Nineteenth-Century AsylumsWherever they were, asylums, or asylums, have the same basic characteristics and functions. Asylum views of life changed dramatically during the nineteenth century. The growth in the number of asylums during the nineteenth century is truly remarkable. Before 1810, only a few states had asylums. By 1850, most northeastern and midwestern state legislatures supported the existence of asylums. Already in 1860, 23 of the 33 existing states had some public institution for the mentally ill. (Perrucci, p.11) The view of what caused madness was widely contested in this period. Some doctors believed that insanity was caused by a brain disease that caused lesions. The opposing view, held by many Europeans, was that madness was caused by civilization or society as a whole. (Perrucci, p.12) Classification played a significant role in asylums and their management. First there is the classification between sane and insane. This division has continuously been at the center of studies and discussions. Maybe those who are considered crazy aren't really crazy. “Nineteenth-century documents make clear that single, divorced, or widowed people were particularly vulnerable to institutionalization.” (Dwyer, p.106) The next classification distinction is whether a person is temporarily insane or chronically insane. The need for a separate institution for the chronically mentally ill has been discussed in many places. When a New York state asylum was considering a separate location, Superintendent John Gray "opposed the idea of ​​a separate institution for the chronically mentally ill." (Dwyer, p.46) This idea was discredited throughout America and Europe. (......middle of paper......the possibility for Poe's story exists. Asylums were barely present in the early nineteenth century. They sprang up rapidly throughout Europe and the United States. For the most part part In part, they were run by a powerful and authoritative hierarchy. Toward the end of the century, people became aware of the major problems of asylums and reform swept both Europe and the United States. Bibliography Beaver, Harold, Ed. The Science Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe Penguin Books. London: 1976.Dwyer, Ellen Homes for the Madness: Life Inside Two Nineteenth Century Asylums. Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1974. Porter, Roy A Social History of Madness: The World Through the Eyes of the Madman Weidenfeld & Nicolson: 1987.