Dorothea+Dix+-+Hannah+W.

At age ten, Fred was sent to a poorhouse due to his mental illness. His family reluctantly sent him there because they could no longer take care of him, and seeing that there was other facility to help Fred with his special needs, this seemed like the only place. It was natural for many people, like Fred, who had mental illnesses to be sent to poorhouses. They were treated badly sometimes not even receiving food at meal times, and were often beaten badly. People with mental illnesses were looked down upon, and outsiders often were disgusted by them.

As an outsider looking in, Samantha, Fred’s sister knew that her brother did not deserve that type of treatment. She knew her brother was a great person, and that he was misunderstood by people. She often shuddered at the thought of her brother being beaten and starved in that terrible place. She hoped and prayed for a miracle, but knew that it was impossible for her parents to have enough money to take care of Fred. However, one day this all would change, thanks to help of a woman name Dorothea Dix.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Samantha had woken to what seemed like a normal morning. She got dressed, brushed her hair, and then went to the kitchen for breakfast. Her mother was cooking, and to her surprise her father was sitting at the table with a grin on his face. This seemed somewhat strange because usually her father was already working on the far by now.

 “What are you grinning about Daddy?”

“This woman named Dorothea Dix is coming to town. Roger came to tell me ‘bout her this morning. She fixes up hospitals for those who are different, you know, like Fred.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well we are one of the last two states out of thirteen that have hospitals for mentally ill people, and I guess shes fixin’ to come down here and build us one.”

“That’s great Daddy! Momma did ya hear that?”

Her mom, Edith, shakes her head and grins widely at Samantha, and says “Well lets not get our hopes up about anything just yet. I am just as excited as the both of you are, but this Mrs. Dix is not super woman.”

Even though Edith tried to lower the expectations of Samantha and her father they still sat grinning thinking of having Fred in a safe place he could call home.

Samantha couldn’t concentrate in school. All she thought about was being able to see and visit Fred without looking hungry and beaten.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 Dinner at the Jones residence was to be served early tonight. Neighbors, John and Alice were coming for dinner to discuss the regular town gossip, and of course crop production. Samantha hated hearing about crops and people who didn’t attend church on Sundays, but she was particularly excited to hear about Mrs. Dorothea Dix. She was hoping more than anything John and Alice, or Mr. and Mrs. Joyner to her, would have the latest new on Mrs. Dix’s progress.

As soon as John and Alice arrived both families began to dig in to a splendid meal of chicken, collards, and potatoes.

William, Samantha’s father, couldn’t wait any longer. He too like Samantha wanted to skip the mindless chit chat about church and crop production. “Well John, you heard anything about Mrs. Dix and her business with getting us a hospital hear?”

“Well now that you mention it William, I have. I know the last time I talked to you I told you that the Democrats and the Whigs were split right down the middle on the decision whether or not to pay for the institution. And that even though she won the support of some of the Democrats the bill failed.”

Samantha hadn’t heard of this. She guessed her father didn’t mention it to her because the bill had failed. She understood that her father didn’t want her to give up hope, and decided to look past it.

 “Things are looking up though. Mrs. Dix is staying at Mansion House Hotel where Mrs. James Dobbins, the wife of the leading Democrat in the House of Commons, is also staying. Mrs. Dobbins grew very ill, and Mrs. Dix cared for her. And Mrs. Dobbins last request of her husband was to support Mrs. Dix’s bill. So, hopefully with Mr. Dobbins sway and power, Mrs. Dix’s bill will pass.”

William smiled and said “That is great news John! Great news!” The rest of the family agreed, and finished their meals with pointless chatter and smiles on their faces.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

 Samantha couldn't sleep the night before. She knew that today, January 30, 1849, the newspaper would read whether the bill had passed or not. She wanted to run into the kitchen, but at the same time she was scared to. The news would change her brother’s life for the better or not change it at all.

Samantha’s father was sitting at the table with her mother crying. She didn’t know if they were tears of joy or sadness.

“She did it Samantha. Fred don’t have to live in that awful place no more!”

Samantha could barely make out the words her father was saying, but she understood. The family held each other for a long while talking about the hospital, Dorothea Dix, and Fred.

It took seven years to build the hospital. The Jones family was one of the first families to enter one of their family members into the hospital. Fred no longer lived a life of hunger and torture from that day onwards.

<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Application: After having my students read my example of a letter to Dorothea Dix, I would ask them to write in their own words the importance of Dorothea Dix in the reformation period. I would give them the option of writing a letter to Dorothea Dix as an adolescent of that time period or write from the perspective of Dorothea Dix. After the activity, I would want to have a class discussion on how they think it is important in the 1800's and today's society to have specialized institutions for people who are mentally ill.

<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Resources for letter/diary research: Dorothea Dix Hospital History (also alternative link on site, Dorothea's Biography): http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dsohf/services/dix/history.htm

<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dorothea Dix Hospital: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newnation/4780

<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dorothea Dix Timeline: http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=dorothea+dix&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#q=dorothea+dix&hl=en&client=safari&sa=X&rls=en&prmd=ivmcnbo&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=fLKqTLXoLMP6lwf8-KXZBw&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=19&ved=0CGkQ5wIwEg&fp=1796970da9433782

<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> Books: Dorothea Dix: The Social Reformer by: Barbara Witterman Dorothea Dix: Advocate for Mental Heath Care by: Margaret Muckenhoupt

<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> //From Dr. Lee// - I appreciate the form you used here, but think it would best to shift from a letter form to a story form. You can make Fred the central character and narrate from an omnipresent stance. You should also try to find some resources on Dix that you can use in your application.