Jane Addams (1860-1935) was an American reformer, philosopher, and activist who co-founded the first social residence in the United States, the Hull-House, dedicated to working on behalf of the immigrant population as well as on various educational and social policies. She was also the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 and the first public philosopher in the United States.

In addition, she belonged to the first generation of upper-middle class women who had access to higher education; an experience that led her to problematize the tensions that women experienced between social and family demands and their own professional desires. Next we will see a brief biography of Jane Addams .

Jane Addams: biography of a social reformer

Jane Addams was born on September 6, 1860. Daughter of Sarah Weber and John Huy Addams, Republican politician and American businessman. She was the youngest of five children and was raised at the beginning of the Civil War in a small town in northern Illinois. Her mother died when Jane was just two years old, while her father served, under Abraham Lincoln, as a Republican state senator in the second half of the 19th century.

From the influences of her social and family environment, Jane Addams was formed between values and principles such as community responsibility , human rights and the civilizing bond of Christian ethics and the arts.

She was also part of the first generation of women to receive a high level of education at Rockford Female Seminary from 1877 to 1881. In fact, she was the first student to receive an official degree from that university.

It was a social context that opened schools for women, which responded in part to their need for autonomy and professional development, although in the end it did not offer many possibilities for public practice. At the same time, Jane Addams lived in a family context where the youngest daughter was expected to take care of the household .

Like other women living in similar environments, Jane Addams faced various psychic and somatic ailments over the years, which among other things led her to develop her philosophy and activism. She worked especially closely with Ellen Gates Starr, who had also studied in the Rockford and shared her interest in strengthening community and social support. She also had a good understanding of the stress women faced. As a result of the latter, the first social and progressive residence in the United States was created: the Hull-House .

The Family Imperative

At the height of strong domestic demands on women, Jane Addams found herself in a tension between pursuing her desires to reform social support in the public arena; and social approval, whose demands went in the opposite direction.

After having to give up her professional projects, and from the conflicts this generated, both she and other women from the same period underwent the “rest cure” prescribed by Dr. Weir Mitchell, which consisted of spending some time tied up in bed. Later, Addams herself would explain that she found herself in a paralyzing situation between what she called “the family imperative”, centered on the cult of the domestic; and the desires for an autonomous life dedicated to social activism (García Dauder, 2005).

Jane Addams’ cure did not come so much from rest as later, when she ended up making some domestic renunciations and founding, together with Ellen Gate Starr, the Hull House. She also dedicated herself to writing and developing a philosophical line related to social progress, women’s emancipation, diversity , the ethics of care and actions for peace.

The Hull House: a “squat”?

The Hull House was so named because it was set up in a residence located in a working class immigrant district in Chicago. This residence was vacant and had been built by Charles Hull in 1856.

They moved to it in 1889 and it grew gradually, having several buildings that offered day care, gymnasium, community kitchen, meeting spaces for working girls, and occupation and training workshops, as well as several playgrounds. All of this was available to the population of the neighbourhood, the majority of whom were immigrants . It was also an important meeting point for different workers and social reformers of the time, who came to live in the same centre and collaborate with its tasks.

Political impact and social recognition

The Addams works influenced the laws on the working conditions of women and children , the inspection of factories, and the demands for justice for women, the black population and the immigrant population. In 1910 Addams was the first woman president of the National Conference of Social Work; in 1915 she was the president of the International Women’s Congress in The Hague, and in 1931 she was the first winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Today the Hull-House has become a museum dedicated to Jane Addams and the women who worked together for education and social development.

Theoretical and philosophical development by Jane Addams

Jane Addams worked to ensure that her theoretical development did not stray from the reality she was experiencing. And vice versa, she wanted the implications of her activism to be real on a theoretical level. Thus, Jane Addams’ works are full of examples from her experiences at Hull House, and she addresses unusual themes ranging from folk tales of immigrants and prostitution to garbage collection (Hamington, 2018).

From his work at Hull House, as well as from his personal experience, Addams’ theoretical perspective develops an ethic of care that is not limited to the parent-child relationship , but extends to the notion of community and social development. As a result of his academic activity, Addams published a dozen books and more than 500 articles in which he also significantly problematized the North American pragmatic tradition in which he had originally been trained.

Bibliographic references:

  • Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2018). Jane Addams. American Social Reformer. Retrieved July 4, 2018. Available at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jane-Addams.
  • Hamington, M. (2018). Jane Addams. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved July 3, 2018. Available at https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/addams-jane/.
  • García Dauder, S. (2005). Psychology and Feminism. Forgotten history of women pioneers of psychology. Narcea: Madrid.
  • Bissell, V. (2000). Addams, Jane. American National Biography. Retrieved July 3, 2018. Available at http://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1500004.