Dorothea Dix was a driving force for the advancement of the treatment of the mentally ill in America and did so while she clashed heavily with the politics of Jacksonian America. In the early to mid 19th century, the country and government supported the "common man", the white working class, while the disadvantaged were often left to fend for themselves. There was an emphasis on self-reliance and the reach of the federal government was often limited, with powers being kept to the state.
Dorothea believed that interest-oriented liberalism had corrupted America, with asylums being run for financial gain. In her campaigning for government interference to care for the mentally ill, she forever changed America's view on and approach towards the standard of care for the mentally ill.