Jane addams accomplishments

What did jane addams do

A progressive social reformer and activist, Jane Addams was on the frontline of the settlement house movement in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries. She later became internationally respected for the peace activism that ultimately won her a Nobel Peace Prize in , the first American woman to receive this honor. Only five of the Addams children survived infancy.

Her mother died in childbirth when Addams was only two years old. He owned a successful mill, fought in the Civil War, was a local politician, and counted Abraham Lincoln among his friends. Addams also grew up with liberal Christian values and a deep sense of social mission. Addams graduated at the top of her class from Rockford Female Seminary in Although her religiosity waned under the heavy Christianity of Rockford, her commitment to the greater good increased.

For the next six years, she attempted to study medicine, but her own poor health derailed her. Addams found her true calling while in London with her friend Ellen Gates Starr in Addams vowed to bring that model to the United States, which was in the early years of escalating industrialization and immigration.

Jane addams early life

The goal was for educated women to share all kinds of knowledge, from basic skills to arts and literature with poorer people in the neighborhood. They also envisioned women living in the community center, among the people they served. Under Addams direction, the Hull House team provided an array of vital services to thousands of people each week: they established a kindergarten and day-care for working mothers; provided job training; English language, cooking, and acculturation classes for immigrants; established a job-placement bureau, community center, gymnasium, and art gallery.

Aside from writing articles and giving speeches nationally about Hull House, Addams expanded her efforts to improve society. Along with other progressive women reformers, she was instrumental in successfully lobbying for the establishment of a juvenile court system, better urban sanitation and factory laws, protective labor legislation for women, and more playgrounds and kindergartens throughout Chicago.

Addams led an initiative to establish a School of Social Work at the University of Chicago, creating institutional support for a new profession for women.