Jane Addams
(September 6, 1860 - May 21, 1935)

"The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life."

Overcoming Barriers to Social Welfare
It would have been easy for Jane Addams to turn a blind eye to the social needs of the disadvantaged in her community. After all, she was the daughter of a prosperous miller and state senator who was a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln. Possibly because of her privileged upbringing, Jane was sensitive to the needs of immigrants and children and became one of their most influential advocates.

Jane's pioneering social work began during a visit to Europe when she was 27. Visiting a settlement house in London's East End inspired in her the idea to establish a similar house in an underprivileged area of Chicago.

When she returned to Chicago, Jane established Hull House in an old mansion at the corner of Halsted and Polk Streets, within a community of Greek, Italian, Russian and German immigrants. Jane and other residents provided services for the neighborhood, such as kindergarten and day care facilities for children of working mothers, an employment bureau, an art gallery, libraries, music and art classes. By its second year, Hull House served 2,000 people per week and quickly became a prototype for all settlement houses throughout the United States.

As her reputation grew, Jane was drawn to even greater civic responsibility. She and other Hull House residents and supporters forged a powerful reform movement. Among the projects they launched were the Immigrants' Protective League and the first juvenile court in the nation. As a result of their efforts, the Illinois legislature enacted protective legislation for women and children and even passed a child labor law in 1903. Jane was appointed to Chicago's Board of Education and was a founder of the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy. In 1910, she received the first honorary degree ever awarded a woman by Yale University.

On December 10, 1931, Jane was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In poor health in a Baltimore hospital, she was unable to attend the ceremony.

Today, Jane Addams continues to be recognized as a pioneer social worker in America.