Jane Addams
The Hull House Creator
Early Life
She was born in Cedarville, Illinois on September 6, 1860. Jane was born unto a wealthy family and was the youngest of 9 children. A couple of her family members (siblings) died at infancy and another died at 16 and after all of this there were only 4 Addams left. Jane's mother died when she was only 2. She was big on playing outdoors, reading, and going to Sunday School. When she was 4 she got tuberculosis in the spine and Potts's Disease. After that she couldn't run and could only limp. She never wanted to embarrass her father, she always used to walk with her father in her Sunday best but thought of herself as ugly. As a child she really loved her father seeing as her mother died when she was young.
What Makes Her A Progressive?
When she got older, she opened the Hull House. She thought it was horrible to see children on the streets dirty and half dead, children with fingers and toes and hands missing because of dangerous factory jobs, and families who don't have enough money to support themselves. She opened the Hull House in 1889 in Chicago along with Ellen Gates Starr. Those two women were the first to live in the Hull House but later on they will be 2 of 25 women who live there. When the Hull House was at its highest peak, about 2,000 people would visit every week. It had many activities to provide including night school, kindergarten, children's clubs, public kitchen, art gallery, coffeehouse, gym, Girl's Club, bathhouses, book bindery, music school, drama school, and finally a library. She helped culture immigrants and teach them the English language. She also helped them try to find American jobs and other things to make money. The neighborhood around the Hull House was filled with other ethnic groups, businesses, restaurants, and other things.
Jane Addams Stages of Life
"When she was just a Girl, she expected the World. But it flew away from her reach"
Jane Addams was born into a wealthy family with an accomplished father and many siblings. As a very young child though many of her siblings died and even later on so by the time she was 16 she only had 4 siblings out of 9. Also as a child she contracted a issue where her spine curbed and developed a limp. So from when she was young and had a wealthy family and lots of siblings, it all kind of died...
Why I Chose Jane
I chose Jane because she is an example of woman power. Even though her family died, even though she thought herself ugly, even though she had a limp, even though she had issues, she pressed on and showed what a real hero could do. She helped people who had it worse than anyone she'd seen. She helped women, children, immigrants, poor people, unemployed people, sick families, families torn apart, uneducated people, and she did this on her own will and I think that's amazing.
The Legacy of a Hero
Even though she was focused on helping individuals, after she died her legacy went on and helped influence society.