Jane Addams
Also known as Laura Jane Addams
American reformer (1860 to 1935) who co-founded Hull House; first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
At a glance
Main ideas
Democracy as duty, Government as housekeeping, Democracy, justice and peace together …
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Democracy and Social Ethics, Newer Ideals of Peace, Twenty Years at Hull House …
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- Addams was an American settlement activist, social worker, sociologist, philosopher and author.
- In 1889 she co-founded Hull House in Chicago, a settlement house serving poor, largely immigrant families.
- She was a leader in social work and women's suffrage, and a "radical pragmatist" in philosophy.
- She led women's peace efforts during the First World War and was criticised as a pacifist.
- When she died she was the best-known female public figure in the United States.
Why it matters
- She is recognised as the founder of the social work profession in the United States and was arguably the country's first woman public philosopher.
Key facts
- Born
- 6 Sep 1860, Cedarville, Illinois1
- Died
- 21 May 1935, Passavant hospital, Chicago, aged 741
- Education
- Rockford Female Seminary, class of 1881, valedictorian1
- Hull House
- Co-founded in Chicago in 18891
- ACLU
- A co-founder in 19201
- Peace work
- Presided over the International Congress of Women at The Hague in April 1915; president of what became the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom from 19191
- Nobel Peace Prize
- 1931, shared with Nicholas Murray Butler1
Main ideas
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Democracy as duty1
With John Dewey she redefined democracy through pragmatism and civic activism, stressing duty more than rights.
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Government as housekeeping1
Departments such as sanitation and schooling trace back to women's traditional roles in the household.
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Democracy, justice and peace together1
She saw democracy, social justice and peace as mutually reinforcing; each had to advance with the others.
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Positive peace1
Peace is not only the absence of war but the kind of society people aspire to.
Books to start with
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Connections
Links
Sources
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