Dorothea Lynde Dix; Advocate and crusader for the mentally ill.COLUMN: LIFE & TIMES: An occasional series on Central Massachusetts people with enduring fame Vital statistics Dorothea Lynde Dix Noun 1. Dorothea Lynde Dix - United States social reformer who pioneered in the reform of prisons and in the treatment of the mentally ill; superintended women army nurses during the American Civil War (1802-1887) Dix, Dorothea Dix was born April 4, 1802, in Hampden, Maine; she died July 17, 1887, and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery Founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", Mount Auburn Cemetery is an Elysium where, traditionally, chaste classical monuments were set in rolling landscaped terrain. , Cambridge. What she did Miss Dix's father, Joseph Dix, escaped the British burning of Charlestown by moving his family to Worcester when Miss Dix was 10. She went to live with her grandparents grandparents npl → abuelos mpl grandparents grand npl → grands-parents mpl grandparents grand npl , Dr. Elijah Dix, a prominent Boston surgeon, and Dorothy (Lynde) Dix, when she was 12. When she was 14, she returned to Worcester to live with an aunt and opened a private school for girls. Miss Dix was a tireless campaigner for more than 30 years for improvements in the care of the insane, traveling throughout the country and overseas to inspect conditions of prisons and asylums. In 1843, there were 13 mental hospitals in the country; by 1880 there were 123, and Miss Dix played a direct role in founding 32 of them, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Massachusetts State House The Massachusetts State House, also called the New State House, is the state capitol and seat of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is located at Boston in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Women's Leadership Project. Because of her advocacy, the insane asylum in Worcester (known today as Worcester State Hospital) was expanded from 120 beds to 320 beds to accommodate the mentally ill in Massachusetts. Defining moment In March 1841, Miss Dix taught a Sunday school class for women in an East Cambridge jail. "What she encountered in the jail shocked her and changed her life. The jail was unheated. Those incarcerated incarcerated /in·car·cer·at·ed/ (in-kahr´ser-at?ed) imprisoned; constricted; subjected to incarceration. in·car·cer·at·ed adj. Confined or trapped, as a hernia. were not segregated; hardened criminals, feeble-minded children and the mentally ill all occupied the same quarters. Dix secured a court order to provide heat and to make other improvements," wrote Wayne Viney in "Dorothea Dix," a publication of the Unitarian Universalist Historical Society. Her experience prompted her to investigate conditions in Massachusetts jails and almshouses. Appalled by what she found, Miss Dix detailed her findings in a report to state lawmakers in 1843. In her own words "I proceed, gentlemen, briefly to call your attention to the present state of insane persons confined within this commonwealth, in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens! Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience ... "It is the commonwealth, not its integral parts, that is accountable for most of the abuses which have lately and do still exist. I repeat it, it is defective legislation which perpetuates and multiplies these abuses." What history has to say A woman with little formal education, Miss Dix had an insatiable appetite for knowledge that helped establish the pattern of her work, of investigation, documentation and absorbing knowledge from experts through interviews and extensive reading. During the 1800s, the indigent indigent 1) n. a person so poor and needy that he/she cannot provide the necessities of life (food, clothing, decent shelter) for himself/herself. 2) n. one without sufficient income to afford a lawyer for defense in a criminal case. , insane and feebleminded of all ages were restrained in prisons, asylums, almshouses, orphanages and reformatories State institutions for the confinement of juvenile delinquents. Any minor under a certain specified age, generally sixteen, who is guilty of having violated the law or has failed to obey the reasonable directive of his or her parent, guardian, or the court is ordinarily . Miss Dix, whose work was part of the Age of Reform in American history, contended that people with mental illness would best be served in safe, clean, therapeutic settings with access to books, music, recreation and work. While conditions of institutions in Massachusetts and other states did improve, reformers' hopes were never realized. Discouraged by crowded, underfunded un·der·fund tr.v. un·der·fund·ed, un·der·fund·ing, un·der·funds To provide insufficient funding for. underfunded adj → infradotado (económicamente) conditions at the hospitals, Miss Dix retired at age 79. What others say Albert Southwick, retired chief editorial writer of the Telegram & Gazette, attended the unveiling in 1999 at Mechanics Hall of the portraits of four prominent women in Worcester's history, Miss Dix among them. He wrote: "In 1860, her years of dedication culminated in a bill, signed by President James Buchanan, that allocated federal funds Federal Funds Funds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements. Notes: These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve for state lunatic asylums. She, more than any other person, changed the way prisoners and inmates were treated in this country, and, indeed, throughout the Western world." Some things you may not know Miss Dix's childhood nickname was Dolly. Among her accomplishments, Miss Dix served the Union Army as superintendent of nurses during the Civil War. Compiled by Laurie Schlatter of the Telegram & Gazette staff Sources: Worcester Historical Museum;www.1856.org; Worcester Women's History Project; Wayne Viney, "Dorothea Dix," Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography, Unitarian Universalist Historical Society 1999-2007; Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities; Secretary of State, Citizen Information Service; excerpt of Dix's 1843 Memorial to Legislature, quoted in "Dorothea Dix: New England Reformer," by Thomas J. Brown; Albert B. Southwick, Nov. 14, 1999, Worcester Telegram & Gazette; "The American Nation: A History of the United States “American history” redirects here. For the history of the continents, see History of the Americas. The United States of America is located in the middle of the North American continent, with Canada to the north and the United Mexican States to the south. ," Garraty and McCaughey, 1987; Bangor Daily News The Bangor Daily News is an American newspaper that was founded on June 18, 1889; in 1900 the paper merged with the Bangor Whig and Courier. The Bangor Publishing Company publishes the paper in Bangor, Maine, in addition to several weekly papers that they , March 10, 2008. ART: PHOTO CUTLINE: This portrait of Dorothea Lynde Dix, by Susan Murray Stokes, hangs in Mechanics Hall, Worcester Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts was built in 1857. It is one of several venues for performing arts in the city. Workers in Worcester formed the Mechanics Association in 1842 to help members develop the knowledge and skills to manufacture and run machinery in the . |
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