During the mid-1800s, attitudes regarding the mentally ill slowly began to change. Thanks to the efforts of humanitarian reformers such as Dorothea Dix, millions of dollars were raised to establish state mental institutions capable of caring for large numbers of patients. As a result, the number admitted soared tremendously, causing overcrowding in many of the institutions. A century later, when the United States entered World War II, the plight of the mentally ill was once more cast into the spotlight. More than 1.75 million people were rejected for military service in World War II because of mental and emotional problems. Additionally, more soldiers were medically discharged because of neuropsychiatric disorders than for any other reason. Thereafter the medical community began to more closely evaluate the conditions that existed in the mental health care system.
In 1946 the federal government became involved with the passage of the National Mental Health Act, a piece of legislation that provided for the creation of the National Institute of Mental Health in 1949 as well as funding of more advanced research and treatment.
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