The life of Dorothea D
Wichita Area Technical College
Foundations of Nursing

Mrs. Plank
September 18, 2012

The life of Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Lynde Dix was born on April 4, 1802 in Hampden, Maine. She was the oldest of three; her parents were Joseph Dix and Mary Bigelow Dix. Her father was an itinerant Methodist preacher. Her family life can be described as abusive and nonexistent. Her mother was not in good mental health and her father was an abusive alcoholic. Once the family was in Worcester they had two more children, Joseph and Charles. Almost immediately Dorothea began to care for her smaller brothers. Even though her household wasn't the best she learned many things from her father that would influence many of her choices in life. When she was young he taught her how to read and write. This developed a passion for reading and teaching. Soon after their move to Vermont her parents moved to Worcester, Massachusetts. At this time her mother was suffering from acute, incurable headaches and her father was drinking heavily. It was decided at this time that her parents were no longer capable of caring for their three children. Her grandmother decided to take her and her brothers to live at the Dix Mansion in Boston. At this time Dorothea was twelve and had already been accustomed to caring for her brothers, which is something that continued as she lived with her seventy-year old grandmother.
Life at her grandmother’s wasn’t what she was used to so she soon moved in with her Aunt. During this time at her Aunt’s she met a man named Edward Bangs who was 14 years older than she was. He took interest in her and her plans that she described to him about wanting to become a school teacher. He wanted to help her and he did. Dorothea dix. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/dorothea-dix-9275710

When Dorothea was eighteen, Edward told her that he had fallen in love with her. Frightened she immediately closed down her school and returned to the Dix's Mansion in Boston. He followed Dorothea to Boston and purposed marriage. Dorothea accepted his proposal but would not agree to a definite date of marriage for the obvious reasons she feared she would become like her parents. Marriage to her meant desertion of children, emotional outbreaks, fights and heavy drinking.
In the spring of 1821 Dorothea's father died in New Hampshire. At this time in her life she knew that she was not supposed to marry Edward and returned his engagement ring. Her life, from there on, was devoted to teaching children and expanding her own horizons.
From 1822-1836 Dorothea managed to teach her two classes and began writing several books for children. In 1836 Dorothea stared to take care of her ill grandma but continued teaching at her school. However she became more and more drained and eventually had a complete breakdown and severe hemorrhages. Her condition was what is now called tuberculosis. In 1841 she finally was feeling better.
In March of 1841 she volunteered to teach a class full of women inmates. Upon entering the jail she witnessed such horrible images that her life, from that point on, was changed forever. Within the confines of this jail she observed prostitutes, drunks, criminals, retarded individuals, and the mentally ill were all housed together in unheated, unfurnished, and foul-smelling quarters. When asked why the jail was in these conditions her answer was, "the insane do not feel heat or cold".

By the late 1840s she was formulating a creative plan to assure proper facilities and treatment for the insane poor in the long term. She proposed that a federal land-grant of 12,500,000 acres be set aside as a public endowment, the income to be used for the benefit of the blind, deaf, mute and insane. From 1848-54 she lobbied for her plan and secured passage from both the Senate and the House of Representatives. President Millard Fillmore liked her ideas but once it reached his desk his term was up. President Franklin Pierce vetoed the bill.
In 1856, Dix resumed her reform work, but now the country was torn over the slavery issue. In 1861, as the Civil War began, Dix volunteered her services and was named Superintendent of United States Army Nurses. Her tasks were to organize first aid stations, recruit nurses, purchase supplies and help to set up training facilities and field hospitals. She was often at odds with doctors over their drinking habits and their neglect of sanitation. Wounded soldiers called her an "angel of mercy,” She spent the last 40 years of her life inspiring US legislator to establish hospitals for the mentally ill and her efforts help build 32 facilites in the US. wilson, D. C. (1975). Stranger and traveler.
Dix finally retired at age 79. She did not talk about her work; nor would she cooperate with those who inquired about her life and career. She died in 1887 and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Unitarian Universalist Historical Society (UUHS) (1999-2012). Retrieved from www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/dorotheadix.html

References
Dorothea dix. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/dorothea-dix-9275710

Unitarian Universalist Historical Society (UUHS) (1999-2012). Retrieved from www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/dorotheadix.html

Wilson, D. C. (1975). Stranger and traveler.