Fighting for Social Reform
Though not widely known, Jane Addams’ influence and ideals can be seen throughout society. Born many years ago in 1860, the solutions for which she strived for are ageless. Women were considered the weaker sex, and forced to conform to traditional feminine roles such as staying at home and being primarily a nurturer. The issues that Jane Addams fought for, such as social justice and equality, are issues still prevalent in today’s society. Jane Addams aspired to create a world in which everyone was accepted, cared for, and where people fought for what they believed in without unjust opposition.
Throughout history, women have fought valiantly to be treated as equals and have the same rights as men, who are seen as
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Feminism exists to give everyone the same opportunities and basic rights typically granted solely to straight, wealthy white males. Modern and early feminists alike fought for these rights and “while acknowledging these limitations (sexual orientation, race, and personality), both groups of peace workers recognized the significance of building identities for their respective communities through embracing principles of nonviolence and respect for diversity” (Pois). Feminism is a movement for those who are not born with everything handed to them, and for those who are forced to fight for everything they have. Anyone placed in a lesser position, seen as not meeting the expectations set before them, or otherwise disprivileged is represented through feminism. Feminists from each generation have aided in the development of women’s rights to create a better world for themselves and those around them.
While fighting for what she believed in, Jane Addams had an eventful and achievement filled life. After her early life, Addams quickly went on to create the Hull House, a place that “offered academic and vocational classes for children and adults, a nursery to care for working women’s children, and art gallery and studio, a pool, and a library” (Stevenson). The Hull House was a place created to help immigrants and the poor, and to better the community. One of the many purposes of the place was to give everyone the best opportunities they
The Hull House was founded in Chicago and became the mecca for other settlement houses that was birth do to the success of the Hull House. This establishment operated by building a social bridge that connected social classes. “Addams believed the settlement house provided a service both yo the volunteer residence, who needed a purpose in life, and to an increasingly stratified society at large (Wendy L. Haight & Taylor, 2013).” There were three purposes the settlement house served which was to provided services and assistance to immigrants, policy advocacy, and an important piece that heightened national social reform to the next level; “Jane Addams noted social reform was imperative if the poor were to have any help (Dale &
Jane Addams was a Progressive reformer and famous advocate for the settlement house movement. Addams mostly focused on improving social conditions for immigrants and for other residents of urban slums. Jane Addams’s health problem caused her to become famous reformer. In 1881 she travelled many medical schools. In one of her journey she took her friend Ellen Gates Starr with her. They visited well known Toynbee Hall in London. The purpose of Toynbee Hall was to reduce urban problems such as poverty. This visitation inspired them to create one settlement house in Chicago. In short term their dream became true. In 1889 they opened Hull House in the neighborhood of slums in Chicago. Hull House provided services for the poor immigrants in that
Jane Addams and her colleague, Ellen Gates Starr, founded the most successful settlement house in the United States otherwise known as the Hull-House (“Settlement” 1). It was located in a city overrun by poverty, filth and gangsters, and it could not have come at a better time (Lundblad 663). The main purpose of settlement houses was to ease the transition into the American culture and labor force, and The Hull-House offered its residents an opportunity to help the community, was a safe haven for the city, and led the way through social reform for women and children.
Women became especially involved in demands for woman suffrage, prohibition, and better schools; their most prominent leader was Jane Addams of Chicago. “Muckraking” journalists such as Upton Sinclair, Lincoln Steffens, and Jacob Riis exposed corruption in business and government along with rampant inner-city poverty. Progressives implemented antitrust laws and regulated industries such as meatpacking, drugs, and railroads. Four new constitutional amendments—the Sixteenth through Nineteenth—were prompted by Progressive activism, and resulted in a federal income tax, the direct election of senators, prohibition, and women’s suffrage. The Progressive movement lasted through the 1920s; the most active period was 1900–1918.
wlD=104061xtid=29834. Hull House was determined to improve living and aide those who were giving their best, yet struggling to get by with considerations to poor environment and low wages. Jane Addams knew what growing up in poor
Jane Addams is a well-known historical feminist, activist, social worker, and leader in women’s suffrage whose legacy still lives on today. Although she was considered radical for her time, she thought of ways to push for social and political reforms in socially acceptable ways. Her achievements created an abundance of opportunities for women that would change their roles in society.
4/9/16 Jane Addams won worldwide recognition in the first third of the twentieth century as a pioneer social worker in America, as a feminist, and as an internationalist. But that was only one level of her achievements. She created the foundations for the profession of social work, contributed significantly to the discipline of sociology, developed the idea of parks and playgrounds as places vital for reducing urban tension, and established a model of progressive-minded activism which helped form the basis of the welfare state. She played a huge roll in the fight to gain women's rights in the early 1900’s. Before the 19th amendment, women were viewed as housewives, many people believed that women could not do most things
Malala Yousafzai once said “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful”. This quote best exemplifies why Jane Addams was acknowledged as a political and social leader for females in the United States. She displayed her magnanimous charm which supported the destitute and pressured society for social standardizations. Several of Addams’ concepts were treated as profound for her generation. She afforded women with a civil acknowledgement to engage in both social and political transformation. Jane Addams challenged the quintessential, working-class woman by desegregating the barrier that distanced political and individual activity.
Throughout world history, there have been countless numbers of war that each occurred under very different circumstances for the countries participating. However, each war commonly took the lives of millions, breaking apart families and destroying cities. The 1900’s was a very unique time period because of the dramatic changes in warfare. New weapons were gradually introduced that increased the amount of damage that could be done with each addition. Over time cannons were replaced by machine guns and eventually nuclear weapons were experimented with. As stronger weapons were introduced, death tolls increased drastically. From the years 1910 to 1990, women across the globe passionately took stands not only against war, but against the extremities of the nuclear arms race.
Jane Addams’ work was rewarded when she eventually came to win a Nobel Peace Prize in 1931, being the second woman to receive it. The effects of the Industrial Revolution on the lower class were not entirely beneficial. In contrast, the Progressive Era was an effort to better the lives of those in the working class. During this time, many new reformers emerged to aid in this cause. One such individual was Jane Addams, a charismatic and driven woman who sought to improve conditions for poor citizens embodying the spirit of the Progressive reformer.
Hull House was a place for the poor to settle and have a relaxed time from work or the struggle. The house provided child care, basic health care and classes for the poor (Presentation 10/5). ”Lumbering our minds with literature that only served to cloud the really vital situation spread before our eyes”(Addams, pg. 71). Addams believed learning unneccessary skills in college like literature represents education losing its value in the society. Addams focused on acquiring skills that could be used in vital situations. The House was used to improve the conditions in the communities for poor and learn domestic and educational skills to be used in their daily lives. There were many activities for people of all ages. “The Hull House Labor Museum
Women wanted to improve and find solutions to the social problems of America. Some social problems that women fought for were public health, labor, and education. Jane Addams one of the most know about women in the progressive era fought for immigrants. Addams wanted to clean up urban areas and help those in poverty. Hull House was a settlement house, an institution located in mainly poor and immigrant areas of major cities, which aimed to assist the less fortunate through a variety of measures.
Many middle-Upper class, unmarried and educated women helped in the creation of Jane Addams & Hull Houses. These were settlement houses which provided sanitary conditions, educational opportunities and food assistance for the immigrants (Immigration power point 17). This facilitated in creating a bond between the ‘native people’ of America and the immigrants. This was a progressive step for the time because immigrants were seen as second class citizens.
Jane Addams was a famous social worker and activist. One of her greatest work was founding the Hull House in Chicago in 1889. Hull House is settlement houses and the purpose of it was to reduce the poverty rate by providing the people that are immigrant and working class social and education services. Jane Addams in Twenty Years at Hull House talks about the abuses and the poverty that existed at that time period. “Many of the foreign-born women of the ward were much shocked by this abrupt departure into the ways of men, and it took a great deal of explanation to convey the idea even remotely that if it were a womanly task to go about in tenement houses in order to nurse the sick, it might be quite as womanly to go through the same district in order to prevent the breeding
Although Addams has done many impeccable things, one of her most distinguishable actions was co-founding Hull House with her friend Ellen Gates Starr in 1889. Hull House is a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, inspired by the Toynbee Hall she visited in England. Opening Hull House, Addams expected the settlement to be a place where the poor could attend cultural programs, such as art, however her ideas changed as she explored the city and got to know her neighbors. While walking down the streets of Chicago, the reformer noticed all the poor immigrants residing in the cramped and dirty tenements, which led to her newfound passion to help