Howe, working with Dorothea Dix, also brought about the establishment of the "Massachusetts School for Idiot and Feeble-Minded Youth", the Western Hemisphere's oldest publicly funded institution serving the mentally disabled. He founded the school in 1848 with a $2,500 appropriation from the Massachusetts Legislature. "Idiot" was at that time considered a polite term for individuals with mental and intellectual disabilities. Howe was successful in his attempt to educate the mentally disabled, but this led to other problems. Some commentators argued that the disabled did so well in schools such as Howe's that they should permanently reside there. Howe was opposed to this, arguing that the mentally disabled had rights and that segregating them from the rest of society would be detrimental.