Addams, Jane (1860–1935)

Jane Addams was an urban reformer who actively worked for social justice, particularly in the rapidly growing urban area of Chicago, Illinois

Born September 6, 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois, Jane Addams received her A.B. from Rockford College (then Rockford Seminary) in 1882. After a few years at the Women's Medical College of Philadelphia, she became ill and abandoned her studies in favor of travel. After observing the social experimentation at Toynbee Hall in London in 1887, she established Hull House, a settlement house that acted as a base for her and other women activists' pursuits. On September 18, 1889, she picked the location on Halstead Street because it was in a relatively run-down, poor, and largely immigrant part of Chicago. While the overall goal of the project was to provide diverse individuals enough space to interact with one another, thus producing socially functional citizens, the specific undertakings of Addams and her colleagues can be seen as the root of urban environmental justice movements, public health, and social work.

It is clear that the problems of the poor in industrial Chicago in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were more than social. They were also related to health and the environment. In Twenty Years at Hull House, Addams notes this in her description of the neighborhood around Halstead Street: unspeakably filthy roads, the obvious lack of enforcement of sanitary legislation, poorly lit streets, foul stables, and houses without sewer connections.

It was for this reason that Jane Addams and other members of her settlement house thought it essential to fight for increased labor protection and sanitary services for all neighborhoods. This fight was undertaken on many fronts. First, the women of Hull House performed in-depth epidemiological studies linking diseases, such as Phossy Jaw, to their industrial causes. They were then able to get legislation passed [Page 9]banning the use of certain substances in manufacturing. Second, Jane Addams and other members of the settlement house took active steps in cleaning up the neighborhood in which they lived, as Addams felt that the garbage problem was a great threat to her wards. These activities, along with city-wide studies of sanitation, led to the appointment of Addams to garbage inspector for her ward. In this role, she kept a close eye on the garbage trucks; mapped their comings and goings; made citizens' arrests of landlords who did not dispose of garbage; and eventually, provoked the city to restructure its collection system.

Twenty-three years of near-continuous conflict has shattered both Afghanistan's economy and infrastructure.

In addition to working in Chicago, Addams was also interested in national politics. In 1912 she acted as a delegate to the first national convention of the Progressive Party. In 1915, she founded The Women's League for Peace and Freedom. Her work in this area, with women and men, led to her become a co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931, the first woman to receive that honor.

Among Jane Addams's many books are Democracy and Social Ethics (1902), Newer Ideals of Peace (1907), Twenty Years at Hull House (1910), The Second Twenty Years at Hull House (1930), The Excellent Becomes the Permanent (1932).

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