Between 1845 and 1955, nearly 300 state hospitals opened in the united states and the number of hospitalized patients reported on any given day increased from 2,000 in 1845 to nearly in 1955

... Nearly 600,000 in 1955.
Patients with schizophrenia did not respond to traditional therapies, so in the new hospitals, the goal of curing them was changed, just looking to have them in control and order, giving them food, clothes and a home. The new mental or psychiatric hospitals in the United States were administered by each of the states; they were also built or located in remote or remote areas where the land was cheap, and also to move patients away from the stressful daily life and to have a relaxed and healthy environment, so that doctors and therapists could take care of them.

An attractive economy.