Twenty Years At Hull-House By Jane Addams: The Socialization Of Democracy

In Twenty Years at Hull-House, Jane Addams made the assertion that young people long to “socialize their democracy.” Throughout her autobiography she highlighted several reasons why socialization of American Democracy was necessary for the early twentieth century American cities; Among these reasons were the need for humanitarianism, unification, and justice. Although almost a hundred years have passed, I believe that American democracy today still shows evidence of similar needs for socializing and the young citizens of our country still exhibit the same longing to “socialize their democracy.”

The first reason why socialization of the American Democracy was necessary is the need for humanitarianism, which was especially prevalent among

the rich upper classes. Jane Addams seemed to believe that young people were caught in the "snare of preparation". This is a phrase coined by Tolstoy, where he claims that young people are entangled "in a curious inactivity at the very period of life when they are longing to construct the world anew [...]" (pg 78). In their early years of life, people are filled with strength, vitality, and the confidence to pursue anything their heart desires. But instead of being able to change the world, young people are urged to listen to another lecture, to view another piece of artwork, and to commit another poem to memory. Then, they are taken to impoverished areas and encouraged to gawk at those less privileged than they are while a tour guide commentates on the conditions below.
All of this is done for the sake of education or “preparation” for a future in philanthropy. It is instilled in young people that there is a certain date where you are officially capable of doing good work and, at that specific date, you will possess all of the knowledge necessary to be successful in any venture. The problem is that there is not a clear line of separation between where the need for education should end and where the actual work should begin. As a result, young people are trapped in a constant cycle of preparation which will eventually negatively affect the society in which they live.
For example, a major problem that I believe was happening during the early twenties is that the methods used to “educate” privileged young citizens on the tribulations of the underprivileged were only serving to create a larger chasm between the two classes. The concept of taking trips to visit the poor is similar to that of taking children to the zoo to visit animals in exhibits. It dehumanizes the poor and instills the idea that the two classes can not develop strong, empathetic relationships with each other. If a house divided against itself cannot stand, then how can a society be expected to stand?
Another example is that with the constant influx of knowledge, there was a decrease of the innate desire to aid others.

Addams even says "that somewhere in the process of "being educated" they had lost that simple and almost automatic response to the human appeal" (pg 71). This seems to be because, one, the urges to contribute to the good of society are clouded by the hullabaloo of literature and lectures. It creates a situation similar to the “The Vision of Sudden Death” where a person is only able “to act through a literary suggestion.” (Pg 71) Two, the young person has never been exposed to the trial-and-error stage of life and will never feel capable of making the right decision for fear of not living up to the expectations of those around them. Both of the reasons listed above, mean that there will be a hesitation every time an opportunity to aid others presents itself which will eventually withdraw into a lack of reaction. Eventually, if a pattern such as this continues, who will be left to help those around them? This is why socializing democracy is so important because it encourages any help from

anyone.
Another reason why socialization of American democracy was necessary is that there was a need for unification. This can be seen during the late 1800s when there was a major influx of immigrants into the United States. To put the circumstances of the early twentieth century into perspective, there was a significantly large portion of Chicago’s population were immigrants from European countries and the majority of them were clustered into slums on the industrial side. Conditions on this side were awful; “The streets [were] inexpressibly dirty, the number of schools inadequate, sanitary legislation unenforced, the street lighting bad, the paving miserable, and altogether lacking in alleys and smaller streets and the stables foul beyond description.” (83) There was an extreme contrast between the living conditions of the poor and that of the rich. The moment that people were well enough off to escape slums, they would flee to the other side of the city instead of staying to improve the conditions and the majority of the upper class lacked the empathy to make any significant improvements as well. This was mostly because of a flaw in the way that people thought. People failed to realize that the poor were not just confined to the slums because they were criminals or imbeciles, but because of an onslaught of different circumstances. (84)
Therefore, those that could actually provide help were not compelled to because they saw themselves as superior to the poor. Through socialization of democracy, the poor would be granted the positions or situations needed in order for them to vocalize their needs and establish relationships with the higher classes. I believe that with the representation of the poor in social settings, the rich will be able to establish a connection with them. Then, the dependence of each class on each other would be realized and both of the social classes will see that they can gain something from each other--thus, minimizing the chasm between the two. In a time like the late 1800s in America, this is especially important because of a basic sense of solidarity, or unity is important for a society to flourish.
The need for justice in America was also a reason why the socialization of democracy was important during early American twentieth century.

A good example to give this claim some support is the irrational fear of anarchists that arose during this time. This was primarily because an anarchist was arrested directly after President Mckinley was assassinated. This is important because the man was not allowed to see an attorney and was denied his rights sanctioned by the American government. (192) The radicalism that ensued was so much that Addams’ claims that “to treat a Chicago man who is called an anarchist, as you would treat any other citizen, is to lay yourself open to a deep suspicion.”

(80)
This was not just a problem for the poor or some people; this was a problem for all people. Equal justice in the eyes of the law is extremely important and should be available to everyone regardless of the circumstances. If society is choosy with who receives fairness, then the justice of everyone is constantly going to be in jeopardy. (91) For instance, if one man thinks that he is safe from receiving unfair treatment because he is not relatable to an anarchist, he cannot be positive that he will be safe the next time society targets a minority. With the socialization of democracy, equality and justice are guaranteed.
Throughout the essay, I highlighted several issues that are still prevalent in the United States. Every day there is a new broadcast about the unfair treatment of immigrants. There is a new report about a member of a minority group being denied justice. There is a new headline about a teenager taking up some meaningless career because of the lack of desire to make a difference. The news stories keep spinning into our lives every day and, as a result, there is a large group of young people that long to be represented in today’s society. This goes to show that the American democracy of today still shows similar needs of socializing and I do believe that citizens of today still have the same desire to do just that.