Mental Illness Reform in the 19th Century

Mental Illness Reform in the 19th Century

By Julie Gambill

Criminals, paupers, and mentally ill were kept together

mentally ill were placed in jail alongside criminals, chains were few, cages common - along with neglect

Abuse was the result of ignorance rather than intentional cruelty

"The saddest pictures of human suffering and degradation".

• Traveled 3,000 miles over 40 years and involved 20 states

Ironic...

With "better" medical practices the care of the mentally ill declined

-No training for new caregivers

-Shift in attitude

• People thought that medicine would soon "cure all" mental illness
• The mentally ill were no longer socialized
• The psychological aspects were all but forgotten

None of the new treatments worked and many were harmful

such as...

Nellie Bly

• Started modern investigative reporting

• Conditions were terrible

As a result, she wrote several articles and a book called Ten Days in a Madhouse.

She raised awareness that eventually ended the mistreatment of the mentally ill in the mid 1900s

"attendants seemed to find amusement and pleasure in exciting the violent patients to do their worst”

"I felt sure now that no doctor could tell whether people were insane or not so long as the case was not violent"

The treatment of the mentally ill transformed from being nonexistent to moral and emotional cures, to physical ordeals, and back to the moral treatment of people in the later twentieth century.

Strong women and men have changed the way American society cares for mankind as a whole, by changing how people treat individuals – every individual.

Bibliography

Information:

Bly, Nellie. "Behind Asylum Bars." New York World (1887): 25-26.

Buescher, John. The Era of Reform . 2010. 23 April 2013 <http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/24100>.

Hart, Diane. History Alive! The United States Through Industrialism. Palo Alto: Teachers' Curriculum Institute, 2005.

Hughes, Carrie. Mental Illness in the 19th Century . 4 May 2007. 10 May 2013 <http://www.mccarter.org/education/mrs-packard/html/6.html>.

Kent, Deborah. Snake Pits, Talking Cures, & Magic Bullets A History of Mental Illness. Brookfield: Twenty-First Century Books A Division of The Millbrook Press, Inc, 2003.

Lapansky-Werner, Emma J. Prentice Hall United States History. Upper Saddle River: Pearson/ Prentice Hall, 2008.

Prezi Inc. Mental Health Reform Movement 1800's. <http://prezi.com/mvzdba37fecs/mental-health-reform-movement-1800s/>.

U.S. History Scene . Making Their Voices Heard: Women and Mental Health Reform in the Nineteenth Century. 2013. 10 May 2013 <http://www.ushistoryscene.com/uncategorized/mentalheathreform/>.

West Virginia University Libraries. Memorial to the legislature of Massachusetts, 1843. By Dorothea L. Dix. 1 March 2001. 8 May 2013 <http://archive.org/details/memorialtolegisl00dixd>.

Graphics:

A+E Television Networks, LLC. (2013). Dorothea Dix Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story. Retrieved June 15, 2013, from Biography.com: http://www.biography.com/people/dorothea-dix-9275710?page=2

Draper, A. M. (2011, May 13). 10th Century Mission Coffee House. Retrieved June 15, 2013, from Inkwell Inspirations: http://www.inkwellinspirations.com/2011/05/19th-century-mission-coffee-house.html

Internet Archive. (2012, August 7). Memorial to the legislature of Massachusetts, 1843. Retrieved June 16, 2013, from Open Library: http://openlibrary.org/books/OL6629613M/Memorial_to_the_legislature_of_Massachusetts_1843.

Wikipedia. (2013, April 23). Ten Days in a Madhouse. Retrieved June 15, 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Days_in_a_Mad-House

This era of reform was necessary and changed 19th century American

society by eventually improving the overall physical and emotional

conditions of the mentally ill

Conditions

On her first visit to teach Sunday School, Dix was shocked by the conditions

- No heat

- Unclean

- Caged

- Barred

- Chained

Memorial to the Massachusetts Legislature

By Dorothea Dix

• Used emotional tact

• Persuaded legislators to recognize importance

• Her purpose being "to prevent... continuance of such outrages"

• Gives the legislature the responsibility of caring for the mentally ill

• This power allowed her to win support, despite being a woman

• She led the way for other minority reformers, proving they can make a difference

• 1864-1922

• One of the first woman Journalists

• Went undercover in Blackwell Asylum

Dorothea Dix

• 1802-1887
• Educated
• Mental illness in her family
• Enjoyed helping people
• Started a school at 14 years old
• Took ill and retired to England
• Became interested in England's advanced prison care

This background was essential to starting the reform

Dix's Results

• Legislature started an investigation

• Began era of moral treatment

• Asylums were built specifically for the mentally ill

• Conditions with completely humane and moral approaches were established

Reasons:

-electroconvulsion-therapy (shock therapy)

-psychosurgery (removal of brain tissue)

-psychopharmacology (drugs, and hallucinogenics)