Dorothea Dix

For years, society had shunned the mentally ill, locking them up and even treating them like criminals. Author Amy Paulson Herstek traces the life and career of Dorothea Dix, the great social reformer who broke barriers to make a stand for better treatment for the mentally ill in an age when women, too, were considered second-class citizens. From her strict upbringing, through her years as a teacher and Civil War nurse, to her work as a lobbyist in Congress, Herstek shows how Dorothea...
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For years, society had shunned the mentally ill, locking them up and even treating them like criminals. Author Amy Paulson Herstek traces the life and career of Dorothea Dix, the great social reformer who broke barriers to make a stand for better treatment for the mentally ill in an age when women, too, were considered second-class citizens. From her strict upbringing, through her years as a teacher and Civil War nurse, to her work as a lobbyist in Congress, Herstek shows how Dorothea Dix's amazing compassion helped change American society.