Jane Addams was born in Cedarville Illinois on Sept.
6, 1860 and was educated at Rockford College, graduating in 1882. She is most
well-known for founding Hull-House, located on the Near West Side of Chicago
in 1889. She lived and worked there until her death in 1935. At the time she
was the nation's most distinguished woman influencing people through her
writing, her social work, and efforts toward international peace.
In the area where Hull-House was located, a melting pot of first generation
immigrants from Italy, Russia, Poland, Ireland, Germany, Greece and Eastern
Europe had settled to find work in the industrialized city. Jane Addams and
her assistants provided the families with kindergarten and daycare services
for working mothers, a job referral program, an art gallery, libraries, and
music and art classes for the neighborhood residents. By 1900 the Jane Club, a
residence for working women, the Little Theater, a Labor Museum and a hall for
trade union organizations had been established.
She and her cohorts also created the first juvenile court in the nation, and
encouraged the Illinois legislature to make laws to protect women and children.
In 1903 a strong child labor law was passed along with a compulsory education
law. Their emphasis on education was seen in influencing the federal
legislature to enact a federal child labor law in 1916.
Jane Addams had eleven books and numerous articles published describing the
work emanating from Hull-House. She maintained an active speaking schedule
nationally and internationally. She actively supported the movement for women's
suffrage and was instrumental in the founding of the American Civil Liberties
Union in 1920. She was a strong advocate for world peace, especially with the
onset of World War I. She was the first president for the Women's
International League for Peace and Freedom in 1919, and as a result of her
efforts was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. She died in Chicago on May
21, 1935.
by Jane Harter
"America's future will be determined by the home and the school. The child
becomes largely what it is taught; hence we must watch what we teach it, and
how we live before it." -- Jane Addams