Dorothea Dix was born on April 4, 1802, in Maine. She was the oldest of three children. Dorothea did not have a good childhood. Her father was an alcoholic. Her mother suffered from depression. It was not a happy home to grow up in.

Dorothea was a school teacher as a young adult. It wasn't until she was thirty-nine that she started the career that she would be known for. In 1841, she volunteered to teach a class to women inmates. These women were in a jail in Massachusetts. Dorothea was shocked by what she saw.

She saw the sane and insane all crowded together in the same cells. The inmates were dressed in rags and poorly fed. Many of the cells did not have enough heat. The people suffered from the cold. Some people were kept chained.

Dorothea started fighting for these people right away. She pushed the jail to put a stove in every cell. She also pushed for the inmates to get more food and better clothing.

Her thoughts about the mentally ill were different for the time. Most people thought that people with mental illness could never be helped. They were shut away and forgotten about. At the time, the best place to put these people was in a prison.

Dorothea did not believe this. She was sure that better conditions would be a bigger help to them. She wanted them to have warm clothes and be in rooms that weren't as crowded. She also wanted states to build special places for them and not put the mentally ill in prison.

For the next two years, Dorothea visited every prison in the state. She did this even though her health was bad. She had tuberculosis, but no one had a name for it at the time. There also was no treatment.

When she was done, she spoke to the state legislature. They were moved by what she reported. Her testimony led to improvements in the system. The mentally ill were no longer chained. States began to build better housing for them.

She managed to visit every state on the east side of the Mississippi River. She played a role in starting thirty-two mental hospitals. She also helped start fifteen schools for students with learning problems and a school for the blind. Many states started publicly supported asylums.

But her work wasn't done. When the Civil War started, she was named superintendent of U.S. Army nurses. She was in charge of getting women to volunteer. She also had to train and assign two thousand women nurses. Most people did not like the idea of women working as nurses caring for soldiers. They believed it was inappropriate for a few women to be in the company of so many men. Dorothea fought to show that women could do this very hard job with dignity. Because of this, she did not allow certain women to sign up to be nurses. She turned down women she thought were too young or too pretty. Most women were married or widowed. Dorothea turned away women that she thought might be looking for husbands. The women she accepted were told how to dress. They were to wear black or brown dresses with no hoops under them. Dorothea's rules helped to gain respect for women nurses.

In 1881, a state hospital opened in Trenton, New Jersey. Dorothea's health was failing, and she admitted herself to a private apartment that was set aside for her. She stayed in the hospital for six years. She died on July 17, 1887.

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How many years did Dorothea live in the hospital in New Jersey?

Dorothea Dix was born on April 4, 1802, in Maine. She was the oldest of three children. Dorothea did not have a good childhood. Her father was an alcoholic. Her mother suffered from depression. It was not a happy home to grow up in.

Dorothea was a school teacher as a young adult. It wasn't until she was thirty-nine that she started the career that she would be known for. In 1841, she volunteered to teach a class to women inmates. These women were in a jail in Massachusetts. Dorothea was shocked by what she saw.

She saw the sane and insane all crowded together in the same cells. The inmates were dressed in rags and poorly fed. Many of the cells did not have enough heat. The people suffered from the cold. Some people were kept chained.

Dorothea started fighting for these people right away. She pushed the jail to put a stove in every cell. She also pushed for the inmates to get more food and better clothing.

Her thoughts about the mentally ill were different for the time. Most people thought that people with mental illness could never be helped. They were shut away and forgotten about. At the time, the best place to put these people was in a prison.

Dorothea did not believe this. She was sure that better conditions would be a bigger help to them. She wanted them to have warm clothes and be in rooms that weren't as crowded. She also wanted states to build special places for them and not put the mentally ill in prison.

For the next two years, Dorothea visited every prison in the state. She did this even though her health was bad. She had tuberculosis, but no one had a name for it at the time. There also was no treatment.

When she was done, she spoke to the state legislature. They were moved by what she reported. Her testimony led to improvements in the system. The mentally ill were no longer chained. States began to build better housing for them.

She managed to visit every state on the east side of the Mississippi River. She played a role in starting thirty-two mental hospitals. She also helped start fifteen schools for students with learning problems and a school for the blind. Many states started publicly supported asylums.

But her work wasn't done. When the Civil War started, she was named superintendent of U.S. Army nurses. She was in charge of getting women to volunteer. She also had to train and assign two thousand women nurses. Most people did not like the idea of women working as nurses caring for soldiers. They believed it was inappropriate for a few women to be in the company of so many men. Dorothea fought to show that women could do this very hard job with dignity. Because of this, she did not allow certain women to sign up to be nurses. She turned down women she thought were too young or too pretty. Most women were married or widowed. Dorothea turned away women that she thought might be looking for husbands. The women she accepted were told how to dress. They were to wear black or brown dresses with no hoops under them. Dorothea's rules helped to gain respect for women nurses.

In 1881, a state hospital opened in Trenton, New Jersey. Dorothea's health was failing, and she admitted herself to a private apartment that was set aside for her. She stayed in the hospital for six years. She died on July 17, 1887.

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What did Dorothea do when the Civil War started?

Dorothea Dix was born on April 4, 1802, in Maine. She was the oldest of three children. Dorothea did not have a good childhood. Her father was an alcoholic. Her mother suffered from depression. It was not a happy home to grow up in.

Dorothea was a school teacher as a young adult. It wasn't until she was thirty-nine that she started the career that she would be known for. In 1841, she volunteered to teach a class to women inmates. These women were in a jail in Massachusetts. Dorothea was shocked by what she saw.

She saw the sane and insane all crowded together in the same cells. The inmates were dressed in rags and poorly fed. Many of the cells did not have enough heat. The people suffered from the cold. Some people were kept chained.

Dorothea started fighting for these people right away. She pushed the jail to put a stove in every cell. She also pushed for the inmates to get more food and better clothing.

Her thoughts about the mentally ill were different for the time. Most people thought that people with mental illness could never be helped. They were shut away and forgotten about. At the time, the best place to put these people was in a prison.

Dorothea did not believe this. She was sure that better conditions would be a bigger help to them. She wanted them to have warm clothes and be in rooms that weren't as crowded. She also wanted states to build special places for them and not put the mentally ill in prison.

For the next two years, Dorothea visited every prison in the state. She did this even though her health was bad. She had tuberculosis, but no one had a name for it at the time. There also was no treatment.

When she was done, she spoke to the state legislature. They were moved by what she reported. Her testimony led to improvements in the system. The mentally ill were no longer chained. States began to build better housing for them.

She managed to visit every state on the east side of the Mississippi River. She played a role in starting thirty-two mental hospitals. She also helped start fifteen schools for students with learning problems and a school for the blind. Many states started publicly supported asylums.

But her work wasn't done. When the Civil War started, she was named superintendent of U.S. Army nurses. She was in charge of getting women to volunteer. She also had to train and assign two thousand women nurses. Most people did not like the idea of women working as nurses caring for soldiers. They believed it was inappropriate for a few women to be in the company of so many men. Dorothea fought to show that women could do this very hard job with dignity. Because of this, she did not allow certain women to sign up to be nurses. She turned down women she thought were too young or too pretty. Most women were married or widowed. Dorothea turned away women that she thought might be looking for husbands. The women she accepted were told how to dress. They were to wear black or brown dresses with no hoops under them. Dorothea's rules helped to gain respect for women nurses.

In 1881, a state hospital opened in Trenton, New Jersey. Dorothea's health was failing, and she admitted herself to a private apartment that was set aside for her. She stayed in the hospital for six years. She died on July 17, 1887.

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When did Dorothea start the career she was known for?

Dorothea Dix was born on April 4, 1802, in Maine. She was the oldest of three children. Dorothea did not have a good childhood. Her father was an alcoholic. Her mother suffered from depression. It was not a happy home to grow up in.

Dorothea was a school teacher as a young adult. It wasn't until she was thirty-nine that she started the career that she would be known for. In 1841, she volunteered to teach a class to women inmates. These women were in a jail in Massachusetts. Dorothea was shocked by what she saw.

She saw the sane and insane all crowded together in the same cells. The inmates were dressed in rags and poorly fed. Many of the cells did not have enough heat. The people suffered from the cold. Some people were kept chained.

Dorothea started fighting for these people right away. She pushed the jail to put a stove in every cell. She also pushed for the inmates to get more food and better clothing.

Her thoughts about the mentally ill were different for the time. Most people thought that people with mental illness could never be helped. They were shut away and forgotten about. At the time, the best place to put these people was in a prison.

Dorothea did not believe this. She was sure that better conditions would be a bigger help to them. She wanted them to have warm clothes and be in rooms that weren't as crowded. She also wanted states to build special places for them and not put the mentally ill in prison.

For the next two years, Dorothea visited every prison in the state. She did this even though her health was bad. She had tuberculosis, but no one had a name for it at the time. There also was no treatment.

When she was done, she spoke to the state legislature. They were moved by what she reported. Her testimony led to improvements in the system. The mentally ill were no longer chained. States began to build better housing for them.

She managed to visit every state on the east side of the Mississippi River. She played a role in starting thirty-two mental hospitals. She also helped start fifteen schools for students with learning problems and a school for the blind. Many states started publicly supported asylums.

But her work wasn't done. When the Civil War started, she was named superintendent of U.S. Army nurses. She was in charge of getting women to volunteer. She also had to train and assign two thousand women nurses. Most people did not like the idea of women working as nurses caring for soldiers. They believed it was inappropriate for a few women to be in the company of so many men. Dorothea fought to show that women could do this very hard job with dignity. Because of this, she did not allow certain women to sign up to be nurses. She turned down women she thought were too young or too pretty. Most women were married or widowed. Dorothea turned away women that she thought might be looking for husbands. The women she accepted were told how to dress. They were to wear black or brown dresses with no hoops under them. Dorothea's rules helped to gain respect for women nurses.

In 1881, a state hospital opened in Trenton, New Jersey. Dorothea's health was failing, and she admitted herself to a private apartment that was set aside for her. She stayed in the hospital for six years. She died on July 17, 1887.

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How did Dorothea feel about the mentally ill?