Colony Treatment of the Insane and Other Defectives

"Colony Treatment of the Insane and Other Defectives" by P. L. Murphy is a discourse from the early 1900's about a new way to help people with mental illnesses and disabilities. The book is centered around using work and nature to help treat patients, which was different than how people usually cared for them back then. Murphy talks about a special community he started in North Carolina, showing how it felt like a real home. He shares true stories of people who seemed like they couldn't get better but then started to improve a lot because they had jobs to do and felt like they were helping. By telling these stories, Murphy argues that "colony treatment" is a better and cheaper way to care for people than just keeping them in hospitals.