Jane Addams (1860-1935)

Portrait of Jane Addams

Being a social work major, it is no surprise that I decided to choose a women like Jane Addams. Jane Addams is known as the "mother of social work" due to her efforts to strive for the equality of all peoples. (Kington, 2012) She was not only the "mother of social work", but also an avid activist, author, and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Addams wanted to try and improve the lives of everyone around her, especially those that belonged to oppressed groups, throughout the United States.  

Jane Addams was born on September 6, 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois. Her parents were known as John Huy and Sarah Weber Addams. Addams came from a family of eight children. However, only five of the eight children survived past their first few months of life. Her mother passed away while giving birth when Addams was only two years old. Even with the loss of her mother, Addams continued to grow up being considered from a "privileged" family. Her father was a very well-known, liked, and successful man. To prove this, Addams' father even considered Abraham Lincoln to be one of his good friends. Growing up, Addams' father instilled in her Christian liberal values and a deep sense of social mission to help others whenever and wherever she could. (Michals, 2017)

Addams went on to graduate from Rockford Female Seminary. As part of the group of independent and newly college-educated women aka. "New Women", Addams worked to apply her education towards the social mission for the equality of those that were oppressed. (Michals, 2017) She later went on to study medicine, but her poor physical health disrupted her plans.

Toynbee Hall - London, England

Addams found her first true calling while she was on a trip in London with her friend Ellen Gates Starr in 1888. The friends visited a Toynbee Hall, a settlement house that provided services to poor industrial workers. (Michals, 2017) Addams goal was to bring this model to the United States on order to help Americans in the same way.

This video gives a more detailed description of what Hull House was and their mission:        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNMt8dVuy0U    

In 1889, Addams and Starr founded Hull House, located in Chicago. Hull House ended up being the first settlement house in the United States. The primary purpose of Hull House was for educated women to come and express their knowledge and all of their ideas with poorer people in their local community. Furthermore, Addams and Starr also envisioned some of the people that they served actually living at the center. To bring this image of the Hull House to life, Addams and Starr were joined by other progressive reformers such as Florence Kelley. The Hull House provided an abundance of services to the people which they served such as daycare, job training, the English language, and cooking. Some other services that were provided were targeted at immigrants. Addams wanted to be as inclusive as possible when serving those that were underprivileged.  

Aside from Addams work at the Hull House, she was always searching to improve society in some way. Addams worked towards the establishment of the juvenile court system, better urban sanitation and factory laws, protective legislation against women, and more playgrounds and early education institutions throughout all of Chicago. In 1907, Addams was one of the founders of the National Child Labor Committee. This committee was later responsible for passing the Federal Child Labor Law in 1916. She initiated the establishment of the School of Social Work, which gave women a supportive new profession. Addams was also the first women to hold the position of president in the National Conference of Charities and Corrections from 1909-1915. Afterwards, Addams became active in the Women's Suffrage Movement and a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. (Michals, 2017) 

During World War I, Addams found her second true calling: promoting international peace. She 
believed that humans were capable of solving their problems without violence. She joined other women that wanted to being peace to the rest of the world. In 1915, she lead the Women's Peace

Party and shortly became president of the International Congress of Women. (Kington, 2012) Addams wrote articles and gave speeches that promoted peace, and founded the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in 1919. She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her dedication to the promotion of peace and the finding of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Addams also wrote a book about her work at Hull House as well as other books about promoting peace. (Michals, 2017)

Addams suffered a heart attack in 1926 and never fully recovered. She passed away on May 21, 1935.

“True peace is not merely the absence of war, it is the presence of justice.” - Jane Addams

Personally, I think Jane Addams is an extraordinary women. She was a well-educated women who used her knowledge to help those that were not as fortunate. She believed in and fought for the equality of all people regardless of their differences and diversity. Addams is a true historical women warrior. 

Works Cited:

“Jane Addams: The Mother of Social Work.” InterExchange, www.interexchange.org/articles/career-training-usa/jane-addams-the-mother-of-social-work/#:~:text=Jane%20Addams%20was%20a%20pioneering,century%20in%20the%20United%20States.

Michals, Debra. “Jane Addams.” National Women's History Museum, www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/jane-addams.