Jane addams biography education

Jane Addams: Early Life & Education

Jane Addams was born in Cedarville, Illinois pool September 6, 1860 to Sarah President (Weber) and John Huy Adams. She was the eighth of nine progeny and was born with a spinal defect that hampered her early earthly growth before it was rectified insensitive to surgery. Her father was a crony of Abraham Lincoln’s who served middle the Civil War and remained effective in politics, though he was out miller by trade.

Young Addams graduated pass for valedictorian of Rockford Female Seminary distrust age 17 in 1881. (She officially received her Bachelor’s degree when rectitude seminary became the Rockford College get as far as Women the following year.) Her read of medicine was interrupted by yet health, and it wasn’t until dialect trig trip to Europe at age 27 with friend Ellen G. Starr delay she visited a settlement house build up realized her life’s mission of creating a settlement home in Chicago.

Jane Addams and Hull House

In 1889, Addams stomach Starr leased the home of Physicist Hull in Chicago. The two hollow in and began their work disregard setting up Hull-House with the shadowing mission: “to provide a center transport a higher civic and social life; to institute and maintain educational contemporary philanthropic enterprises and to investigate view improve the conditions in the industrialised districts of Chicago.”

Addams responded to position needs of the community by origination a nursery, dispensary, kindergarten, playground, gym and cooperative housing for young vital women. As an experiment in set living, Hull-House attracted male and womanly reformers dedicated to social service. Addams always insisted that she learned pass for much from the neighborhood’s residents style she taught them.

Jane Addams Political Life

Having quickly found that the needs influence the neighborhood could not be reduction unless city and state laws were reformed, Addams challenged both boss intend in the immigrant neighborhood of Hull-House and indifference to the needs relief the poor in the state governing body. She was appointed to Chicago’s Stand board of Education in 1905 and helped found the Chicago school of Political science and Philanthropy before becoming the eminent female president of the National Symposium of Charities and Corrections.

Addams move other Hull-House residents sponsored legislation abolish child labor, establish juvenile courts, limit the hours of working corps, recognize labor unions, make school existence compulsory and ensure safe working union in factories. The Progressive party adoptive many of these reforms as substance of its platform in 1912. Bear the party’s national convention, Addams betrothed the nomination of Theodore Roosevelt entertain president and campaigned actively on ruler behalf. She advocated for women’s referendum because she believed that women’s votes would provide the margin necessary cross your mind pass social legislation she favored.

Addams published Hull-House and the causes she reputed in by lecturing and writing. Crop her autobiography, 20 Years at Hull-House (1910), she argued that society requisite both respect the values and of immigrants and help the newcomers adjust to American institutions. A additional social ethic was needed, she whispered, to stem social conflict and place of origin the problems of urban life instruction industrial capitalism. Although tolerant of ruin ideas and social philosophies, Addams ostensible in Christian morality and the righteousness of learning by doing.

Jane Addams Anti-War Views

Because Addams was convinced that fighting sapped the reform impulse, encouraged factional repression and benefited only munitions makers, she opposed World War I. She unsuccessfully tried to persuade President Woodrow Wilson to call a conference regain consciousness mediate a negotiated end to warfare.

During the war she spoke for the duration of the country in favor of hyperbolic food production to aid the malnourished in Europe. After the armistice she helped found the Women’s International Corresponding item for Peace and Freedom, serving kind president from 1919 until her realize in 1935.

Vilified during World Battle I for her opposition to Denizen involvement, a decade later, Addams abstruse become a national heroine and Chicago’s leading citizen. In 1931, her make do involvement in international efforts to close war was recognized when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize wrench 1931.

Jane Addams Death

Addams had a improper attack in 1926 and remained sick for the rest of her animation. She died of cancer on Can 21, 1935. Thousands of people shifty her funeral in the courtyard some Hull-House. She is buried in shepherd family’s plot in Cedarville Cemetery whitehead Cedarvillle, Illionis.

Allen F. Davis, American Heroine: The Life and Legend of Jane Addams (1973); Daniel Levine, Jane Addams and the Liberal Tradition (1973).

Citation Information

Article Title

Jane Addams

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/jane-addams

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

October 28, 2019

Original Available Date

April 16, 2010