The Bill for the Benefit of the Indigent Insane (also called the Land-Grant Bill For Indigent Insane Persons, formally the bill "Making a grant of public lands to the several States for the benefit of indigent insane persons") was proposed legislation that would have established asylums for the

indigent Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

insane Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

, and also blind, deaf, and dumb, via federal land grants to the states. Franklin Pierce - Cropped

The bill was the signature initiative of activist

Dorothea Dix Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802July 17, 1887) was an American advocate on behalf of the indigent mentally ill who, through a vigorous and sustained program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first gene ...

, and passed both houses of Congress in 1854. However, it was vetoed on May 3, 1854 by President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

, the first of his nine vetoes. Pierce argued that the federal government should not commit itself to

social welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet Basic needs, basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refe ...

, which he believed was properly the responsibility of the states.Tiffany, Francis. (1890). ''The Life of Dorothea Lynde Dix''. Boston: The Riverside Press. pp. 180. The main provision of the bill was to set aside of federal land: for the benefit of the insane, and the remainder to be sold for the benefit of the "blind, deaf, and dumb", with proceeds distributed to the states to build and maintain asylums. The initial request, on June 23, 1848, had been for five million acres (20,000 km²), which was subsequently expanded.

Context and legacy

The bill was part of the first wave of public mental health initiatives in the United States, which saw the establishment of asylums. The bill is seen as a landmark in social welfare legislation in the United States. Pierce's veto established a precedent for federal non-participation in social welfare that lasted over 70 years, until the emergency legislation and

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

of the 1930s

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Compare instead the county institution of the

poor farm A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy. Workhouses In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), ‘workhouse’ has been th ...

. No further federal legislation on mental health occurred for over 90 years until 1946 when the

National Mental Health Act The National Mental Health Act (1946) became law on July 3, 1946. It established and provided funds for a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The act made the mental health of the people a federal priority. It was inspired by alarm at ...

was passed, establishing federal mental health policy.

References

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External links

Senate Debates On The Land-Grant Bill For Indigent Insane Persons, February 21, 1854

by Franklin Pierce
Speech of Hon. John M. Clayton, of Delaware, on the veto message
by

John Middleton Clayton John Middleton Clayton (July 24, 1796 – November 9, 1856) was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party who served in the Delaware General Assembly, and as U.S. Senator from Delaware and U.S. Secretar ...

Healthcare reform legislation in the United States Mental health law in the United States 1854 in law United States proposed federal health legislation Presidency of Franklin Pierce