Jane Addams Criticism
Jane Addams (1860-1935) was a pioneering American social reformer, known for her foundational role in the social work profession through her establishment of Hull House in Chicago. Her work extended beyond philanthropy; she was instrumental in shaping sociology, advocating for urban parks and playgrounds as essential outlets for city stress, and laying the groundwork for the welfare state during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency. Notably, Addams helped found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Her writings, including the acclaimed autobiography Twenty Years at Hull-House, challenged prevalent notions about urban life, democracy, and peace, transforming American social action with influences from William James, John Dewey, and Leo Tolstoy.
Born in Cedarville, Illinois, Addams was deeply influenced by her father, a politician who had served alongside Abraham Lincoln. Despite health challenges and societal expectations that limited her formal education, she experienced a transformative period in Europe that led her to co-found Hull House with Ellen Gates Starr in 1889. Hull House became a beacon of innovation, offering programs to both assist the poor and engage the upper class in community service, thus gaining Addams national and international acclaim. Her outspoken pacifism during World War I, however, drew significant criticism, yet she eventually regained her stature, culminating in the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
Addams's literary works are closely linked to her activist life. Her first book, Democracy and Social Ethics, identified alienation in modern life and advocated for public involvement. Her essays, such as those in The Spirit of Youth and City Streets, addressed urban problems, while her critique of prostitution in A New Conscience and an Ancient Evil pushed societal boundaries. Despite facing backlash for her anti-war stance, her autobiography Twenty Years at Hull-House remains a seminal work, detailing her unyielding commitment to social justice. This was followed by The Second Twenty Years at Hull-House and The Excellent Becomes the Permanent, encapsulating her enduring legacy as a social advocate and writer.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Essays
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Democracy and Social Ethics
(summary)
In the following essay, Arbuthnot reviews Democracy and Social Ethics with a focus on its economic and political insights, particularly discussing the domestic service problem and its misalignment with economic development.
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A review of Twenty Years at Hull-House
(summary)
In the following review, the critic considers Twenty Years at Hull-House primarily from the standpoint of the biographical information it offers on Addams.
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Twenty Years at Hull-House
(summary)
In the following review of Twenty Years at Hull-House, Hall concentrates on the role models who instilled in Addams a spirit of selflessness.
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Twenty Years at Hull-House
(summary)
The following essay appraises Twenty Years at Hull-House as not just a personal account of one life, but of a time and place. It is a wonderful and deeply moving record, the power and inspiration of which no reviewer can hope to reproduce.
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An introduction to Peace and Bread in Time of War
(summary)
In the following essay, Dewey comments on the timely reissue of Peace and Bread at the end of World War II. The book is a record, searching and vivid, of human aspects of the First World War, providing a picture of the development of American sentiment from 1914 to 1922.
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Jane Addams on Human Nature
(summary)
In the following essay, which was originally presented as the first William I. Hull Lecture at Swarthmore College on 16 October 1960, Curti discusses Addams's views on the self and the place of the individual in society.
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Jane Addams: The Community as a Neighborhood
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In the following excerpt, Herman explores the path by which Addams moved from philanthropic works to pacifism.
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An introduction to The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets
(summary)
In the following essay, Davis introduces a new edition of The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets with a brief recap of Addams's biography, as well as details of the book's history.
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The Education of Jane Addams
(summary)
In the following essay, Phillips identifies Addams's intellectual forebears, a group that ranges from Abraham Lincoln to Auguste Comte.
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Walden on Halsted Street: Jane Addams' Twenty Years at Hull-House
(summary)
In the following essay, Hurt examines Twenty Years at Hull-House as a work of literary self-examination.
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Social and Artistic Integration: The Emergence of Hull-House Theatre
(summary)
In the following essay, Hecht reviews the history of the Hull-House Theatre, including political clashes over its administration. Chicago's Hull-House Theatre developed specifically to combat the corrupting influences of urban tenement life. This study will examine the process by which theatre emerged as an instrument for social rehabilitation.
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Jane Addams: An Educational Biography
(summary)
In the following introduction to her book on Addams's influence on education, Lagemann offers a review of Addams's own education and growth as a thinker.
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Jane Addams
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Stroup presents Addams as a pioneer in developing the framework of social welfare in America.
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Reforming: Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Jane Addams
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In the following excerpt, Abbott compares and contrasts Addams's autobiography with that of a feminist writer and contemporary, Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
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A Return to Hull House: Reflections on Jane Addams
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Elshtain offers a critique of Addams's career from a feminist standpoint outside the traditional left-wing framework.
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The Historical Value and Historiographie Significance of Jane Addams' Autobiographies 'Twenty Years at Hull-House' and 'Second Twenty Years at Hull-House'
(summary)
In the following essay, Lehmkuhl treats Addams's two Hull House books as historical narratives and examines them in the context of Charles A. Beard's 'new history.'
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Nobel Peace Laureates, Jane Addams and Emily Greene Balch: Two Women of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
(summary)
In the following essay, which was first presented at a conference of the Norwegian Nobel Institute in 1992, Alonso compares and contrasts the career of Addams with that of another radical pacifist and Nobel laureate, Emily Greene Balch.
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Jane Addams's Views on the Responsibilities of Wealth
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In the following essay, Knight presents Addams's views on charity, both as a member of a wealthy family and as a humanitarian seeking to raise funds.
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Jane Addams and William James on Alternatives to War
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In the following essay, Schott contrasts the pacifism of William James with the much more radical anti-war views of Addams.
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Domesticity, Cultivation, and Vocation in Jane Addams and Sarah Orne Jewett
(summary)
In the following essay, Sawaya compares the nonfiction portrayal of a household in Twenty Years at Hull-House with a fictional one in the work of Sarah Orne Jewett.
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"Excellent Not a Hull House': Gertrude Stein, Jane Addams, and Feminist-Modernist Political Culture
(summary)
In the following excerpt, DeKoven draws parallels between the lives and of Addams and Gertrude Stein, investigating the mutuality of progressive politics and avant-garde art.
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Democracy and Social Ethics
(summary)
- Further Reading