Dorothea Dix Accomplishments

Dorothea Lynde Dix once said, “In a world where there is so much to be done, I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do”. Dix was a school teacher, a writer, a superintendent of nurses during the Civil War, and among all those accomplishments; her biggest one was being a reformer for improved treatment of the mentally ill. She started her work in 1843 in which there were only thirteen mental institutions and by 1880 there were a total of one hundred and twenty-three of which she personally oversaw thirty-two of the establishments. Dorothea Lynde Dix was a very remarkable woman who dedicated over forty years of her life in helping to change the ways that people think about patients who are mentally ill.
Dorothea Dix was born in Hampden, Maine on April 4, 1802. Her parents were Mary and Joseph Dix. She was the eldest of three children. Growing up wasn’t easy for Dorothea with her mother being mentally unstable and her father an alcoholic. Managing the home rested on her shoulders since she was the oldest. Her father made very little money between farming, preaching, and selling his printed sermons. Dorothea’s most hated chore …show more content…
Although Madam Dix was 68 years old, widowed, and had already raised a large family with all her kids grown; she was unsure if she should take on the responsibility of a twelve year old. However, she was amazed at Dorothea’s appealing reasoning for wanting to live with her, so she decided to allow it and sent word to her son that Dorothea would remain in Boston. As time went on living with her grandmother, their personalities began to clash. Thus, making it very stressful for Madam Dix, she then decided to entrust her “problem” with Dorothea’s aunts, who had “a reputation for being unusually successful in the management of young people”. So at that time, she went to Worchester with her