During the late 19th century, the United States received an influx of foreigners from several countries searching for economic opportunity. Though for many, this aspiration would result in disappointment, as industrialization was on the rise. The shift towards a manufacturing-based economy led to horrible living conditions for workers who were mainly immigrants. Through her book “Twenty Years at Hull-House," social activist Jane Addams recounts her experiences of the settlement house she founded in a poor Chicago neighborhood, seeking to enhance its residents’ quality of life. Utilizing her insights, she deduces two causes for the poverty amongst immigrants: the immigrant’s behavior and the political & economic environment. Of these two, I …show more content…
She reveals “The streets are inexpressibly dirty, the number of schools inadequate, sanitary legislation unenforced, the street lighting bad, the paving miserable and altogether lacking in the alleys and smaller streets, and the stables foul beyond description. Hundreds of houses are unconnected to the street sewer” (104). Furthermore, Addams conveys the value educational resources have in finding and obtaining work. By hosting classes and clubs at Hull-House she set out to give children and adults “opportunit[ies] which they could not have in crowded schools” and “merge as easily as possible school life into the working life” (Addams 112). Addams discusses how from the instruction and care of Hull-House, she discovered that a ninety-year-old woman with a habit of picking plaster off walls had a capability for adornment and could speak the language Gaelic (112). The woman was left alone all day, disregarded, however when given learning opportunities, she was able to do more. This proves Addams places great value on resources. Hence, if the immigrants in the poverty-stricken neighborhood were offered better resources, they would be able to expand their capabilities, then advance
Twenty Years at Hull-House Two Works Cited Victoria Bissell Brown's introduction to Twenty Years at Hull-House explains the life of Jane Addams and her commitment to insight social change to problems that existed during the turn of the 20th century. As a reaction to the hardships of a changing industrial society, Addams decided to establish a settlement house in the West side of Chicago to help individuals who had suffered from the cruelties of industrialization. Rejecting the philosophies
is Jane Addams. Jane grew up constantly being challenged intellectually by her father, John Addams, which led to her continuous curiosity and desire to challenge herself. Starting off as a girl from a small prairie town in Illinois, Jane was able to accomplish reform in a time when America was seeking to modernize itself in society. The accomplishments she created have been long lasting and established policies and ideals that still stand as a basis for reform today. Throughout her life, Jane focused
Keenan Cantrell Dr. Fisher History 5 March 2017 Jane Addams was a pioneer American settlement activist/reformer, social worker, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in women's suffrage and world peace. Jane Addams is a woman of history I admire, because she spoke up for all women in her time period and she is one of the reasons that women today are able to vote. In 1931 she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize which made a great impact on other women
They often lived in run down tenement houses that were unsafe. All the while, they clung to the cultures of the “old world” they just left. It was not until the 1880s that things began to change. Jane Addams, a middle class woman, decided to help the impoverished immigrants. She opened a settlement house and she called it Hull House. It was the first settlement house in the United States. She focused on Chicago’s most poverty-stricken area. The Hull House became the social center for immigrants
Jane Addams was an upper class woman who thought it was her job to help others. Addams was an advocate of immigrants, the poor, women, and peace. In 1889, she created the Hull House, to help female immigrants become assimilated to the American lifestyle by helping them get a job, learn the language, and receive an education. It was no surprise that in 1915, Jane Addams wrote the life-changing article “Why Women Should Vote.” During the 1900’s, women were under the idea of the cult of domesticity
attended Miss Catherine Ireland’s School in Boston, and in 1889 was part of the first graduating class at Bryn Mawr College with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Balch came to contact with sociology during her undergraduate years in Bryn Mawr where she studied it with Frank Giddings. She spent a year in independent study about sociology. She also received social work training from Jacob Riis in New York City. In 1889, Balch was awarded Bryn Mawr’s highest honour, the European Fellowship, which she used to study