Dorothea Dix anniversary

On this day in 1841, Unitarian Dorothea Dix visited an East Cambridge jail and was appalled to see mentally ill women confined alongside hardened criminals. The 40 year-old teacher and writer had been exposed to the work of English reformers, and now she embarked on a campaign to ensure humane treatment for the mentally ill in America. She began by documenting conditions in Massachusetts.

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