Dorothea Dix's Contribution to American Culture

“I give cheerfully my whole time, mind, strength and income, to the service of my country,’ and would not ‘receive any remuneration for what I cheerfully render as a loyal woman” (Dorothea Dix: Mental Health Reformer and Civil War Nurse). Throughout American history, several people, such as Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, and Steve Jobs contributed to American history. From the abolitionist movement to inventing Apple–those actions greatly contributed to American culture and society. A woman who comes to mind when thinking about ones who helped America’s culture is Dorothea Dix.

Dorothea Dix contributed to American culture by reforming American mental institutions, by working as the Superintendent of Army Nurses during the Civil War, and by campaigning for the rights of the mentally insane.

Dorothea Dix contributed to American culture through her reformation of American mental institutions during the 19th century. “Her reformation all began in 1841 when she started teaching a Sunday school class at the East Cambridge Jail, a women’s prison” (Dorothea Dix Biography).

She saw the awful treatment of the mentally insane in prison, causing her to want to change it. At that time, mental illness was generally viewed as an untreatable condition. In the prison where she volunteered, “the mentally ill were kept in cells without heat because those working in the prison believed that the mentally ill did not have the ability to differentiate between hot and cold temperatures.” (Dorothea Dix: Biography and Accomplishments).

After seeing the inhumane treatment of the mentally ill at the East Cambridge Jail, she went around the country touring prisons, jails, almshouses, and private homes documenting her findings.

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“She ended up establishing thirty-two mental asylums around the United States and founding hospitals in Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, etc.” (Dorothea Dix). “She continued with her reform in Europe where she met with two other female reformers, Elizabeth Fry and Samuel Tuke” (Dorothea Dix: Biography and Accomplishments). While traveling around England with Fry and Tuke, she learned how they cared for the mentally insane in England and brought those same treatments to America. Dix “covered 30,000 miles of land looking for the mentally ill” (Dorothea Dix).

Another way Dorothea Dix contributed to American culture was by working as the Superintendent of Army Nurses during the Civil War. “Dix volunteered one week after the Civil War started. Shortly after her arrival in Washington, she was appointed to organize the Union Army hospitals and oversee the vast nursing staff that the war would require” (Dorothea Lynde Dix). “As the superintendent of women nurses, she was the first woman to serve in such a high capacity in a federally appointed role” (Dorothea Dix). She fought for women to be able to nurse soldiers because she wanted the soldiers to have proper care if they were hurt.

Even though she fought for women to be able to nurse soldiers, many did not like her since her social skills were not great. “Louisa May Alcott was a nurse under Dorothea Dix during the Civil War. Alcott recalled that Dix was respected but not particularly well liked by her nurses, who tended to “steer clear” of her” (Dorothea Lynde Dix). Dorothea was not forced to nurse injured Union soldiers during this war, but she cared to help others more, especially if the person was hurt or insane. She knew how to take care of others because “she was a caregiver to her two younger brothers, and later, her grandmother” (Dorothea Dix: Mental Health Reformer and Civil War Nurse). She volunteered to nurse these soldiers, but later “resigned in 1863 after she could not come to terms with the Army doctors” (5 Major Accomplishments of Dorothea Dix).

The last way Dorothea Dix contributed to American culture was by campaigning for the rights of the mentally insane. Dorothea Dix “wrote to the legislature of Massachusetts demanding the reformation of the living conditions of the mentally challenged and clinically insane. The report was titled ‘Memorial’ and it was presented by Senator Joseph Dodd” (5 Major Accomplishments of Dorothea Dix). Many people endorsed her report, and of course there were those who criticized her demands. She kept on writing letters; she came out with editorials; “she was relentless in her pursuit until a bill was proposed and eventually passed as a piece of legislation in March, 1845” (5 Major Accomplishments of Dorothea Dix).

Her fight did not end there. Dix continued her journey to many other states and wrote her reports depicting how inhumanly the insane were treated. “Her journey took her to North Carolina where she succeeded in influencing the formation of North Carolina State Medical Society; that led to the setting up of an institute in Raleigh in 1856 which was named after her” (5 Major Accomplishments of Dorothea Dix). She was also a philanthropist for the mentally ill. Countless hospitals (both for-profit and nonprofit) and support groups arose from Dix´s recognition and enlightenment of the public about the treatment and needs of the mentally ill. She used her political ties, her reputation, her financial means and whatever resources that came her way to further the movement. As a result of her efforts, funds were set aside for the expansion of the state mental hospital in Rhode Island. After a long life as an author, advocate and agitator, “Dorothea Dix died in 1887 at the age of 85 in a New Jersey hospital that had been established in her honor. She is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts” (Dorothea Lynde Dix).

Dorothea Dix is remembered as “the most efficient, effective, and accomplished champion of humanitarian reform in the United States of America” (5 Major Accomplishments of Dorothea Dix). Dorothea Dix’s life and legacy are interesting pieces of modern history, especially to American history.

“Very few social activists or civil rights champions had succeeded in accomplishing as much as her. Many movements and revolutions did not become productive until much later generations. Whether it was abolition of slavery or voting rights for women, abolishing racial discrimination or the present minimum wage law, all major reforms took decades if not a century to come into effect. Dorothea Dix had achieved more than what most of her likes, in the past and after her, had accomplished” (5 Major Accomplishments of Dorothea Dix).

By reforming American institutions for the mentally ill, by working as the Superintendent of Army Nurses during the Civil War, and by campaigning for the rights of the mentally insane, Dorothea Dix contributed and changed American culture. Although she accomplished many achievements throughout her lifetime, she felt embarrassed to take recognition for them; that is the reason why her name barely shows up in today’s history books. As a result of her commendable works, the United States Postal Service honored her by issuing a Dorothea Dix Great Americans series postage stamp in 1983. Dix was a great, loyal woman who changed American society for the better.