Heroes you should know: Jane Addams

“The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.” -Jane Addams



Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935) was a social activist for the poor, for women’s rights, and for world peace, and she became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.


Addams grew up in an affluent home that knew both great privilege and great loss. Her father was a prominent politician, a founding member of the Illinois Republican party, a state senator for fifteen years, and a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln. But at two years-old Addams’ mother died in childbirth, and by the time she was eight four of her seven siblings had also died. Addams also contracted tuberculosis of the spine at age four, which led to lifelong health issues.


Observing the work of her father, and reading the Bible, the writings of social reformers, and the novels of Charles Dickens, Addams developed a heart for the poor and longed to be of service. Believing that the most good could be done by becoming a doctor, Addams graduated from Rockford Female Seminary in 1881, and prepared to attend medical school. That summer her beloved father died, and she inherited the equivalent of what today would be $1.2 million. Her plans were unaltered by this event, and she began her graduate studies that fall. However, health issues and a mental breakdown forced her to quit school.


Despondent, she decided to travel to Europe, and it was there she understood that her desire to help the poor could be accomplished without a medical degree. After studying models of settlement homes in London, where students live among the poor and learn by serving the underserved, Addams decided to replicate the model in the United States. She used her sizeable fortune to purchase a run-down mansion in Chicago and pay for the considerable capital expenses. And Hull House was born.


Over time, Addams was able to engage many wealthy women benefactors for Hull House, where 25 women lived and approximately 2,000 people were served weekly. There, the poor of Chicago were able to receive food, children received an education, and adults were able to attend night school. But those who served at Hull House, or came to observe the work there, were impacted as much if not more. And the settlement house became a school for social reform, where the preached message was actually practiced as well.


Jane Addams would go on to lecture throughout the world, advocating for social justice issues. Her pacifism during World War 1 and her strong opinions about immigrants’ civil rights drew sharp criticism in America, and she was called “unpatriotic”, “anarchist”, and “socialist.” But she was undaunted. Addams was elected president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in 1915, and was also an active member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation USA. She remained outspoken in her belief that women had a special responsibility to fight for peace.


In 1931 she became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and she promptly donated her prize money to the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.


Jane Addams was the quintessential example of, “Think globally and act locally.” Her compassionate vision for the socially and economically vulnerable made her a prophet. But her willingness to act, to suffer and sacrifice for that vision, makes her great.


She is a hero you should know.




To learn more about this hero, you might consider:

Citizen: Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy, By Louise W. Knight
Encyclopedia of women's history in America, Kathryn Cullen-DuPont
The Jane Addams Collection at Swarthmore College Peace Collection