Unit 3: A Woman’s Crusade: Dorothea Dix

Grades

• 9-10
• 11-12

Subjects

• History
• Language
• Political Science
• Social Studies

Overview of Lesson Plan

• Students examine the reform efforts of Dorothea Dix on behalf of people with mental retardation and mental illness in poorhouses, jails, and asylums. Dix' s efforts resulted in the passage of an act by Congress to provide federal lands to the states that the states could then sell to fund asylums for "the indigent insane." President Franklin Pierce vetoed this legislation in 1854 on constitutional grounds. The lesson addresses the rights and responsibilities of citizens, the role of government at the state and federal levels, and the place of disability in these debates.

Standards

• 1. Analyze and explain the ways groups, societies, and cultures address human needs and concerns.
  2. Apply ideas, theories, and modes of historical inquiry to analyze historical and contemporary developments, and to inform and evaluate actions concerning public policy issues.
  3. Analyze the extent to which groups and institutions meet individual needs and promote the common good in contemporary and historical settings.
  4. Examine persistent issues involving the rights, roles, and status of the individual in relation to the general welfare.
  5. Explain the purpose of government and analyze how its power are acquired, used, and justified.
  6. Identify, analyze, interpret, and evaluate sources and examples of citizens' rights and responsibilities.
  7. Locate, access, analyze, organize, synthesize, evaluate, and apply information about selected public issues—identifying, describing, and evaluating multiple points of view.
  8. Analyze and evaluate the influence of various forms of citizen action on public policy.

Objectives

• 1. To examine public care for people with mental illness and mental retardation in the mid-1800s.
  2. To understand the reform efforts of Dorothea Dix in the mid-1800s.
  3. To identify how social reformers appealed to the conscience of the public and politicians in order to achieve their goals.
  4. To understand the principle of federalism and the responsibilities of the federal and state governments.
  5. To compare and contrast the different ways that the U.S. Constitution was interpreted in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Questions to Consider

• 1. In the 1850s, who was responsible for the care of people with mental disabilities, and how would the Dix bill change those responsibilities?
• 2. How do the various participants in these debates understand the role of the federal government?
• 3. What were the possible long-term implications of the failure of the Dix bill?

Resources and Materials

• NOTE: Some of these links may lead to external web sites.
  1. Web Site on Historical Overview of Poorhouses in the Nineteenth Century: http://www.poorhousestory.com/history.htm
  2. Steve Taylor, "A Woman's Crusade: Dorothea Dix."
  3. Memorial of Miss D.L. Dix to the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States (1-5, 7-18, 21-22, 42, 49, 67, 150-154, 192-204).
  4. Senate Debate on the Land-Grant Bill for Indigent Insane Persons, February 21, 1854 (1-5, 9-13, 17).
  5. Franklin Pierce's 1854 Veto (1-14).
  6. Senator William Seward Responds to Franklin Pierce's Veto (1-20).
  7. Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Activities and Procedures

• 1. Homework: Students read the essay on Dix, and the Memorial to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
• 2. Class Discussion: Students answer the following questions in a teacher led discussion:
• a) In paragraphs 21 and 22, Dix maintains that insanity is more an urban than a rural problem. In the United States of the 1850s, would this be an important part of the need for federal intervention? Given population trends apparent by the 1850s, what would it suggest about the future demographics of insanity?
• b) In paragraph 153, how does Dix describe the efforts of almshouse keepers to care for the insane? Who does she want to be in charge of such efforts? Why?
• c) By making patients in insane asylums "wards of the nation," what kind of relationship is implied? How does this phrase define people with disabilities?
• d) Aside from humanitarian considerations, how would the bill improve American society? What are the practical benefits of Dix's proposal?
• e) How does Dix argue that her plan is constitutional?
• f) In what ways would this bill increase the size and functions of the federal government?
• 3. Group Discussions: Students in small groups read the Senate Debates, Pierce's veto, and Seward's response to the veto, answering the following questions. Then, in pairs, students discuss and record the arguments for and against passage of the Land-Grant Act on behalf of the "indigent insane" as found in the Senate Debates and Pierce's veto. The class comes back together and the teacher leads a discussion of the pro and con arguments.
• a. Senate Debate on the Land-Grant Bill for Indigent Insane Persons, February 21, 1854 (paragraphs 1-5,9-13, 17):  How does Senator Foot argue for passage of the Dix bill? Do his arguments rest more on reason or on emotion? Which seems more effective? How does Senator Foot deal with the constitutionality of the bill? How does he use historical precedent to make his case for the constitutionality of the bill? How is Dorothea Dix portrayed in paragraph 17? Is her personal image a powerful inducement for Senators to vote for the bill?
• b. Franklin Pierce's 1854 Veto (paragraphs 1-14): What does Pierce think of the general idea of improving the - lives of people with mental disabilities? How did the Dix bill work? What were its provisions? Given the answer to the first question, why does Pierce veto the Dix bill? According to Pierce, how would the bill damage the nation? What is Pierce's view of the proper relationship between the states and the federal government? Do you agree or disagree? Should federal lands have sold to support care of the indigent insane?
• c. Senator William Seward Responds to Franklin's Pierce's Veto (paragraphs 1-20): What does Seward have to say about Pierce's view that the Dix bill would make the federal government responsible for all impoverished Americans? How does Seward interpret the Constitution and the nature of the Union? Whose view would most likely prevail today?
• 4. Class Discussion: Students are divided into two groups or sets of groups. A student in each group serves as a recorder. One group takes the position in favor of passage of the Land-Grant Act and one group takes the position in favor of Pierce's veto. Students identify the strongest arguments in favor of their position. The class comes back together and the teacher leads a pro and con discussion. Students are then divided into two groups. A student in each group serves as a recorder. One group takes the position of Senator Foot or Senator Seward, and one takes the position of President Pierce. Students identify their strongest arguments and select one or two members of the group to role play Foot (or Seward) and Pierce in a debate. The class comes back together and holds a debate. After small group discussion reviewing the readings and the arguments in favor of or against the Land-Grant Act, the students come back together as a class. One student role-plays Dorothea Dix advocating for the passage of the Act with President Pierce and one student role-plays Pierce. An alternative assignment would be to assign theses debates as written work.

Eras

• 1810-1865

Disability

• Deafness
• Mental Illness
• Mental Retardation
• Psychiatric Disabilities

Topics

• Exposés
• Government
• Law
• Mental Hospital
• Poorhouse
• Religion

Copyright

• ©Syracuse University, 2004.  All rights reserved.

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