Dorthy Dix was no ordinary advocate, in fact, she was one of the most prominent and groundbreaking female leaders of the 1800s. She was so vital to her time that her legacy is still discussed and celebrated today. Dorthy was born in Maine in 1802 as the oldest of three children. From a young age, Dorthy showed excellence and leadership and she carried grand accomplishments through her early years of life, she even began teaching at age 14. Shortly after she opened a school for girls back in her home town along with a school for girls who could not afford to pay for education. By 1824 Dorthy published her most famed book “Conversations on Common Things.” This was only the beginning of her social advocate career.
When Dorthy was around 30 she took a trip to England. This trio completely opened her eyes to the mistreatment of the mentally ill. Through seeing the physical and mental abuse the menatlly ill were forced to endure, Dorthy knew what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, she made it her mission to help them. She came back to the U.S and headed to Michigan to observe how the mentally ill were treated their. She presented what she observed to the legislature and convinced them to pass a bill in order to improve mental hospitals. She decided to scale up her work and started to lobby for better mental hospital facilities and treatment all over the U.S. Her work vastly improved treatment of the mentally ill and the facilities all over the U.S, she acted as a voice for those who had no say in their treatment, she completely changed the way the U.S treated the mentally ill. Although this is not where her social advocating ends. When the civil war broke out she felt morally inclined to help. She became the superintendent of army nurses for the union, she recruited thousands of female nurses. She gave women an opportunity to fight for what they believe in and serve for a cause they felt was right. Dorthy Dix passed away in 1887, although her legacy and her work will never be forgotten.
I thought this post was really interesting and a good example of the many female activists that rose to prominence during the time of reform movements. Her work to improve the treatment of the mentally ill was definitely needed, as the systems in place at the time were horrible. I remember in one of the documentaries it talked about how the mentally ill were housed in the same quarters as dangerous and violent criminals.
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