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Dorothea Dix: A Mental Institution Reformer

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Dorothea Dix: A Mental Institution Reformer
Dorothea Dix: A Mental Institution Reformer Every day is the same to you; you wake up, read the paper, and drink your coffee. You work at the East Cambridge Prison, where you keep the inmates in order by whipping them, chaining them up, and by not giving them food. You know that the conditions are wrong and inhumane, but it’s a well-paying job. You don’t speak out because you’re worried about your family and three kids at home who need to be fed. Stories like these occurred in prisons and mental institutions all around the world. The article, “Dorothea Lynde Dix,” describes the awful conditions Dorothea Dix witnessed in prisons and mental institutions: “... flogged, starved, chained, physically and sexually abused by their keepers, and left …show more content…
She was born on April 4, 1802, in Hampden, Maine (History.com). Her family had difficulties because her father was an alcoholic and her mother suffered from depression (History.com). Dix did what she could to take care of the household and her two other siblings (History.com). At age twelve, Dorothea Dix went to live with her grandmother in Boston (History.com). Her grandmother was wealthy and helped Dix find her passion: teaching (History.com). She had a second cousin named Edward and he wanted to help her get started by looking for suitable places to teach (faculty.webster.edu). When Dix was eighteen, he asked her to marry him, but she turned him down (faculty.webster.edu). According to Jenn Bumb, an author for faculty.webster.edu, Dorothea Dix opened schools in Boston and Worcester and gave young girls, rich and poor, a chance to have a strong education. Dix designed her own curriculum and wrote textbooks for her students (History.com). Dix devoted so much energy into her school, and when her grandmother got sick, she spent time taking care of her (History.com). In 1836, Dix dedicated so much time to helping her grandmother and working with her students that she grew tired (History.com). According to Jenn Bumb, Dorothea Dix showed symptoms of the disease we now call tuberculosis. Her doctor told her to take time off work and go on a trip (faculty.webster.edu). After pursuing her dream as a teacher for several years, she became too sick and tired to continue, so traveled to Europe
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