Basic Information
Jane Addams was a woman who stood for justice with the working class and for women’s suffrage. She was an organizer and a strategist. Along with that, she was able to communicate effectively in her articles and in public speaking. She was, and is still to this day, an icon.
Background Information
Addams was born in 1860 in Illinois and died in 1935 in Maine (Lee, 2008). She was the first American woman given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1932 due to her leading anti-war and peace campaigns (Michals, 2017). She created the term “Social Work” and left a legacy for many to follow. While she wasn’t married and did not have any children, she had so much compassion for the world she lived in. She was born into a wealthy family (Knight, 2005). With her fathers’ death, she inherited part of the family fortune. With this money, she invested back into her community. She traveled, protested, strategized for women’s right, and funded a sanctuary for those not in the upper class (Knight, 2005).
Contributions to the First Wave
Jane Addams believed that women’s right to vote was a crucial way to enact laws that pertained to the following: “…labor legislations, health and welfare programs, educational reform, and legal equity for blacks and immigrants” (Brown, p. 179). This was the reason why she became an activist for women’s suffrage. Her social work was different than those who had tried to help communities before her. She would see what each community needed and made sure that the tool(s) she provided was being used appropriately. Rather than insisting and assuming what a particular community needed, she would have a discussion with the community members instead. She was passionate in her thoughts about making sure the community was receiving what they wanted, and they planned together (Lee, 2009). Unfortunately, Addams wasn’t always embraced with her ideas. She was a leader, and with that, comes criticism. Her ideas were new and innovative at the time. She was someone who was called “a radical” only because she was an anti-war and anti-racist front-runner in the press. Addams was a fighter of doing the right thing and never one to work for herself. She was someone who was always fighting for the rights of others. When there was hardship within her local community, she would be there to support and uplift them. She was compassionate and headstrong. Those in powerful positions often disliked her because of her disposition and willingness to fight for those who are underserved (Lee, 2008).
A massive contribution Jane Addams made to American society was the Hull House. The Hull House was a place for those who were underserved, poor, children, and/or immigrants. All were welcome to go to the Hull House when they were needing help or a place in the city to stay. It was located within Chicago, Illinois. Back in 1889 Addams and her colleague Ellen Gates Starr established it (Knight, 2005). The Hull House was an instrument to teach the socialites that there needed to be a more ethical system for everyone within society. Whether a person was poor, in the middle class, or upper class- everyone needed the same access to social organizations. Addams and Starr saw a need within their West-Chicago community. They noticed that there was a need for mothers to come and bring their children somewhere. So, in response to that, Addams and Starr set up a room for the mothers to talk with one another and for the children to play (Knight, 2005).
Staggeringly, the people who resided near Addams and Starr were not as welcoming (Knight, 2005). They felt a level of distrust for these two women who were of a higher class. It was a common notion that people in general did not want to reside in the 19th Ward in Chicago. For example, there was garbage, animal and human feces, and dead animals all around needing to be picked up. The smell was overwhelming. Living conditions were terrible too. Also, most homes were only made to house one family. Yet, there were multiple families living in one house (Knight, 2005). As time quickly passed, the residents within the 19th Ward felt much more at ease, and the children grew very accepting of Addams and Starr. Eventually, volunteers had joined. There was a Boy’s club, manners classes, drawing classes, and a kindergarten class. Addams also created organized receptions that were based on ethnicity. It was meant to celebrate everyone’s culture (Knight, 2005). Another group that was organized was a very influential one: the Working People’s Social Science Club (Knight, 2005). This was a club open to all genders. This was a very new concept to society back in the 20th century.
The Hull House gave Addams and Starr knowledge on the sweatshop system (Knight, 2005). They learned about how terrible the conditions were for everyone. Children, women and men were being forced to work terribly long hours (over 12 hours daily). She felt pride that people were wanting to attend meetings at the Hull House, but also felt disgusted that these people were being treated so poorly. Employees were being paid an extremely low wage, which kept most people in poverty. The working conditions were unsafe, and people of all ages died from injuries related to work (Knight, 2005). Addams was a voice for them. She made an impact that affects America and its workforce today.
“The common stock of intellectual enjoyment should not be difficult of access because of the economic position of him who would approach it.” – Jane Addams (Addams, 1910, p. 452)
Analysis and Conclusion
The way Addams persuaded and convinced her audiences was through a very careful choice of words and a new thought to be correlated with the women’s suffrage movement. Instead of saying that men and women are equal, she would play the “domestic role” card women had in society. She wanted women to “fulfill their role” in caring for their children by being able to vote for what is right by them. She also argued that having voting rights means that “a woman is able to preserve her home” (Brown, p 201). It was a much different approach to convince her audience this way. Her contributions to American society will last forever. She was the social justice warrior. Because of her, Americans who are in a lower socioeconomic status are able to be treated fairly, safely, and are able to grow. Addams will forever be remembered as the mother of social work.
References
Addams, J. & Ward, L. D. 1935. Forty years at hull-house: being ‘twenty years at hull-house’ and ‘the second twenty years at hull-house’. New York:The Macmillan Company.
Brown, V. B. 1995. Jane Addams, Progressivism, and Woman Suffrage: As Introduction ‘Why Women Should Vote.” In Marjorie Spruill Wheeler (ed.), One Woman One Vote: Rediscovering the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Trautdale, OR: New Sage Press.
Knight, L. W. (2008). Citizen: Jane Addams and the struggle for democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Lee, J. A. B., (2008). Jane Addams. In Alex Gitterman & Robert Salmon Encyclopedia of Social Work with Groups, New York: Routledge .
Michals, D. (2017). Jane Addams, National Women’s History Museum. Retrieved from https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/jane-addams
Sisters, Gerhard, (ca. 1914). Jane Addams, Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2013651558.