the outbreak of the Civil War, I put all my energies into the Superintendent of Union Arm Nurses. Even though
I was not very effective in this field, I continued to serve throughout the war,
In 1881, the State Hospital in Trenton,
New Jersey opened. It was the first hospital to be initiated and built through my efforts. My health was failing yet again,
so I admitted myself into the hospital for a period of six years. I died on July 17, 1887. I believe that I ended a career
that was unique in its singleness of purpose and magnitude of accomplishment.
|
