“I proceed, Gentlemen, briefly to call your attention to the present state of Insane Persons confined within this Commonwealth, in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens! Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience! . . . I have the verbal and written testimony of many officers of this Commonwealth . . . that the occupation of prisons for the detention of lunatics and of idiots is, under all circumstances, an evil, subversive alike of good order, strict discipline, and good morals. . . .
I conclude with expressing the hope that the wisdom of our Legislature may devise a remedy for the evils now attending the unfortunate pauper lunatic and idiot. . . .”
Dorothea Dix, Memorial to the Legislature of Massachusetts, 1843
The sentiments expressed by Dorothea Dix in the excerpt most directly reflect which of the following?
a. Attempts by individuals and voluntary organizations to improve society
b. The development of distinctive cultures by various groups of people
c. Governmental and private efforts to promote the American System
d. Racist and nativist theories used to justify violence and segregation