Dorothea Dix Research Paper

Dorothea Dix grew up in Massachusetts, but was born in Hampden Maine.Her early years were hard and very lonely because her father was an Methodist preacher. She had to take care of the house and her family because her mother was mentally ill and her father was usually away.Dorothea was the oldest of three children. When Dorothea was 12 years old she moved to Boston to live with her grandmother. In Boston and Worcester she established a lot of schools.Dorothea loved to read books and learn. She was a teacher, author and reformer. She left her 24 year career of teaching and started nursing at age 39. In march of 1841 Dix went to court about how mentally ill were treated like prisoners. They were chained in small dark spaces, filthy and abused.