Essay On Dorothea Dix

Childhood and career

Dorothea Lynde Dix was born on April 2,1802, in Hampden, Main. She was the daughter of an alcoholic farmer and a mentally ill mother. According to The Nursing Advocacy website, she did not have a happy or comfortable childhood. Dorothea had to take care of her younger siblings until she was eventually sent to live with her wealthy grandmother and then her great-aunt in Boston. At only fifteen years old, she began teaching at her own school for small children in Worcester, Massachusetts. She didn’t have much education but she was passionate for teaching so she began reading books from her highly educated grandfather’s library.

In 1821 Dix opened a charity school for young ladies at her grandparent’s home in Boston, but

She then began working on improvement of jails and care for the mentally ill throughout Massachusetts. In 1843, she asked the Massachusetts legislature for changes to end the inhumane conditions the mentally ill were kept. In 1845, Dix wrote Remarks on Prisons and Prison Discipline in the United States, discussing the reforms she wanted the government to take in consideration, including the education of prisoners and the separation of various types of offenders. During the following decades, her tireless aggressive movements for the defense of the insane extended far and wide, including outside of the United States. In 1861, during Civil War, Dix was appointed superintendent of women war nurses, the highest office held by a woman during the war. Although she had no training as a nurse, her persistence and exceptional organizational skills impressed the secretary of war. Dix dedicated 41 years of her life for charity, improving the lives of the mentally ill, before retiring at the age of

She was an “early nursing pioneer”, best known for her patient advocacy in fighting to improve the treatment of the mentally ill in North America and Europe. She made people realize that all humans have the same rights and they should all be treated with dignity and respect. Dorothea Lynde Dix gave the insane the opportunity to have the proper care they need. She did not place her name on most of her publications and she refused to have hospitals named after her. Dix was an advocate for the maltreated mentally ill, who were neglected and abused in jail. With a big voice and strong willing she made the change in better and stopped the outrageous maltreatment of innocent people. Dix was a tenacious woman who accomplished much for humanity within her life span. Her work changed the way we treat the mentally ill today. Dorothea Lynde Dix will always remain an important person in the nursing