Jane Addams, the daughter of a successful businessman, was born on September 6, 1860 in Cedarvaille, Illinois. She grew up watching her father thrive in his career, instilling certain morals and values in her. Addams was in her twenties when she started her biggest feat yet. She founded the Hull House, and dedicated the remaining forty-seven years of her life living and working in the settlement house.
In Chicago, in the 1880’s, Jane Addams had a vision to help those in need. She founded the world renowned Hull House, and it opened in 1889 in Chicago’s most poverty stricken area. In the Hull House lived middle class folk who also ran the place. The Hull House became the social center for recent immigrants. They were invited to plays, sponsored art projects, held classes in English, as well as cooking and dressmaking. It was meant to give them more opportunities in society. Also as part of the Hull House, a Laundromat, kindergarten, employment bureau, and a day nursery for working mothers were also set up.
Residents of the Hull House were passionate in their desire to help others. They started a reform movement, taking on issues such as protecting immigrants and juveniles. They formed an Immigrants’ Protective League and a juvenile court – the first one in the nation. They also started up the Juvenile Psychopathic Clinic. In 1903, the state of Illinois passed a protective legislation for woman and children, thanks to Jane Addams and her group of women. In 1912, their efforts went national when the federal government began the Federal Children’s Bureau. The child labor law that was passed in 1916 was even a part of Addams’ work.
Jane Addams did not stop there, however. She started writing – books and articles – and she spoke to crowds. She wanted to spread the word of the Hull House, and she wanted to make a difference. Throughout her life, she wrote eleven books and several articles, all focusing on the work of the Hull House. Other things that she was involved in include the National Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers, the Consumers league, the Campfire Girls (of which she was the vice-president), and the national Association for the Advancement of Colored People, among many others. She even found herself involved in the peace movement during World War I. During this time, she work for the Women’s Peace Party (which later became the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom). Her efforts earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
Jane Addams dedicated much of her life to helping others before she died in Chicago, Illinois on May 21, 1935.
