Question

dorothea dix was a teacher and school founder in boston. one sunday in 1841, dix went to teach religious classes at a local prison. she was shocked to find mentally ill people there. she then traveled to towns across the state, visiting the places where mentally ill people were kept.

in 1843, dix wrote a report on her research for the massachusetts state legislature. read the following passage from her report. then answer the question below.

gentlemen, i call your attention to the present state of mentally ill persons confined within this state, in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens!...
i offer the following examples from my notebook....
in the town of medford: one mentally ill person chained, and one in a close stall for seventeen years
granville: one often closely confined, now losing the use of his limbs from want of exercise
dedham: the mentally ill person disadvantageously placed in the jail. in the poorhouse, two females in stalls. in the main building, lie in wooden bunks filled with straw; always shut up.
men of massachusetts, i beg, i implore, i demand pity and protection....raise up the fallen, restore the outcast, and defend the helpless.
confined: kept in a small place
disadvantageously: harmfully
men of massachusetts: men of the state legislature
implore: ask

based on this passage, what were the main purposes of dixs report? select the two that apply.

• to prove that mentally ill people were mistreated in different places
• to persuade the state legislature to take better care of mentally ill people
• to show that mental illnesses were impossible for doctors to treat

Explanation:

1. The report includes specific examples from multiple towns (Medford, Granville, Dedham) detailing the inhumane, confined conditions of mentally ill people, which serves to prove they were mistreated across different places.
2. Dix directly addresses the Massachusetts legislature, begging them to "raise up the fallen, restore the outcast, [and] defend the helpless," which is a clear attempt to persuade them to provide better care for this group.
3. There is no mention in the passage of the treatability of mental illnesses, so this option is not supported.

Answer:

• to prove that mentally ill people were mistreated in different places
• to persuade the state legislature to take better care of mentally ill people