Jane Addams and the Progressive Movement Essay

The role of American women has changed significantly from the time the nation was born, to the modern era of the 1950s and 1960s. Many people, "... believed that women's talent and energies ... would be put to the better [use] in the new republic." (Clinton 3) Clearly showing that society has seen the importance of the women's talents and that their skills can be very useful, exploited this and thus, the change of the women's role was inevitable. Society has understood that the roles of women played an important role on all parts of life.

In the first article, The Failure of Progressivism by Richard Abrams, he says the progressives mostly sought to introduce old moral beliefs on Americans by trying to integrate Immigrants by making them accept the ways of American life. But Abrams states those goals were ruined for important motives. One being the movement failed because of racism, which was widespread, throughout this time era. Abrams also considers the new scientific developments concerning culture and race affected the movement in a relevant manner. Conversely, progressives thought differently and felt that they need to integrate all cultures to fit it in to the American lifestyle. Abrams goes on to say that people started coming to the conclusion that “cultural

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

A woman had a busy domestic life. A woman played the role of wife, mother, teacher and manager. She had to please her husband, bear and raise children, educate her children, and manage all daily household activities. In the home, the woman was the jack of all trades. Part of the role of the female was to take raw goods, and turn them into useful items, such as food, candles, and clothing. Women had to clean, butcher and prepare all game brought home to the family. A woman was a household factory. Many items in the home were created by women. All clothing was made by spinning, weaving and stitching. All cloth was washed by hand without the aid of any machines. Candles were made at home by weaving a wick and pouring hot wax into a mold. A woman had to be educated enough to teach her sons and daughters the skills of life. Women spent the majority of their time performing daily tasks, but still were able to have leisure activities such as painting, embroidery, and charity work. Women had very few legal rights. In the majority of colonies, women had no legal control over their lives. It was the consensus among society that

     Born in Cederville, Illinois, on September 6, 1860, Jane Addams founded the world famous social settlement of Hull House. From Hull House, where she lived and worked from it’s start in 1889 to her death in 1935, Jane Addams built her reputation as the country’s most prominent women through her writings, settlement work and international efforts for world peace. In 1931, she became the first women to win the 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

Looking back on the Progressive Era, we see many women activists and their roles in the fight for women’s rights. With the arrival of a new century also came many changes. Society was adjusting to industrialization, urbanization, a growing and powerful economy, and, of course, immigration. As a result of these changes, many people became fearful that traditional values would change as well. Progressive Reform in America began in the late nineteenth century, and an expanding job market as well as changes to the American lifestyle lead to women’s want for change in their public roles. Women activists began fighting for issues such as more opportunities for education and jobs, health advancements, and of course, voting rights. In doing so, women made great advancements in suffrage during the Progressive Era, and without a doubt, changed the nation for the better.

Immigration, the word that seems to keep coming up on the news every day. Many people around the United States think of different things whenever this word comes to mind. Throughout the years, the immigration system has tremendously changed, and so have some people’s views on immigration. People no longer come from crowded boats, but some still get treated as they do. People no longer have to take an education test or medical test, yet if one lacks in those areas they get treated similarly to how they were treated during the Progressive Era. America has changed, but it hasn’t really changed in ways. America may have replaced some laws, but it’s new laws have a similar impact as the older ones did. Although some of America’s immigration policies have changed over the years, immigration to America still remains a broken system. Immigration laws still prevent people from getting jobs, discrimination towards immigrants is still around, and many immigrants are not given good jobs or living conditions.

(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

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

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.

The Progressive Era was full of people wanting to change their surroundings and laws in

In the 1890s, American women emerged as a major force for social reform. Millions joined civic organizations and extended their roles from domestic duties to concerns about their communities and environments. These years, between 1890 and 1920, were a time of many social changes that later became known as the Progressive Era. In this time era, millions of Americans organized associations to come up with solutions to the many problems that society was facing, and many of these problems were staring American women right in the face.

An American pragmatist and feminist, Hull-House founder Jane Addams (1860-1935) came of age in time of increasing tensions and division between segments of the American society, a division that was reflected in debates about educational reform. In the midst of this diversity, Addams saw the profoundly interdependent nature of all social and political interaction, and she aligned her efforts to support, emphasize and increase this interdependence. Education was one of the ways she relied on to overcome class disparity, as well as to increase interaction between classes. Her theories about the interdependent nature of living in a democracy provided a backdrop for her educational theory. Education, she thought, needed to produce people who

However, one thing women could not do is they could not hold an office. The woman in the house was essentially the housekeeper. She cooked, cleaned, and raised children. The freedom of the woman depended upon the wealth of the family. Often times higher status women were not tasked with as many household oriented chores.