Dorothea Dix

Personal Statement: 

Hello, my name is Dorothea Dix and I was born on April 4, 1802 in a quaint Maine town known as Hampden. I grew up with my parents but fled to my grandmother's house at the age of 12 to escape from my abusive and alcoholic father. While my childhood with my parents was rather hard it was the only time that I got an education, because shortly after I moved in with my grandmother I began teaching children in a school that I opened in an attempt to give poor and neglected children a fair educational opportunity. Along with teaching children, I also volunteered to teach the women at a women's prison which is where I began to notice the injustice regarding the treatment of the mentally ill prisoners. Such a sight gave me the motivation to push for reform of the prisons and mental hospitals, and it was my efforts that put an end to the cruel and torturous treatment of mentally ill patients.

Issues:

I am an American activist on behalf of the mentally unstable and have dedicated a majority of my life in an attempt to better both the mental facilities and the treatments of those patients. Ever since I began teaching at the women's prison I realized the cruelty behind the care of the inmates with mental disorders. I was both shocked and appalled at the fact that these poor people were subjected to abuse; lack of food, drink, clothing, and proper bedding; and forcibly chained up because of a mental disorder that's far out of their control. With the motivation of my religious ways, I refused to stand by idly while these people suffered simply because of poor care.

Solutions:

My strong objection to the treatment of the mentally ill in both the prisons and hospitals led me to work for reform of not only the physical being of the locations but also of the system. It was a big and difficult task however I was determined to make the change and give mentally ill patients the help and treatment they need and deserve. In order to make such a change possible I worked to pass legislation that would grant these patients a proper facility to stay in rather than be locked up along with dangerous prisoners. After many attempts, laws were passed and the change slowly became evident. Aside from legal action, my attempts could be considered successful simply because I was able to get the word out and raise awareness of the issue at hand. While unfortunately many people believed that the treatment of the mentally ill was fair thus looking down on me and my efforts, it didn't stop me from doing what's really right and fighting to spread awareness and change regarding the cruel treatment of the mentally ill.

Relationship to Others:

Aside from my own attempt to reform the prisons and asylums, there were many other reforms circulating the nation. I resist the abolition movement and that along with my undecided stance regarding the abolition of slavery brought much controversy and criticism on my behalf. On the other hand, I find the education of women to be very critical; however I never joined a feminism movement or publicly announced my support for the cause which is why being around feminists such as Susan B. Anthony would be rather uncomfortable.

Dorothea Dix

Personal Statement:

Hello, my name is Dorothea Dix and I was born April 4, 1802 in Hampden, Maine. I attended school and learned to read and write and was even in advanced classes. I had a bad childhood and ended up living with my aunt for many years. I am very passionate about teaching and started a school for little girls (whom i taught privately because girls were not allowed to go to school). I also volunteered to teach the women at a prison for Sunday school. I was also an army nurse during the American civil war and set guidelines for future nurse candidates, although some women may hate me for it. I am most notable in history for my restless spirit and determination in helping make things fair. I have a strong opinion and would not stand by and watch injustices being made. I was responsible for establishing and enlarging 32 mental hospitals in America. I also got the legislature to promise to stop imprisoning people with mental illnesses.

Issue(s):

I am an activist on behalf of the indigent insane. I wanted them to have better facilities and be treated with care unlike they were at the time, people didn't care about them.I wanted facilities built, that would help people and their conditions, especially those who were imprisoned. I went to teach the women at a jail once for Sunday school and saw the horrible conditions they were in, and was even more outrage to see that they put mentally disabled people in the same space as violent criminals. In prisons they had a system were family members or prison workers would take care of the needs of the mentally disabled inmates. This system often operated under closed walls, thus shielding people from the abuse that was going on.They would be beaten and tortured. I was personally motivated by my own deeply held religious convictions and after careful study, knew I had to stick with my beliefs. People should not be treated like animals especially if they are in need of special help.

Solution(s):

I sought a total reform of the system, of both its physical structures, and more importantly, its programs and systems. I wanted legislation passed that would grant mentally ill people homes and treatment to go to, and for them to not be imprisoned along with the other convicts. My goal was for laws to be put in place that would help the well being of these people. I was successful in getting the legislature to pass these laws and was even able to build some of these homes myself. One of the obstacles that I faced was a lack of modern technology and transportation. It was hard for news of my work to travel because of the lack of radio or TV at the time. I also had to travel to a lot of places in order to help get my reform started and that was hard to do because since there were no things like planes around, it took a long time to get to destinations. Some people criticized me because they thought that the insane/disabled were being treated fairly. Some people even believed that torturing and beating mental patients helped rid their bodies of the “devil”. But I knew better and wasn't about to let these inhumane things keep happening.

Relationship to Others:

I am still unsure the abolition slavery and resist the abolition movement. Although I have significant political influence and promote the education of women, I never joined the wider feminist movement or lent public support to their cause in fear of damaging my own movement. Even though I am not against any of these movements it would be uncomfortable/awkward to sit next to people like Susan B. Anthony who were feminists, or people like Frederick Douglass who supported the abolition movement. I would feel comfortable sitting next to people who were reformers of the education system and supported the temperance movements.

Harriet Tubman

Personal Statement:
My name is Harriet Tubman. I was born Armanita Harriet Ross to slave parents, Harriet Green and Ben Ross, in Dorchester County, Maryland in the 1820’s. There are no records of my birth, so I don’t quite know exactly when I was born. As a child, I took care of a younger brother and a baby, under the commands of a woman named Mary Pattison Brodess, who would beat me if I didn’t do my job right. My owners ran a large plantation near Blackwater River in Madison, Maryland, so as I grew older and stronger, I was assigned to bigger tasks in the field and forest. My mother, Rit, worked as a cook for the Brodess family, and my father, Ben, was a woodsman on the plantation. They had 9 children, including myself. However, our family struggled to stay together as slavery tore us apart. In my early life, I suffered a severe head injury when I was hit by a heavy metal weight. The injury caused seizures, narcoleptic attacks, headaches, powerful visionary, and dream experiences which occurred regularly throughout the rest of my life. Doctors believed I may have suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy, however, being a devout Christian, I liked to view my vivid dreams and visions as revelations from God. Around 1844, I married a free black man named John Tubman. Soon after the marriage was when I changed my name from Araminta to Harriet. In 1849, I became ill and my owner, Edward Brodess, unsuccessfully tried to sell me. A week later, Brodess died. Knowing we would all be sold, my brothers and I escaped from slavery on September 17, 1849. Edward’s widow, Eliza, posted a runaway notice offering a reward for each of us to be returned. My brothers managed to persuade me to return back with them. However, I managed to escape one more time with the help of the Underground Railroad. Along my way, I managed to help rescue more than 300 slaves. I took them on an exhausting and dangerous journey of nearly 90 miles, traveling by foot, northeast along the Choptank River, through Delaware and north into Pennsylvania. After I reached Philadelphia, I began thinking of my family, who still weren’t free even though I was. I began working any jobs I could find in order to save money. At this time, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave law of 1850, which forced law enforcement officials, even in states that had outlawed slavery, to aid in the capture of fugitive slaves, and imposed heavy punishments on those who aided escape. This, for us fugitive slaves, meant that we had to try to get to Canada, which had abolished slavery. That winter, I received a warning that my niece and her children were going to be sold, so I returned to my land of enslavement. They managed to escape, meeting with me so I could bring them safely to Philadelphia. In the spring, I headed back to Maryland to help rescue other family members. I began making more and more trips back to rescue all of my family members, while helping others along the way. In 1851, I returned to Dorchester County for the first time since my escape to find my husband John, who was married to another woman. I insisted they both return back with me but John refused, claiming he was happy where he was. As angry as I was, I respected his decision and instead found other slaves who wanted to escape and led them back to Philadelphia. In December of 1851, I guided 11 fugitives northward. For 11 years, I returned repeatedly to Maryland, rescuing about 300 slaves in my 19 expeditions. I also provided specific instructions for about 50-60 other fugitives to escape to the north. Despite my dangerous actions, I was never caught, and neither were the fugitives I guided. One of my last missions was to retrieve my aging parents. My father freed my mother when he purchase her from Eliza Brodess. Two years later, I received word that my father helped a group of escaped slaves and was at risk of arrest. So, I traveled to them and led them into Canada. In November 1860, I went on my last rescue mission. I was in search of my sister and her two children. Upon returning to Dorchester County, I discovered that Rachel had died, and I wasn’t able to save the children because I had no money to pay for their release. Not willing to waste my trip, I gathered another group of fugitives and we were well on our way north. I spent my remaining years in Auburn, tending to my family and others in need. I worked different jobs to support my parents and pay bills. I soon fell in love with a Civil War veteran named Nelson Davis. Even though he was 22 years younger than me, I married him in 1869 and we spent the next 20 years together. In 1874 we adopted a baby girl named Gertie.

Issue: 
Along my life long journey, I stumbled upon many issues. I fought against slavery and the fugitive slave law, and fought for women’s suffrage and civil rights. In being very religious, most of my goals towards these issues came from my strong beliefs in God and the Bible.

Solutions:
Escaping slavery, I made more than 19 missions to rescue more than 300 slaves using the Underground Railroad. I returned many times to rescue my family members still enslaved, guiding dozens of other slaves to their freedom. When the South passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, I helped guide fugitives farther north into Canada where slavery had been abolished. I later helped John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, I saw a Union victory as a key step toward the abolition of slavery. I joined a group of abolitionists heading to South Carolina. I became a fixture in the camps in Port Royal, assisting fugitives and serving as a nurse. When Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation in January of 1863, I considered it an important step toward liberating blacks from slavery. I became the first woman to lead an armed assault during the Civil War. I accompanied Montgomery and his troops on an assault on a collection of plantations along the Combahee River, rescuing more than 700 slaves. For two more years, I worked for the Union forces. At the end of the war, I returned to my home in Auburn, New York. Despite my service, I had never received a regular salary and was denied compensation for years. In my later years, I worked to promote the cause of women’s suffrage. I began attending meetings of suffragist organizations, and I was soon working alongside inspirational women like Susan B. Anthony and Emily Howland. I traveled to New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. to speak out in favor of women’s voting rights. I was a keynote speaker at the first meeting of the National Federation of Afro-American Women in 1896.

Relationships with Others:
I would feel comfortable talking with Susan B. Anthony, Lydia Child, Dorothea Dix, Lucretia Mott, Lyman Beecher, and Theodore Dwight Weld. I wouldn't feel comfortable talking to Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, or Henry Clay.