Mariana's Blog 2

 

Completing this collaborative project on historic changemakers has been an eye-opening academic experience. It completely shifted my understanding of systemic reform, public health, and individual civic responsibility. Working together as a team to build our "Changemakers of the 1800s" newspaper poster allowed us to examine how separate, seemingly isolated reform movements in the 19th century actually worked together to build the foundation of our modern civil society. My primary focus within our team was researching Dorothea Dix and her groundbreaking work in mental health reform. However, collaborating closely with my teammates on the remaining sections of our poster introduced me to a wealth of historical facts, context, and details about the other six changemakers that I did not know before. This project forced me to connect historical data with modern institutional frameworks, such as Miami Dade College's Institute for Civic Engagement & Democracy (iCED), while deepening my appreciation for the collaborative research process.

Before beginning this research, my knowledge of Dorothea Dix was limited to basic textbook mentions of her Civil War nursing leadership. Uncovering her primary work as a fierce mental health advocate in the mid-19th century was both shocking and profoundly inspiring. Reading historical accounts of how people with mental illnesses were treated in the 1800s was incredibly difficult. It is horrifying to realize that society used to view psychiatric conditions not as medical illnesses, but as moral failures or demonic punishments. Finding out that vulnerable human beings were regularly locked in unheated prison cells, chained to stone walls, beaten, and kept in total darkness by local municipalities made me deeply emotional. It made me realize how easily a society can lose its humanity when there are no centralized laws protecting vulnerable populations.

What fascinated me most about Dix was her brilliant strategy for creating institutional change. She did not just complain about these horrific conditions; she weaponized empirical data. Her method of traveling over ten thousand miles to document cell blocks, write blistering "Memorials," and directly lobby state legislatures and the United States Congress is a perfect blueprint for modern grassroots advocacy. She understood that to change the minds of cynical politicians, she needed irrefutable proof.

From an economic perspective, her ability to convince governments to shift funding from punitive local jails to structured, state-funded medical asylums—like the Dorothea Dix Hospital authorized in 1849—was an incredibly smart move. She proved that human suffering is a financial and moral burden that governments are obligated to fix. Learning about how she took her mission international to petition global leaders and even Pope Pius IX showed me that true advocacy knows no borders. Her life legacy proves that a single dedicated voice can permanently alter international policy. 

While my own research focused heavily on Dix, collaborating with my team members on our shared poster was an equally impactful part of the experience. Each teammate brought forward a wealth of information regarding their designated changemaker, frequently sharing fascinating details and historical context that I had never encountered before. Seeing our individual pieces come together into a cohesive newspaper layout made me realize how connected all social, scientific, and political reform really is.

For example, when looking at Charles Darwin’s section, a teammate shared how his publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859 didn't just change biology, but completely revolutionized the way everyday people understood life and science, sparking massive societal debates.

Learning about Nellie Bly from another teammate was a true highlight of this project. I did not know that she was one of the first true investigative journalists in history. Hearing about how she went undercover to expose horrific abuse in mental institutions felt like a perfect, direct parallel to Dorothea Dix’s work. While Dix used data and political lobbying, Bly used the power of the press and undercover reporting to force accountability. I also had no idea she traveled completely around the world in just 72 days, which was an incredible feat for a woman in that era.

My teammates also deepened my knowledge of crucial figures in African American history and civil rights. While I knew the basic names of Booker T. Washington, Nat Turner, and Harriet Tubman, my team members introduced specific details that completely changed my perspective:

Booker T. Washington: A teammate explained how his founding of the Tuskegee Institute focused heavily on vocational training to build immediate economic independence for African Americans, making him one of the most practical and influential Black leaders of the late 1800s.

Nat Turner: I learned the exact scope of his 1831 rebellion in Virginia, and how his direct actions drastically intensified the national debate over slavery, forcing the entire country to confront the violence of the institution.

Harriet Tubman: A teammate brought to light her lesser-known contributions, such as working as an official spy and nurse for the Union during the Civil War, alongside her famous 13 missions leading hundreds of enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

Finally, reviewing Susan B. Anthony’s section with my team helped me appreciate how her early advocacy laid the direct legal foundation for the 19th Amendment. It was incredibly nice to hear my teammates speak so passionately about these figures. Their research helped me fill in major gaps in my historical knowledge, turning a standard school project into a genuinely collaborative learning environment. 

A major requirement of this project was connecting our historical figures to modern government frameworks and our own roles as students. This connection really bridged the gap between past and present for me. When analyzing how the United States government uses Dix's legacy today, I gained a much clearer understanding of entities like the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). However, comparing American and global perspectives revealed a major gap that still exists today.

While the U.S. relies heavily on decentralized, insurance-based medical care and specialized police crisis training, international organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) treat mental health as a fundamental, universal human right. This taught me that while Dix successfully moved patients out of cages and into hospitals, the modern global struggle is about "deinstitutionalization"—integrating individuals safely into supportive, stigma-free communities.

Bringing this home to Miami Dade College through the lens of the iCED department made the project feel incredibly personal. Reflecting on iCED’s mission to foster "changemaker ideas" made me realize that as college students, we have the exact same tools available to us that Dorothea Dix, Susan B. Anthony, or Booker T. Washington had. We can conduct surveys, organize awareness campaigns, and participate in non-partisan grassroots lobbying seminars.

Ultimately, this presentation was much more than just an assignment to get a grade. It was an exercise in civic empathy and team collaboration. Investigating the dark history of 19th-century asylums and discovering the hidden details shared by my teammates has permanently changed how I view social justice. It made me realize that progress is never accidental or automatic. Every human right, safety regulation, and public hospital we take for granted today exists only because individuals in the 1800s were brave enough to stand up, disrupt a legacy of cruelty, and demand better from their societies.

As I move forward in my academic and professional career at Miami Dade College, I want to carry Dorothea Dix’s core philosophy with me. Her belief that "Man is not made better by being degraded" applies perfectly to how we treat vulnerable populations today. This project has given me the confidence to use my own voice, collaborate effectively within a team, and look for ways to turn my classroom knowledge into active, real-world advocacy.