Jane Addams, A Philanthropist, Women's Rights Activist, Anti-War Activist (1860–1935)
Born
on September 6, 1860, in Cedarville, Illinois, Jane Addams co-founded
one of the first settlements in the United States, the Hull House in
Chicago, Illinois, in 1889, and was named a co-winner of the 1931 Nobel
Peace Prize. Addams also served as the first female president of the
National Conference of Social Work, established the National Federation
of Settlements and served as president of the Women's International
League for Peace and Freedom. She died in 1935 in Chicago.Jane
Addams, known prominently for her work as a social reformer, pacifist
and feminist during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was born
Laura Jane Addams on September 6, 1860, in Cedarville, Illinois. The
eighth of nine children born to an affluent state senator and
businessman, Addams lived a life of privilege. Her father had many
important friends, including President Abraham Lincoln.
In the
1880s, Addams struggled to find her place in the world. Battling with
health problems at an early age, she graduated from the Rockford Female
Seminary in Illinois in 1881, and then traveled and briefly attended
medical school. On one trip with friend Ellen Gates Starr, the
27-year-old Addams visited the famed Toynbee Hall in London, England, a
special facility established to help the poor. She and Starr were so
impressed by the settlement house that they sought to create one in
Chicago. It wouldn't be long before their dream became reality. In
1889, Addams and Starr opened one of the first settlements in both the
United States and North America, and the first in the city of Chicago:
Hull House, which was named after the building's original owner. The
house provided services for the immigrant and poor population living in
the Chicago area. Over the years, the organization grew to include more
than 10 buildings and extended its services to include child care,
educational courses, an art gallery, a public kitchen and several other
social programs.
In 1963, the construction of the University of
Illinois' Chicago campus forced Hull House to move its headquarters,
and, unfortunately, most of the organization's original buildings were
demolished as a result. However, the Hull residence was transformed into
a monument honoring Addams that remains standing today.
In
addition to her work at the Hull House, Addams began serving on
Chicago's Board of Education in 1905, later chairing its the School
Management Committee. Five years later, in 1910, she became the first
female president of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections
(later renamed the National Conference of Social Work). She went on to
establish the National Federation of Settlements the following year,
holding that organization's top post for more than two decades
thereafter.
Outside of her work as a prominent social reformer,
Addams was a deeply committed pacifist and peace activist. A frequent
lecturer on the subject of peace, she compiled her talks on ending war
in the world in Newer Ideals of Peace, published in 1907. After
World War I began, Addams became chair of the Women's Peace Party.
Along with Emily Greene Balch and Alice Hamilton, she attended the
International Congress of Women at The Hague in the Netherlands in
1915. These three social reformers and peace activists worked together
on a special report, Women at The Hague: The International Congress of Women and Its Results, which was published that same year.
As
part of her commitment to finding an end to war, Addams served as
president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom from
1919 to 1929. For her efforts, she shared the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize
with Nicholas Murray Butler, an educator and presidential advisor. While
often troubled by health problems in her youth, Jane Addams's health
began to seriously decline after a heart attack in 1926. She died on May
21, 1935, at the age of 74, in Chicago, Illinois. Today, Addams is
remembered not only as a pioneer in the field of social work, but as
one of the nation's leading pacifists.
No comments:
Post a Comment