Exploring the Significance of Jane Addams and Hull House in the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era, a period marked by social activism and political reform in the United States from the 1890s to the 1920s, witnessed the emergence of influential figures and movements that shaped the nation’s future. Among these notable elements of the Progressive Era, Jane Addams and her pioneering work at Hull House stand out as a crucial aspect worth examining. This essay will dig deeper into the significance of Jane Addams and Hull House within the context of the Progressive Era, highlighting their impact on society and the lasting legacy they left behind. Jane Addams, a prominent social reformer and activist, founded Hull House in Chicago in 1889 (Hewitt …show more content…
One of the most important aspects of Jane Addams’ work at Hull House was her emphasis on social reform through direct action and initiatives (Hewitt and Lawson, 254). Addams believed in the power of community organizing and collective efforts to bring about positive change in society. Through Hull House, Addams and her colleagues provided essential services such as childcare, healthcare, education, and cultural programs to immigrant communities, thereby addressing the pressing needs of the urban poor and marginalized populations (Michals). By fostering a sense of solidarity and cooperation among residents, Hull House became a symbol of hope and progress in an era marked by social inequality and economic disparity. Furthermore, Jane Addams’ advocacy for women’s rights and peace activism added another layer of significance to her work during the Progressive Era. As a leading voice for women’s suffrage and gender equality, Addams challenged traditional gender roles and fought for women’s inclusion in public life and decision-making processes (Hewitt and Lawson, 254-257). Additionally, Addams’ dedication to pacifism and international diplomacy earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in
Lillian Wald: A Biography is the gripping and inspiring story of an American who left her mark on the history of the United States. Wald dedicated herself to bettering the lives of those around her. She was the founder of The Henry Street Settlement along with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. She worked with politics around the world and tried to bring healthcare and reform to people around the world. Using the lessons she learned in her childhood she worked closely with people from all backgrounds to fight for “universal brotherhood”. Wald was a progressive reformer, a social worker, a nurse, a teacher, and an author. Notably Lillian Wald, unlike many of the other women involved in the progressive movement such as Jane Adams, never received the same acknowledgement in the academic world.
Linda M. Scott’s chapter from her book ¬Fresh Lipstick: Redressing Fashion and Feminism, Reading the Popular Image as well as Kathryn Kish Sklar’s article Hull House in the 1890’s: A community of Women Reformers cover the main theme of the New Woman as Club Woman and Social Reformer. Found in both articles is the way in which the New Women emerged in society. Scott’s chapter examines how the publicity and social construction of the Gibson Girl played an influential role on the daily lives of the women who viewed her, while Sklar’s article explores how Hull House played as a tool to socially and economically integrate women into society.
Dye drew together the essays of esteemed scholars, such as Ellen Carol DuBois, Barbara Sicherman, and Rosalyn Terborg-Penn, to shed light on the intersectionality between race, gender, and social class at the turn of the 20th Century. While many believe that it was a period of widespread activism and reform, these scholars support the idea that the Progressive Era was more of a conservative than liberal movement, in that it failed to challenge stereotypes about the female’s role in society and created a limited public sphere for women. While the women’s suffrage movement provided more opportunities for white middle-class women, it failed to lessen, or even worsened, the marginalization of immigrant and minority women. Many white-middle class women sympathized with European and Jewish immigrants and were willing to overlook socioeconomic class, but few supported the cause of colored women for labor and education
Twenty Years at Hull-House Two Works Cited Victoria Bissell Brown's introduction to Twenty Years at Hull-House explains the life of Jane Addams and her commitment to insight social change to problems that existed during the turn of the 20th century. As a reaction to the hardships of a changing industrial society, Addams decided to establish a settlement house in the West side of Chicago to help individuals who had suffered from the cruelties of industrialization. Rejecting the philosophies that stemmed from the Gilded Age, such as social Darwinism and the belief that human affairs were determined by natural law, Addams was a progressive who wanted government to be more responsive to the people. As a progressive, Jane Addams committed herself as a social servant to the community in an attempt to fulfill the promise of democracy to everyone rather than a small elite group. Addams’s dedication to communitarian purposes as opposed to individualist gains can be attributed to her upbringing and her remarkable respect for her father, John Huy Addams.
On July 22, 1905, social worker and reformer, Florence Kelley, stood in Philadelphia before an audience and presented a speech about the idea of combing the women’s suffrage and child labor issues in order to make more probable advantages in both departments. Her speech was given in away to entice the crowd and motivate them to fix the issues at hand. She was able to effectively able to give her speech by appealing to the crowds emotions and by using ironic diction and syntax to engage the crowd into the words she was saying and backing them up with substantial evidence.
Jane Addams and Hull House 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 woman through her writings, settlement work and international efforts for world peace. In 1931, she became the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Addams, whose father was an Illinois state senator and friend of Abraham Lincoln, graduated in 1881 from Rockford College (then called Rockford Women’s Seminary). She returned the following year to receive one of the school’s first bachelor’s degrees.
This work was rejected by many of the more conservative elements in the movement and a storm of protest arose as many of her colleagues condemned her. When she dies in 1902, she was no longer the movement’s leader and was unfortunately, not around to see women’s suffrage in the United States. Her crusade lasted for over fifty years of her life, as she learned and profited from her mistakes and failures, realizing that everything isn’t perfect. Even though she has been dead for quite some time now, her concerns, ideas, and accomplishments have endured and continue to influence the feminist movement and other movements for progress in the twentieth century.
Susan Brownwell Anthony was one of the most extraordinary people of the 19th century, who rose from an ordinary Quaker world to become known as the “Napoleon” of feminism.
While Addams was a great organizer and reformer, it must be noted that she had the help of several ambitious women at Hull House who were progressive thinkers in their own right. Furthermore, she would have never been able to achieve so much without the many donations that she was able to secure from philanthropists. Today, the 13 buildings that surrounded the Hull House settlement have been destroyed, but the original mansion still stands as a museum. The Jane Addams Hull-House Association still operates in Chicago.
The progressive era was a time of enormous changes that flourished in the United States. Activists demanded a reform in education, technology, science, and Democracy. Purification of government was the main goal, and it was during this time that progressives made “scientific” the social sciences, especially history, economics and political sciences (http://www.iep.utm.edu). It was also during this era (1890’s-1920’s) that the Federal Reserve System was founded. The 16th through 19th amendments, the Food and Drug Act, and Federal Trade Commission were also put into play. It wasn’t until World War I that such drastic change started to slow. Amidst all this change existed an amazing woman by the name of Jane Addams; a political activist and pragmatist whom made enormous social and economic changes to the United States. It wasn’t until the late 20th century however that she was properly recognized as one of the most influential philosophers and sociologists of her time (http://americanhistory.unomaha.edu).
...r a very short period of time, specifically two years. He argues that the realization of the influence that corporations had on the government caused this movement and that the short attention span of the nation led to the rise of a bureaucratic system to regulate it. His argument answers questions left over from Filene’s article, particularly, with such divisions how was anything accomplished nationally. Paula Baker’s article in 1984 provides a look into the role of women in politics and the influence that women had in helping to launch the Progressive Movement. While her article is plagued by her inability to stick with one main emphasis, she does convey the point that women did influence the evolution of American politics. The evolution of the historical view of the causes of the Progressive movement or era has shown how history really is not set in stone.
Does helping the poor, saving lives, shielding families and inspiring individuals interest you or do you feel that it is your duty to uplift individuals in social classes? The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast Jane Addams and William Sumner. Although Addams and Sumner bear some superficial similarities, the differences between the both of them are clear. Although Addams and Sumner share a similar background, they each have their own worldview on people that are poverty stricken and individuals that are wealthy. Addams’ main focus was to contribute in any way that she could to help the poor and impact lives for a more efficient society. Sumner believed that the supply of wealth was based on people’s skills and those that have
MacLean, Nancy. A. The American Women's Movement, 1945-2000. A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, a.k.a.
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.
These remarkable women's lasting legacies serve as ongoing sources of inspiration and hope, serving as a constant reminder of the potential of bravery, activism, and intellectual endeavor in the ongoing quest for a more just and equitable