Jane
Addams
by katie taylor
Jane Addams was a sociologist, author, woman’s suffrage
leader, the founder of social work as a profession in the
United States, and the first woman to win the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1931.
Addams graduated from Rockford Female Seminary (now
Rockford University) in Illinois with a collegiate
certificate then attended Smith College in Massachusetts
but was unable to graduate due to health reasons. After
spinal surgery in 1883, her doctor recommended she travel.
It was in traveling that Addams realized she did not have to
become a doctor to help the disadvantaged.
Aside from winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Addams is most
remembered for founding the Hull House with her intimate
partner Ellen Gates Starr. It was a settlement house in
Chicago, Illinois inspired by Toynbee Hall in London,
intended to offer a place where newly arrived immigrants
could turn to for assistance. The Hull House offered health
care, night classes, clubs for children of all ages that also
served as a safe place for parents to leave their children
while they worked, a library, gym, theater, art and music
programs, meeting rooms, and an employment bureau. It also
offered employment training f ܈ [