8. Children Were Sent To Asylums
It is hard enough to consider all of the horrors visited upon the involuntarily committed adults who populated asylums at the turn of the 20th century, but it is almost impossible to imagine that children were similarly mistreated. The Worcester County Asylum began screening children in its community for mental health issues in 1854. By 1900, the asylum had involuntarily committed over 200 children that the staff believed were mentally ill. Violent tendencies and risk of suicide were the most common reasons given for involuntarily committed children to this facility. As was documented in New Orleans, “misbehavior” like masturbation could also result in a child being committed by family.
Once committed, the children rarely saw their families again. It is not clear if this was due to visitors not being allowed or if the stigmas of the era caused families to abandon those who had been committed. One study found that children committed to the asylum had a noticeably higher death rate than adult prisoners. Children were treated in the same barbaric manner as adults at the time, which included being branded with hot irons and wrapped in wet, cold blankets. No exceptions or alterations were made for an age when deciding upon treatment.