Dorothea Dix was an American activist who created the first generation of American asylums. Dorothea Dix was also the superintendent of Army nurses during the Civil War. Dix was born in Hampden, Maine. She grew up in Worcester Massachusetts and was the oldest of three. Her parents Joseph Dix and Mary Bigelow had deep ancestral roots in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Joseph Dix worked as a Methodist preacher. When Dorothea Dix was twelve she and her grandmother sought refuge in Boston to get away from her parents who were alcoholics and her abusive father.
Dorothea Dix was an author, teacher and reformer. On behalf of the mentally ill and prisoners she helped create dozens of new institutions across the United States and in Europe,
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Dix was a famous nurse for fighting for the rights of people with mental illnesses. At age fourteen Dix started her first school then gained a reputation for a teacher and strict authoritarian. Working was a really big deal in Dorothea’s life, in 1821 she started a more formal school that gave to Boston's wealthy and elite. Around this time Dix tutored the poor and ignored students in her own home. Dorothea was diagnosed with chronic health problems which caused her to leave school, while recovering she spent her time writing children's books. In 1836 her health got worse to a point that her school was forced to close permanently. That same year Dorothea sailed to Europe to recover on the coast of …show more content…
In my opinion, Dorothea Dix fits my definition of a hero because she not only did something to improve the life of one person, she improved the lives of thousands, without worrying about the consequences of her actions. That day when she went to teach Sunday school in East Cambridge, she could have done nothing about the terrible conditions that the prisoners had to endure. She could have chosen to ignore them. But instead, she let her courageous and nurturing ways take over, and she campaigned for the rights of those