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** 1802 – 1887 Specifically 1841 - 1856 ** **Dix’s Criticism of American Society** Dix did not agree with the conditions of American prisons. Upon visiting the East Cambridge jail in Massachusetts in order to educate a group of women in a Christian class, Dix saw the state of the jail and was horrified. All criminals collectively, including ill-minded children, dangerous criminals, and sickened individuals, were all kept in the same unfit and unhealthy living environment. The prisons were also vile and unheated during the harsh New England winters. Popular belief at the time stated that mentally ill people were incurable and therefore, they did not require living conditions worthy to people without any problems. Dix argued that mentally disabled people are sometimes curable if they are simply put in the right conditions to properly be cared for. Dix’s goal was to reform American jails and require the segregation of various types of criminals, especially certain care and specialized conditions for the mentally ill.
 * Dorothea Dix **

Dix’s investigation into the East Cambridge sparked her interest in the states of all other prisons around the state of Massachusetts. After improving conditions in the East Cambridge prison, Dix traveled throughout Massachusetts and personally took diligent notes on the conditions of every state prison, making her one of the first women to conduct a social research project. She was appalled to find that most of the conditions were of equal disgust. The jails were poorly ventilated and the mentally ill were chained to walls and kept in cramped and unhealthy rooms. The prisons also weren’t providing sufficient sources of nutrition, exercise, and education. Therefore, by demanding for better conditions for the mentally ill, Dix spoke out on behalf of those who were simply overlooked by both the state and federal governments. She also gave hope to the mentally disabled and their families by continually stating that not all cases dubbed “incurable” were in fact truly “incurable.”
 * How Dix Changed American Life**

Dix was one of the first women to travel alone and to ask the government for any type of social reform. She studied into the science of mental disabilities and her knowledge rivaled that of the leading physicians at the time. Dix took her scientific knowledge with her while investigating the conditions of the prisons. After examining the major prisons throughout Massachusetts, Dix compiled her findings into a memorial and proposal to be presented to the Massachusetts legislature. This study reported the conditions of the state prisons and asked for state funds in order to repair the jails. Dix chose Dr. Samuel G. Howe, a well-known director at a school for the blind, to present her findings. Their ideas were put down at first; however, after much fighting, the Massachusetts legislature gave the group the funding to expand upon the state Mental Hospital at Worchester, a major accomplishment for Dix and her colleagues.
 * Dix’s Successes and Intent**

Dix took this success and followed the same pattern in many other states; she personally traveled to prisons around various states, diligently documented each of her findings, put them into a report, and chose a famously known politician to present her material to the state legislatures. Most of the states gave Dix the same outcome, funding for the expansion of state hospitals to accommodate for the mentally ill. Dix personally designed these structural expansions and fitted them with the most technologically advanced amenities to fit the comfort of both the curable and incurable.

Dix’s intent was much needed at the time and could also be provided for. Dix’s discoveries took place during the Ante Bellum period of America, historically known as the calm before the storm of the Civil War. Therefore, the state treasuries were adequately stocked with more than enough revenue to fund Dix’s endeavors. Dix took a break in her work to vacation in Europe, where she also established prison reform; but, upon her return to the United States, the nation was engulfed in the Civil War. During this time, the state governments were not able to fund Dix’s plans and she resorted to becoming the Superintendent of the United States Army Nurses, an avenue of limited success for Dix.

The state governments greatly helped Dix’s goals; however, the federal government, specifically the president, wasn’t as helpful at the time. As previously stated, Dix proposed her plans to many state legislatures, most of which approved of her campaign. In the late 1840s, Dix proposed for a federally granted area of land totaling up to 12,500,000 acres for a public endowment. This surplus of income would be given to Dix and then later used to fund for improvements upon her already flourishing hospital expansions. The bill was successfully passed through Senate and the House of Representatives; however, President Franklin Pierce vetoed it. As a result, the federal government could have aided in Dix’s undertakings by providing monetarily for her needs and by implementing a national hospital. However, later in history, President Milliard Fillmore, a strong supporter of Dix, signed a bill to build a hospital for the recuperation of army and navy veterans.
 * How the Government Could Help**

Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Dorothea Dix’s good friend and colleague. Stanton and Dix fought for suffrage and abolition. Dix, being the more statistical and analytical one of the pair, coupled with Stanton, the more philosophical of the two, formed strong and concrete views that were sometimes seen as controversial. However, Stanton aided Dix in her endeavors and Dix did the same for Stanton. Stanton has been quoted saying this of her relationship with Dix: “[Anthony] supplied the facts and statistics, I the philosophy and rhetoric, and, together, we have made arguments that have stood unshaken through the storms of long years.”
 * References**

Dr. Samuel G. Howe: Dr. Howe was another abolitionist and social reformer. He was the director at school for the blind in Boston and constantly fought for more rights and monetary aid to the education of America’s blind population. Dr. Howe presented Dix’s findings to the Massachusetts legislature and was successful in his mission to get state funding for the construction of an expansion on the state hospital to accommodate for the mentally ill.

After Dix was denied the federal government's support from President Pierce, she moved to Europe where she also implemented her prison reforms. Dix traveled to 14 nations and even gained the attention and respect from Pope Pius IX, who often referred to her as Mother Theresa. Dix's work resulted in the formation of specialized mental hospitals or mental institutions dedicated to housing and caring for the mentally ill exclusively. These later became known as insane asylums and Dix's studies helped to create the first 32 in American history.
 * (After Debate): Lasting Impacts of the Reform**


 * Bibliography**

Ghareeb, LaDonna. "Dorothea Dix (Informational Paper)." LearningtoGive.org. The LEAGUE. Web. 4 Oct. 2009. .

Viney, Wayne. "Dorothea Dix." Unitarian Universalist Association. Unitarian Universalist Association Society, 2002. Web. 4 Oct. 2009. .