Major Leaders

Dorothea Dix

Dorothea Dix responded directly to de Tocqueville's critisms. Dix visited a house of correction, and was appalled by her findings. For one, the conditions within the prison were horrible. For another, the mentally ill we're stored in the prison.
Dix reported her findings to the Massachusetts senate, who in return passed a series of laws that improved the prison's conditions, and opened hospitals for the mentally ill.