Born September 6, 1860 in Cedarville, IL
Daughter of
[father unknown] and
[mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
[spouse(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Died May 21, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois
Addams is most famous and the co-founder of the Hull House in Chicago, the first settlement house in the United States.
Jane Addams is remembered primarily as a founder of the Settlement House Movement. She and her friend Ellen Starr founded Hull House in the slums of Chicago in 1889. She is also remembered as the first American Woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Jane is portrayed as the selfless giver of ministrations to the poor, but few realize that she was a mover and shaker in the areas of labor reform (laws that governed working conditions for children and women), and was a charter member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Jane grew up in the small community of Cedarville, Illinois. She was the daughter of a very well-to-do gentleman; her mother was a kind and gracious lady. Jane had five brothers and sisters at the time of her mother's death, when Jane was two. Her father remarried and her new stepmother brought two new step-brothers to the already large family.
Jane attended the Rockford Seminary for young ladies and excelled in her studies. She also developed strong leadership traits. Her classmates admired her and followed her examples. Jane decided that she wished to pursue a degree in medicine when she completed her studies at Rockford.
Just by chance, while in England, she was introduced to the founders and the workings of Toynbee Hall, a settlement house in the slums of London. It took some time after returning to the United States before she and her traveling companion, Ellen Starr, committed themselves to the idea of starting a settlement house in Chicago. Once committed, there was no stopping these young women, especially Jane. Jane was a fireball. She was the creator, the innovator, and the leader. People flocked to her. Most everything she needed she was able to procure with the generosity of patrons. Money poured in. Within a few years, Hull House offered medical care, child care and legal aid. It also provided classes for immigrants to learn English, vocational skills, music, art and drama.
In 1893 a severe depression rocked the country. Hull House was serving over two thousand people a week. As charitable efforts increased, so too did political ones. Jane realized that there would be no end to poverty and need if laws were not changed. She directed her efforts at the root causes of poverty. The workers joined Jane to lobby the state of Illinois to examine laws governing child labor, the factory inspection system, and the juvenile justice system. They worked for legislation to protect immigrants from exploitation, limit the working hours of women, mandate schooling for children, recognize labor unions, and provide for industrial safety.
All this led to the right to vote for women. Addams worked for Chicago municipal suffrage and became first vice-president of the National American Women Suffrage Association in 1911. She campaigned nationwide for Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Party in 1912.
Her first book was published in 1910 and others followed biennially. Her biggest success in writing came with the release of the book, Twenty Years at Hull House. It became her autobiography and brought her wealth.
She was expelled from the Daughters of the American Revolution, but it did not slow her down. In 1919 she was elected first president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, a position she held until her death. She was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She was a charter member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), having answered the "call" in 1909 that led to the organization's formation. These positions earned her even more criticism than her pacifism. She was accused of being a socialist, an anarchist and a communist.
Hull House, however, continued to be successful. When the depression of the 1930's struck, Addams saw many of the things that she had advocated and fought for become policies under President Franklin Roosevelt. She received numerous awards during this time including, in 1931, the Nobel Peace Prize.
That year her health began to fail but she continued her work until her death in 1935. Thousands of people came to her funeral at Hull House before she was taken to Cedarville to be buried.
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