Twenty Years at Hull-House: With Autobiographical Notes

by Jane Addams

Overview

Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 - May 21, 1935), known as the "mother" of social work, was a pioneer American settlement activist/reformer, social worker, public philosopher, sociologist, public administrator, protestor, author, and leader in women's suffrage and world peace. She co-founded, with Ellen Gates Starr, an early settlement house in the United States, Chicago's Hull House that would later become known as one of the most famous settlement houses in America. In an era when presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson identified themselves as reformers and social activists, Addams was one of the most prominent reformers of the Progressive Era. She helped America address and focus on issues that were of concern to mothers, such as the needs of children, local public health, and world peace. In her essay "Utilization of Women in City Government," Jane Addams noted the connection between the workings of government and the household, stating that many departments of government, such as sanitation and the schooling of children, could be traced back to traditional women's roles in the private sphere. Thus, these were matters of which women would have more knowledge than men, so women needed the vote to best voice their opinions. She said that if women were to be responsible for cleaning up their communities and making them better places to live, they needed to be able to vote to do so effectively. Addams became a role model for middle-class women who volunteered to uplift their communities. She is increasingly being recognized as a member of the American pragmatist school of philosophy, and is known by many as the first woman "public philosopher in the history of the United States. In 1889 she co-founded Hull House, and in 1920 she was a co-founder for the ACLU. In 1931 she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and is recognized as the founder of the social work profession in the United States.

In the 1890s, Hull-House was located in the midst of a densely populated urban neighborhood peopled by Italian, Irish, German, Greek, Bohemian, and Russian and Polish Jewish immigrants. During the 1920s, African Americans and Mexicans began to put down roots in the neighborhood and joined the clubs and activities at Hull-House. Jane Addams and the Hull-House residents provided kindergarten and day care facilities for the children of working mothers; an employment bureau; an art gallery; libraries; English and citizenship classes; and theater, music and art classes. As the complex expanded to include thirteen buildings, Hull-House supported more clubs and activities such as a Labor Museum, the Jane Club for single working girls, meeting places for trade union groups, and a wide array of cultural events.

Twenty Years at Hull-House is the story of the period With Autobiographical Notes of Jane Addams .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781644390900
Publisher:	Indoeuropeanpublishing.com
Publication date:	01/15/2019
Pages:	234
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d)

About the Author

James Hurt is professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
 

Table of Contents

Preface     v
Earliest Impressions     1
Influence of Lincoln     16
Boarding-School Ideals     29
The Snare of Preparation     43
First Days at Hull-House     58
Subjective Necessity for Social Settlements     74
Some Early Undertakings at Hull-House     85
Problems of Poverty     102
A Decade of Economic Discussion     116
Pioneer Labor Legislation in Illinois     129
Immigrants and Their Children     149
Tolstoyism     166
Public Activities and Investigations     180
Civic Cooperation     198
The Value of Social Clubs     218
Arts at Hull-House     236
Echoes of the Russian Revolution     255
Socialized Education     272

What People are Saying About This

Kathryn Kish Sklar

One of the most important books ever written in the United States, Twenty Years at Hull-House remains a classic because it addresses large questions of human destiny and social justice in terms that are as relevant today as they were one hundred years ago.
—(Kathryn Kish Sklar, author of Catherine Beecher: A Study in American Domesticity)

Berenice Carroll

Twenty Years at Hull-House is an indispensable classic of American intellectual and social history, and remains a rich source of provocative social theory. Jane Addams was both an activist of courage and "a thinker of originality and daring." Her life and writings exemplify the integration of social thought and action. Addams and her associates at Hull-House had wide-ranging influence not only on the key reform movements of the time but also on major currents of philosophical, sociological, and political thought. Filled with careful empirical observations, perceptions on everyday life, accounts of practical action, and prescriptions for public policy, this small volume also embodies such important theoretical contributions as "The Necessity for Social Settlements," "A Decade of Economic Discussion," "Tolstoyism," and "Problems of Poverty." Long acclaimed for its autobiographical and historical value, Twenty Years at Hull-House should be read today as much for its enduring insights, critical analyses, and persuasive vision.
—(Berenice A. Carroll, editor of Liberating Women's History: Theoretical and Critical Essays)

Editorial Reviews

Originally published in 1910, this was Jane Addams' most successful book. Now regarded as a classic of American social history, this first annotated edition is issued on the occasion of the Hull-House centennial. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews