
Typically, when one thinks about the press, we think of paparazzi and that most of the information given in any magazine is false. However, the press during the 1800’s was the opposite of any magazine now, and was used as a tool to expose the awful treatment of the patients at Blackwell Asylum. While it was open, the patients in Blackwell Island asylum were mistreated. Heroic Nellie Bly went undercover to expose the way the patients were being treated from the perspective of a patient. Bly’s was able to use the press to shut down the asylum, and help the mentally ill gain benefits through the exposure.  Throughout the 1800’s, the press was seen as a policing body that acknowledged the mistreatment of the patients and reported it to the public (Boardman, Samantha, atl.). By the press exposing the cruel treatment of patients, in coalition with Bly’s 10 Day in a Madhouse, the publications caused the government to shut down the Blackwell Asylum, and increase funding for mental health agencies. 

For 56 years, the asylum ran, totaling up to thousands of patients. Throughout this time, the press continuously followed and reported on the most interesting patients, also known as characters, on this fascinating island.  The readers were intrigued when they heard the stories told by these characters. In response to many enlightening articles about the issues with the asylum, like the one from Nellie Bly, the government realized that the asylum needed to be shut down. 

The article, “The Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island and the New York press,” by Samantha Boardman and George Makari, describes the founding of the insane asylum built on a Blackwell Island in New York City. It states how the asylum came to be and what is was like during the times it was open. Since the beginning of the 19th century, there was a population boom of immigrants from all over the world. With more people came more with mental illness, and a need to find a place to locate these people. Therefore, in 1828, New York City (NYC) purchased Blackwell Island from Blackwell family. The city government officials decided to build the first ever publicly funded mental hospital and municipal mental hospital in the United States. The city was going to make the island a state-of-the-art facility to help classify mental illness. In the article, "The Lunatic Asylum On Blackwell's Island And The New York Press," Dr. John McDonald, who came before Bly, said that there should be four sections to the asylum to help specify where people should go: the “noisy, destructive, and violent,” “the idiots,” “the convalescents,” and an intermediate class for “those in the first stages of convalescence and such incurables are harmless and not possessed of bad habits.” These four sections were supposed to help make the treatments of the patients easier to access and more successful. However, 11 years later after building the asylum, they only ended up with two sections out of the four. Additionally, many of the staff that worked as guards and attendants were previously convicted of robbery and prostitution. Also, the quality of life for the patients was poor. The conditions of the asylum were not appropriate for the overcrowded number of patients, and the doctors were not very concerned with their patients. This article and Dr. McDonald relate to Bly’s work by laying the grounds for her feeling the need to go into the asylum. Due to all the problems and unfinished work that Dr. McDonald states results in Bly wanting to make a change for her community and going to the asylum. 

“The Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island and the New York press” was significant to the essay “Ten Days in a Madhouse,” by Nellie Bly because it describes how the press played a role in shutting the asylum down. As the press did have many characters that they would like to publish about, Bly attempted to get a look into the problems first hand. Not just what the people are like in the asylum, but how they are treated. With her perspective of the asylum, it showed that it was not only the issue of the island being overcrowded, but also the treatment of the patients. In the Ten Days in a Madhouse, Bly stated, “Dr. Dent confessed that he had no means by which to tell positively if the bath was cold and of the number of women put into the same water,” describing the disturbing treatment of patients taking baths. This article gives insight to the disasters of the asylum and as to why Bly would put herself into this situation to expose the issues at hand. She did it to see the point of view of a patient and to get the best possible story. Bly discovered what it was like to be in the asylum and revealed to the world its issues. Having gained the patient’s perspective, she was able to write a story that would shed light on an uncovered phenomenon. Bly’s story greatly impacted the closing of Blackwell Island Asylum and awareness of the mistreatment of the mentally ill. (Switch paragraphs)

“The Inevitable Hour: A History of Caring for Dying Patients in America,” by Emily Abel describes the health care in America during the 1800’s and what it is like to die in a hospital. Additionally, she explains the conditions and the care of patients in Blackwell Asylum, and how ill patients were coming from Bellevue Hospital and put on boats to go to Blackwell’s Island. Though it is only a short ride across the East River of New York City, the patients did not live much longer than the boat ride. Many died due to no medical attention. Abel’s purpose was to express how dying in a hospital or asylum was a profoundly dehumanizing experience. She describes how dying in an asylum is inhumane because people go to these places to receive help, and when they die unexpectedly, it is not fair to the souls of the neglected patients. Due to Blackwell Island not giving sufficient attention to its patients, many would die, and Abel found this morally wrong. After many years of adjusting the care of patients, technological improvements, the Social Security Act, and Medicare, the problems of insane asylums have significantly decreased. The article was used to show the public the wrongful treatment of the asylum’s patients. This article exposed the unprofessional treatment of the patients, and the need to shut down Blackwell Island Asylum. In the end, the goal of better asylums and more medical help to the patients is what Nellie Bly, just like Emily Able, wanted for the world.

 “The Inevitable Hour: A History of Caring for Dying Patients in America” expressed what the conditions were like for the people who lived in Blackwell Asylum during the 1800’s. Abel was able to express to the public that the doctors were ineffective in the Blackwell Asylum, and that the patients needed better care. Even though Bly had to live there for 10 days, the articles that she published exposed the wrongdoings of the asylum for much longer. With such astonishing discoveries, the government could to help but act. After reading Bly’s story, many of the doctors gave apologies and excuses as to what they did. However, the government did not find this to be enough. Providing one million dollars compensation towards asylums, the government hoped that something like this would never happen again. This article exemplifies Bly’s concern for the treatment of the patients by the doctors. The torturous conditions Bly experienced for ten days were experienced by thousands of patients for the majority of their lives. With her firsthand experience as an undercover mentally ill patient, she was able to change the treatment of not only the patients of Blackwell Island, but the treatment many years of patients to come. 

Overall, the articles published by the press were able to fully expose the wrongful treatment of the patients on Blackwell Island. Not only was Bly’s story a key factor into getting the asylum shut down, but also helped ensure this to never happen again by encouraging the government to write a one-million-dollar grant. Throughout the 1800’s, the press was seen as a policing body that acknowledged the mistreatment of the patients and exposed it to the public. By the press exposing the cruel treatment of patients, the publications caused the government to shut down the Blackwell Asylum, and increase funding for mental health agencies.
