Jane Addams And Her Fight For Social Reform

More and more women were becoming teachers during this period, and it was continuously being associated as a female entity. Women were allowed to engage in certain social affairs. Although this did not include fighting for the reduction of labor hours or the elimination of child labor, it did encompass helping the poor, which was the immediate motive behind establishing Hull House. Reaching out to women who needed a place to stay, or workers who could not afford to live in the crowded and unsanitary apartments that usually stuffed several families in one room, could find shelter in Addam?s creation. However, Addams worked extended beyond the ?private sphere? in too many areas to ignore. Her struggle led to many social and political reforms; she took a very radical political stance for her time, breaking her association from the standard middle class women.

By starting the tenement houses in Chicago through the Hull Houses, Jane Addams and Ellen Starr had already begun their journey into the public sphere. Through opening the tenement houses and allowing people to see them and come live in them helped the two women make a name for themselves, with the more well-known woman of the pair being recognized for much more, was Jane Addams herself. Addams saw rights and freedom for women as a “perfectly possible” thing to attain, as she was optimistic and very assertive on her way to work for women’s equality and rights. The optimism that Jane Addams had was not without a price to pay on her part, as there were many negatives that had to be dealt with along the way like setbacks in acting, legislation, supporters, etc.7

As the United States was continuing recovering from the Civil War and embracing the expansion of the West, industrialization, immigration and the growth of cities, women’s roles in America were changing by the transformation of this new society. During the period of 1865-1912, women found themselves challenging to break the political structure, power holders, cultural practices and beliefs in their “male” dominated world.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was not just a mother, daughter, feminist, and writer; but she is the woman who changed the lives of women everywhere by fighting for equality. Stanton lived a normal childhood, but one that motivated her to never give up hope in reaching her goal. A quick background of her life will help better understand why she became such a powerful woman’s rights activist. Also, what she accomplished that changed history and how it still affects us today in 2011. I will also express my individual satisfaction with what this incredible woman has done for women everywhere. On November 12, 1815 Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born to the Cady family in Johnstown, New York (Gordon, 2009). She was born into a high-class, conservative,

Their stance may not have been as boisterous then as it is now, but they have always played an important role within the formation of todays’ society. The final attribute, studied within this chapter, supports this notion with the rise of female workers within America. Some of the most famous women social employees were: Jane Addams, Charlotte Gilman, Anna Cooper, Ida Wells-Barnett, Marianne Weber, and Beatrice Webb. Each of these women were still looked upon as inferior to men despite their contributions to society as a whole. These women believed sociology was developed from scholarly investigations that helped to attribute to the ideology of improving ones’ life through education and learning means. The women believed that this change would bring about both a sense of belong for women within cultural societies as well as modeling the community into a world in which everyone can coincide together. Their work would not be accounted for under the sociological realm of study… but it would be attributed to the greater sense of communal study as it is known

Jane Addams, a pioneering social worker, helped bring attention to the possibility of revolutionizing America’s attitude toward the poor. Not only does she remain a rich source of provocative social theory to this day, her accomplishments affected the philosophical, sociological, and political thought. Addams was an activist of courage and a thinker of originality. Jane Addams embodied the purest moral standards of society which were best demonstrated by her founding of the Hull-House and her societal contributions, culminating with the winning of the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize.

Jane Addams wrote and lectured on a wide variety of social issues, including child labor, public health, unemployment relief, and social insurance. Jane Addams was an American social worker, woman suffrage leader, and peace activist. Jane Addams was born on September 6, 1860 in Cedarville, IL. In her younger years, she attended the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania from 1881-1882 to study medication. In fact, she strongly believed in the research of poverty and crime. Also, she believed in the importance of trained social workers and in the need to press in for social reforms. Jane Addams was a leader in women’s suffrage and world peace, she helped in the needs of children and adults that were poor, and she was well known for winning a Nobel Peace prize.

She includes illustrations and photos depicting various political cartoons, petitions, artifacts, and engravings between pages 80 and 81. In her preface she first introduces the limitation of having white, middle-class women reformers. Chapter one, The Roots of Reform, introduces us to how women, empowered by the church first start exploring various charitable forms of outreach, the effect of the Second Great Awakening, and the first leading women; such as Juliana Tappen and Maria Weston Chapman. Chapter two, Charity and the Relations of Class, explores the middle -and upper-class women's need to perform charity. (Again tying in religion) The poor merely existing as a way for the wealthy to earn their way into heaven. We see the invention of the poor house, and how to define who was the "worthy poor." We see the invention of the Asylum as well as early talks of abolitionism. Chapter three, "Drinks, Sex, Crime, and Insanity", introduces the first major movement of the antebellum era, temperance, and the role alcohol played in the antebellum life. We see the emergence of Susan B. Anthony. This is the chapter where we begin to see more radical action from women, and some earlier reformers step away because they are scared of how far the movements are going. These movements are beginning to keep the women out of the kitchen just a little too long. Women begin to have more say, and do more than just simply make speeches and hand out pamphlets. Chapter four, Antislavery, is where we see the biggest divides in the reform movement. Women were divided on issues such as colonization, ending slavery, or should they even be involved at all. Many women wanted to be abolitionists, but did not want to associate with black people. Chapter five: Women's Rights, explores the earliest movements in the women's right cause. We see the effects of the Seneca

One of America's most prominent social activists, Jane Addams dedicated her whole life to the poor and social reform. Born on September 6, 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois, Jane grew up to become one of the most notable college-educated women of her time. Utilizing her education, Addams developed her own political and social beliefs and applied them to society during the Progressive Era, leading to many reforms that have shaped our world today.

(Schaller 592) From the poor work conditions, the immigration levels continued to grow thus feeding the endless cycle. With the new flow of immigrants, meant the rise of a younger generation who would cut ties with the older traditions.  Some young working women turned against parental rules, and control. The gained their independence by keeping money for themselves to spend on clothes and go out and socialize, in ways that previous generations hadn’t. They also rejected the normal things such as arranged marriages, embracing more American ways of love. (Schaller 631) Middle class women began to embrace this style and it became known as the “New Woman.” They slowly began to move away from what was then the ideal woman, and become more athletically involved in things such as: hiking, camping, bicycling, tennis, and many other sports. (Schaller 634) Soon after they broke away from their stereotypical housewife facade, they began to raise their voices on controversial issues other than women’s rights.  Jane Addams was inspired by her stay at Toynbee

The economic “market revolution” and the religious “Second Great Awakening” shaped American society after 1815. Both of these developments affected women significantly, and contributed to their changing status both inside and outside the home. Throughout time, women’s roles and opportunities in the family, workplace, and society have greatly evolved.

Jane Addams revolutionized many aspects in the Progressive Era from the movements of suffrage, child labor, welfare, settlement houses, and other aspects in social reform. Adams recognized the problem of child labor while she was over the Hull House. In Addams book Twenty Year at

Susan B. Anthony devoted her life to the rights of women’s labor, receiving equal pay, and leading the women’s suffrage movement. She grew up in a home where politics was frequently discussed. Her family supported an end to slavery as part of the abolitionist movement. In her early years, she was a teacher and became involved in the temperance movement as well as the anti-slavery movement. Because she was a woman, she was not allowed to voice her opinion. This became a motivator for her to become a woman’s suffrage leader. A skilled, talented woman made a difference when she joined forces with Stanton. As mentioned earlier, Stanton and Anthony opposed the fourteenth and fifteen amendments for not liberating women. As Mayo states, “she published The Revolution, a radical paper, edited by Stanton (1868-1870), and lectured for over six years to pay off its debt.” (Rights for Women, para.3) She was arrested for voting in 1872. “She led a woman’s protest at the 1876 Centennial delivering a "Declaration of Rights" written by Stanton and Matilda Gage. She wrote and published, with Stanton and Gage the History of Woman Suffrage (1881-1885)” (Mayo para. 5). Although she was arrested and it seemed like nothing came easy, she never gave up. Anthony was a hard working woman that rallied many in hopes of advancing women’s rights. “She gathered signatures on suffrage petitions at the state and national levels, undertook arduous state tours to organize suffrage campaigns in the states

While at the Hampton Institute, Barrett came to value community service and social welfare. She took on the responsibility, as an educated, black woman, to help better her community and her race (Woods & Kennedy, 1911). While Barrett was trained as a teacher, and worked as one for some time, her dedication to social welfare made her a pioneer in the field of social work. One of her first efforts was to invite young women to her home for education, recreation and social activities. In fact,

1. What does Jane Addams’ writing on page 11 (“Never before…alien roofs”) indicate about women in Chicago during the late 19th century? a) Women are overcoming gender stereotypes, thus helping the country is inch towards gender equality. b) Because corruption is thriving, it is a dangerous time for women to be alone anywhere. c) Women are ambitious but are always taken advantage of by corrupt men.