Nominee in Human Services in 19th Century
Biographical Information
Jane Addams was born in the year 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois. Addams was a sociologist, social worker, author, and public administrator. She was at number eight in a family of nine children belonging to John Huy and Sarah Weber Addams. Addams’s father and a friend to Abraham Lincoln was a miller, and a local political leader served sixteen years as a senator. When she was young, Jane had spinal defects (Farrell, n.p). Therefore, Jane was not active when she was young, until later in her life when her spinal defect got rectified through surgery. Jane spent her child’s life indoors reading and also was played outdoors. Jane Addams was a Christian and attended Sunday school.
During her childhood, Addams dreamt big of being a useful person in the world. Addams’s motivation came from her mother as she was kind to the poor people of Cedarville. Addams decided to be a doctor so that she could help and live among the needy people. Addams’s father persuaded her to pursue higher education while still close to her home (Farrell, n.p). Therefore, Addams attended a women’s college, although her father wanted her to attend Rockford Female Seminary, which is now Rockford University. Instead, Addams granted her father’s wishes and attended Rockford University and graduated in the year 1881.
Addams won worldwide recognition during the twentieth century as a pioneer worker, as a feminist and an internationalist. Long before her worldwide recognition, it was six years after she graduated from Rockford University when she started her study for medicine but left her studies due to her deteriorating health. Addams poor health made her hospitalized and later traveled to Europe to study for almost two years (Farrell, n.p). When Addams was twenty-seven, she came across a settlement house in Europe, which gave her the idea of having a similar house. In the year 1910, Yale University awarded her with her first honorary degree for women.
Significant Contributions
Back in America, Addams convinced well-up women to help in her mission of helping the sick, caring for children, and caring for the poor and troubled in Hull-House. In two years, the Hall-House hosted almost two thousand people every week with a kindergarten in the morning, clubs for older people in the evening, and more clubs at night for adults, hence, it became a night school (Addams, n.p). The Hull-House included an art gallery, a public kitchen, a coffee house, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, among other facilities that aided in learning and the well-being of the people.
Addams’s reputation proliferated, and she was drawn to other larger fields that required civic responsibility. Additionally, in the year 1905, she became an appointee of Chicago’s Board of Education and later became the chairman of the school management committee. In 1908 she was among the co-founders Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy. The following year, Addams became the president of national charities and corrections (Addams, n.p). In Chicago, she led investigations concerning drug abuse, midwifery, and sanitary conditions that included garbage disposal. During her investigations, Addams received a salary amounting to a thousand dollars.
Jane Addams was a passionate feminist by philosophy. Addams believed in the voices of women in the society before women’s suffrage. Therefore, Addams believed in her voice in legislation, which could include her right to vote (Addams, n.p). Addams campaigned for the consideration of the voices of women to be heard. Moreover, she believed that women had the power to provide aspirations and realize opportunities in society.
Addams’s aspirations included a world free of war and created opportunities. However, Addams got rid of offers oriented in diminishing her advancement in the achievement of her dreams and aspirations. In the year 1906, Addams lectured at the University of Wisconsin summer session, and later the next year, she published the lectures as a book. Addams was a peace promoter, and in 1913, she gave a speech about peace at a ceremony that was for commemoration of the building “Peace Palace.” In 1915, Addams sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation, she spoke against America’s World War 1. In the same year, January, Addams became the chairman of an American Organization “Woman’s Peace Party” (Addams, n.p). Jane Addams was the president of the Women’s International organization until the year 1929. Additionally, Addams remained presiding officers officer of the organization’s six international conferences and as a president until her demise.
Geographical Region and Work Setting
In the year 1889, Addams and Starr founded her first settlement house Hull House. Hull House, located in Chicago’s weak, industrial west side, was built by Charles Hull in 1856, a run-down mansion in the United States. The Mansion needed repairs, and Addams contributed to the repairs and later received contributions from well-wishers, thus reducing her contributions to the renovations (Shields et al., n.p). Many wealthy women contributed to the renovation of the Mansion. The wealthy women included Hellen Culver, a manager of Hull’s cousin properties. Therefore, Culver allowed the Hull house in use without payment of any rent.
Adams Main goal was that educated women could share their knowledge with the more unfortunate people in the neighborhood. Also, they served the women that lived in the Hull House. Addams and Starr received much support from other women who were leading progressive performers. Addams being the director in the Hull House, the Hull House team gave essential services to thousands of people every week.
Pioneer’s Legacy
Settlement houses offered shelter for the immigrants and the poor in society. Toynbee Hall was the first settlement established in London. Today, settlement houses offer counseling, adult education, and recreational purposes (Shields et al., n.p). Hull House exists today with many locations around Chicago City. Today, Hull House is a social service agency. The University of Illinois preserves some part of the Hull House as a Museum.
The original Hull mansion contains the remains of the furniture used by Miss Addams. The University of Illinois has the southern part of the building restored settlement dining hall. It was the first settlement building commenced by Jane Addams. Today, the University and the community around the Hall House use the hall for meetings and conferences.
Jane Addams’s legacy had a lasting impact on Americans. Addams helped in an organization of the International Women’s league for peace and freedom. Moreover, Addams received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 due to her tireless efforts about social work and peace. Today, women have freedom of expression and voting rights in the United States. Women have an equal responsibility in politics as of men (Shields et al., n.p). Addams fought for the realization and equality of women’s rights in the political domain as she accused men of being irresponsible concerning domestic welfare.
Even today, philosophers usually mention Jane Addams publicly as they assert that she was an influencer on their reasoning. In the twenty-first Century, Addams’s significant works have been printed, while many intellectual biographies reconsider the intellectual legacy of Addams. Therefore, Addams is an example and a model of a preferable public philosopher.
References
Addams, Jane. The Selected Papers of Jane Addams: Vol. 3: Creating Hull-House and an International Presence, 1889-1900. University of Illinois Press, 2019.
Farrell, John C. Beloved lady: A history of Jane Addams’ ideas on reform and peace. JHU Press, 2019.
Shields, Patricia, ed. Jane Addams: Progressive pioneer of peace, philosophy, sociology, social work, and public administration. Vol. 10. Springer, 2017.