Addams, Jane (1860–1935)

Jane Addams stands as a giant of democratic social reform and international cooperation. She was a pioneer social change advocate, theorist, philosopher, and sociologist; she cofounded Hull-House and became world renowned as a feminist and peace activist. She was a prolific writer and public speaker on matters of industrial capitalism, social conscience, democracy, and pacifism. Many demands were placed on her time and ill health; her elite social class and her career did not shield her from tragedy and family responsibilities. Until her death, she remained as the administrator of Hull-House. Her latter years were devoted to the realization of world peace and social justice. In 1931, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Jane Addams' headstone in her family plot in the Cedarville, Illinois, cemetery.

Source: Photo by Patricia A. Bauch.

Born in Cedarville, Illinois, her mother Sarah died in childbirth when Addams was 2 years old. After her father's remarriage to a wealthy widow, Anna Haldeman, who had two children, Jane became the youngest of seven siblings. Her special playmate was [Page 38]a stepbrother her own age, George. Addams carried fond memories of their games and play in the woods and streams of the vast Addams estate. As a child she was not vigorous, as she suffered from a congenital spinal defect that was later corrected by surgery, but from which she suffered all her life. Her father John was a prosperous miller and businessman, who served as a senator in the Illinois State Legislature for 16 years. He fought in the Civil War, his home was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and he was an early friend of Abraham Lincoln. Addams attributes to her father the early influences on her life and beliefs. He grounded her in literature, history, social commentary, and moral rectitude. Addams matured as an attractive, intelligent, persuasive, and graceful woman.

In 1881, she graduated from nearby Rockford Female Seminary as the class valedictorian. She was disappointed that her father would not allow her to attend the newly opened Smith College. He died the year of her graduation. In the following year, she was awarded a bachelor's degree when the school received accreditation as Rockford College for Women, now Rockford College. Addams enrolled in medical school but dropped out due to poor health. About the same time, in the midst of difficult postgraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, George asked for her hand in marriage. Realizing that her refusal was definite, he lived the rest of his life suffering from depression, addiction to opium, and as a recluse in the family home. Addams did not see her future as a life of domesticity.

Not sure of her path in life, for 21 months Addams studied art history and modern languages in Europe. She later came to realize that such studies were useless unless they could be shared with others. On her return, she intermittently cared for family members during illness and childbirth, studied and wrote, and pondered what her life's work should be. As the only unmarried sibling, this “family claim” followed Addams throughout her life including the guardianship and care of two nephews and a niece on the death of a sister. Juggling parental responsibilities and a career was not part of her life's plan. She later came to understand that events were not dependent on her own desires and efforts. On her second visit to Europe with her friend, Ellen Gates Starr, she visited Toynbee Hall, a settlement house in London's East End. This visit influenced her decision to open a similar house with Starr in an immigrant district in Chicago where she would live among and care for the poor. In 1888, with money inherited from her father, she and Starr leased a large home previously owned by Charles Hull located at the intersection of Halsted and Polk Streets. As expressed later, their purpose was to provide a center for civic and social life, to institute and maintain educational and philanthropic enterprises, and to investigate and improve the conditions in the industrial districts of Chicago. Starr and Addams enjoyed setting up housekeeping in the upper-class style and beauty to which they were accustomed.

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