The idea of social justice for all is something that has been debated, and fought over since the beginning of society. If one looks across all the cultures in the world different ideas of what this justice is pop up all around. What may be seen as totally acceptable in one culture could be viewed as an atrocity in another. Despite the many issues that have plagued America when it comes to the injustices of peoples one of the greatest talking points in the social justice circle is that of women’s rights. In America the idea of equal rights for all has changed drastically since the time of its founding. Initially white males were seen as the sole holder’s of complete social freedom, and they did everything they could to insure that it stayed that way. However, there efforts, fortunately, were in vain. The idea of seeing women as equals to men was not something that was really considered or fought for until the 1800’s. It was in this era that women began to take a stronger stand for the injustices that were befalling them and to strive for a better life for themselves and their children by pointing out the shortcomings of society to recognize them as equal to their male counterparts. These efforts were perhaps most clearly displayed by the activist and author Nellie Bly who took it upon herself to ignore the societal norms and make a change. Her main focus was on the treatment of women suffering from mental illness and the horrific ways in which they were handled by not only the men in society but also by the institutions that were supposed to be established to help them rather than manipulate them into believing they were insane. Her work was so effective at making changes her story was even covered by famous biographical author Brook Kroeger. This piece is important because it aimed to show the travesties that women were facing in these institutions. Her drive for this piece came from the things she was seeing in the world around her and she decided she could not stay silent about it anymore.

Nellie Bly’s most impactful work came in the 1880’s when she made an incredible sacrifice to further the cause she was fighting so hard for. The piece was called Ten Days in a Madhouse. In this work she went undercover into an asylum for ten days posing as a mentally unstable patient. The story begins with her as a journalist making the decision to go into The Women’s Asylum on Blackwell Island. When she is initially admitted she is met with by a doctor who spends a majority of her “interview” looking down on her and treating almost as if she was not even human. One cannot help but see a comparison to how the Nazis would treat the Jews as if they were less than human by recognizing them only as a number on a uniform. Once she was actually admitted into the asylum she immediately begins to see the horrific conditions which she had feared since beginning her studies. She was now experiencing them first hand and was appalled at the institutions treatments. She was quoted as saying, “How can a doctor judge a woman's sanity by merely bidding her good morning and refusing to hear her pleas for release? Even the sick ones know it is useless to say anything, for the answer will be that it is their imagination” (Bly).

Within her first day of being there she was already able to see just how far the extent of the issue had reached. She describes multiple instances that are absolutely shocking to hear about. One of them being the meals the patients were given. They were portions far too small to fill up a full grown person, but not only that all of these women were on strong medications and who’s effects are much more strongly felt when there is not substantial amount of nourishment in the body. This shows that doctors were not so much as concerned with the health of the patients but were more worried about keeping them medicated almost in a sedated state so they could not question the treatment being forced onto them. Another example of this was the way patients would be bathed. They were washed with freezing water and with extreme amounts of force that would often leave them weak and sick. Also when people would be administered their medications doctors would often overlook the health risks and give patients far too much medication which would leave them in a daze of confusion so they struggled to see some of the horrific things that were going on around them. Often times doctors would not even acknowledge the patients when they said something and would just assume their words were insane and no value to even listen to. One of the most shocking things she found was the reasons why the women were actually in the institution. One women was placed there because her husband felt jealous of the fact that other men found her attractive so he had her put there. Another woman was there because she was an immigrant and did not know how to speak English very well. These are just a few of the examples. However, because of the conditions of the field at the time the doctors found a way to not only convince the patients but also to convince themselves that these were actually good reasons to declare them insane. This bazar induction of women into the Asylum was not something that only happened here. It was a nationwide occurrence when women would be institutionalized for things that held not legitimate claim to insanity. In other institutions this horrible treatment was also very real (Register). 

The importance of this piece cannot be overstated. It was with this report that the awful things that were happening to women in these institutions was being brought to light. Without her making these findings it cannot be fathomed how much longer the women in these institutions could have suffered in silence without receiving any help. One illustration of this comes from an article by Katherine Pouba and Ashley Tianen called, Lunacy in the 19th Century: Women’s Admission to Asylums in Unites States of America. In this article the struggles many women were vocalized not just from a mental health standpoint but overall concerning all women. However, there was one quote that summarized perfectly what many women, including Bly, were trying to say to describe the time period. It says, “women during this time period had minimal rights even concerning their own mental health.” This further illustrates the points that Bly was making by doing her work. Women were undervalued and not seen as an equal so they had many of their basic rights stripped from them. One could also argue the timing of this piece could not have been more perfect. It came at a time when women were, for the first time, really trying to create a life for themselves outside of the home place and to attempt to make a name for themselves. It was possibly because of this that men were making such a push to control them via these asylums because they felt threatened by the power and momentum that these women were gaining and didn’t know how to handle it. Also it is helpful to look at what was going on in the world at the time. Due to the impending world war many jobs that previously only men would hold now had to be occupied by women which ultimately could only help the women’s cause and give grounds to their push that they deserve equality. 

In this piece there is definitely some room to argue as to the inspiration that led Bly to write it. However, it can be universally agreed that there was a powerful movement somewhere in her that made her feel this was necessary. She was an activist for all people and genuinely cared for the well-being of the people in these institutions. She was quoted as saying, “I always had a desire to know asylum life more thoroughly – a desire to be convinced that the most helpless of God’s creatures, the insane, were cared for kindly and properly.” (Bly) Clearly this shows a very strong motivation of hers to help people. While she was definitely a strong feminist and was doing everything she did to help women get equal rights it can definitely be argued that at her core she was a person who loved all and wanted all people to be treated with the fairness and respect she felt all deserved. The overall inspiration simply came from the world around her. She saw the problems and felt obligated to make a change. She saw the struggles of these women as they were constantly being abused both physically and mentally into feeling as though they were insane. Once the doctors were able to convince the women they were actually insane there was no going back and the women were caught in the endless cycle that continued to cause them so much pain and hardship. Through this struggle women have created an image for themselves that shows that will not give up in the face adversity. 

When one looks back on the history of these women’s rights issues there are many moments that stand out as being incredibly influential in the attempt to gain the equal rights. One major event came in 1848 when the Declaration of Sentiments was signed after an extensive two-day deliberation that ultimately ended in the creation of twelve that would help give women equal treatment under the law. Another major accomplishment of the movement was the founding of the National Women’s Suffrage Movement; whose mission statement aims to establish the point that they were fighting for women to have more equal treatment under the national law. They were first established in 1869 and have made some of the most noteworthy differences in the struggles of women’s rights. Perhaps the most significant of these changes was the push they made to allow women to vote. Later in 1869 another foundation was established called The American Women’s Suffrage Association. They focused exclusively on gaining women the right to vote. Later in 1890 the two groups merged together to help make a united push for the right to vote that made ripples all the way up to the White House and with time eventually did grant the women the right they fought so hard to attain. Then in 1887 Nellie Bly made her plunge into the asylum and published her findings for the world to see the horrors that were going on in these places. After some 20 years she was again met with opposition to her work by World War I. Many political leaders at the time used the war as an excuse to overlook the issues facing these women. They often went so far as to say that women were being unpatriotic and even compared them to the countries they were fighting when it concerned their intentions. This created some backlash throughout the country but it did not stop the fight or the effect that her words had. Despite the other incredible contributions that women have made her sacrifice definitely stands as one of the greatest sacrifices that was made due to the fact that she completely sacrificed herself to experience the mistreatment firsthand and expose the horrific things that were occurring at the time in these places. It was something had become a societal norm at the time and her stand definitely represents what women were hoping to achieve. 

This piece was so incredibly important because it was aiming to highlight the mal-treatment of all women but especially those who were suffering from mental issues. Her main inspiration came from the things she was seeing around and came from the realization that she could no longer stay silent about it. One of the strongest points about the mental health movement in this time that applies to all people, not just women, is that once it has been decided that you are insane there is no way one could prove otherwise. Even if you are making a reasonable argument a Dr. would often times just say you were denial of the truth. Once diagnosed it seems almost all but impossible to prove that you are sane even if you are. The strides that Bly made did more than just impact women because she shed light on a nation-wide travesty that was effecting an incredible amount of people. The issue of human rights is still something that is alive and well today and is creating issues in society today. Women are still being mistreated by the social biases that have been attempted to be ousted but still are present in today’s society. Despite the fact that struggle has continued to this day the contributions that Bly made are priceless in what seems like the never ending struggle for women to gain the equal rights and opportunities that they have fought so hard to achieve.            
