Jane Addams: Founding Mother Of Modern Social Work

In 1882 Jane Addams spent a great deal of time thinking about her future. A surgical operation to relieve the near-constant pain caused by a curvature of her spine had not only caused her to drop out of the Women's Medical College of Philadelphia, but it also kept her primarily bed-ridden. Every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other, so it is not certain what Jane Addams thought about for the year she lay uncomfortably on her stomach.

Perhaps she wondered how her life would have been changed had her mother not died when she was two. Perhaps she mourned the recent loss of her father, John H. Addams, prominent banker, State Senator, friend of President Abraham Lincoln and one of the founders of the Republican Party. Certainly she thought about her education. When she recovered (if she recovered) would she return to Medical School? What was her goal there?

She had always been a good student, and despite being a slight renegade had graduated as Valedictorian of her class at the Rockford Female Seminary; a school on par with some of the more renowned male colleges. Was her convalescence a sign that she needed to slow down and reconsider following the lifestyle her family had encouraged for her. Should she cease her humanistic ambitions and instead surrender to the more 'feminine' pursuits of marriage, family and homemaking?

By the time she could walk again It is not entirely clear if Jane had decided on a lifepath for herself or not, but she embarked on a tour of Europe with with close friends, that would profoundly change her life. While in England, Jane and friend Ellen Starr visited Toynbee Hall, a settlement house in London's East End. Toynbee Hall was the first of it's kind and a revolution in how the world thought about social reform. A house for students and middle-class social reformers to live amongst and work with London's poorest residents, Toynbee Hall elevated social reform from merely charity to a much more effective process of cooperation and education, which was of benefit to both the middle-class and the poor, regardless of race or religion. The successful mixing of classes and cultures so impressed sportsman Pierre de Coubertin, he credited his visit to Toynbee Hall as his inspiration for the establishment of the modern Olympic Games.

Jane Addams was also similarly impressed and inspired. Upon return from England she and Ellen soon founded America's most famous settlement house, Chicago's Hull House, where they both lived among the city's most destitute families. It would serve as Jane's home and the headquarters of her social reform strategies for the next 46 years.

Already a feminist by nature, Jane became sensitive to the need for active social reform on behalf of women among Chicago's poor. Seeking funding primarily from wealthy, reform-minded women Jane founded a Woman Workers Union, in Chicago as well as campaigning for social changes in the areas of sanitation, immigrant's rights, factory safety, and the institution of the 8-hour-workday. She became so involved in these issues she would even take positions in municipal service, at one point even being appointed to the official post of Garbage Inspector for Chicago's 19th ward.

Jane's tireless efforts did not go by unnoticed and she was invited to participate in a multitude of local and national progressive groups and committees. Her contributions to any number of influential social reform movements in the early 20th century were essential to the overall climate of positive change in the era and she is widely regarded as having a significant role in the successful presidential campaign of Franklin Roosevelt. Her social activities slowed only after she suffered a heart attack in 1926, but she still remained involved in her causes. This was the same passion and tenacity for which she was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize for her lifetime career of social work and reform.

Many modern American social worker jobs are directly descended from the programs started by Jane Addams at the Hull House. Familiar concepts such as juvenile rights, workers compensation, and the correlation between poverty and crime all are directly attributable to this feisty lady with a crooked back who refused to accept the limits society imposed upon her and others.