Jane Addams: Biography Of This American Philosopher
Jane Addams (1860-1935) was an American reformer, philosopher and activist who co-founded the first social residence in the United States, Hull-House, dedicated to working on behalf of the immigrant population as well as on various educational and social policies. She was also the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 and the first public philosopher of the same country.
Furthermore, she belonged to the first generation of upper-middle class women who had access to higher education; experience that led her to problematize the tensions that women experienced between social and family demands; and her own professional desires. Below we will see a brief biography of Jane Addams
Jane Addams was born on September 6, 1860, daughter of Sarah Weber and John Huy Addams, American Republican politician and businessman. She was the youngest of five children and was raised at the dawn of the Civil War, in a small town in northern Illinois. Her mother died when Jane was barely two years old, while her father served, alongside Abraham Lincoln, as a Republican state senator in the second half of the 19th century.
Based on the influences of her social and family environment, Jane Addams It was formed between values and principles such as community responsibility human rights and the civilizing link of Christian ethics and the arts.
She was also part of the first generation of women to receive a high-level education at the Rockford Female Seminary, from 1877 to 1881. In fact, she was the first student to receive an official degree from said university.
It was a social context that opened schools for women, which responded in part to their need for autonomy and professional development, although in the end it did not offer many possibilities for public practice. At the same time, Jane Addams lived in a family context where the youngest daughter was expected to take care of the home
Like other women who lived in similar environments, Jane Addams faced different psychic and somatic discomforts for years, which among other things led her to develop her philosophy and activism. She worked especially closely with Ellen Gates Starr, who had also studied at Rockford and shared her interest in strengthening community and social support. Furthermore, she well understood the tension that women faced. The result of the latter was the creation of the first social and progressive residence in the United States: the Hull-House
The family imperative
In the midst of strong domestic demands on women, Jane Addams found herself in a tension between pursuing her desires to reform social support in the public sphere; and social approval, whose demands went in the opposite direction.
After having to give up his professional projects, and based on the conflicts that this generated, Both she and other women of the same time underwent the “rest cure.” which Dr. Weir Mitchell prescribed, and which consisted of spending time tied up in bed. Later, Addams herself would explain that she found herself in a paralyzing situation between what she called “the family imperative,” centered on the cult of the domestic; and the desires for an autonomous life dedicated to social activism (García Dauder, 2005).
Jane Addams’s cure did not come so much through rest but rather some time later, when she ended up making some renunciations in her domestic life and founding, together with Ellen Gate Starr, Hull House. She also dedicated herself to writing and developing a philosophical line related to social progress, the emancipation of women, diversity the ethics of care and actions for peace.
Hull House: a “squatter”?
The Hull House was so named because it was installed in a residence located in a working-class immigrant district in Chicago. This residence was vacant and had been built by Charles Hull in 1856.
They moved there in 1889 and it grew gradually, eventually having several buildings that offered a nursery, gym, community kitchen, meeting spaces for working girls, and occupational and training workshops, as well as different playgrounds. All of this available to the neighborhood population, the majority of whom are immigrants It was also an important meeting point for different workers and social reformers of the time, who came to live in the same center and collaborate with their tasks.
Political impact and social recognition
The Addams Works influenced laws on working conditions for women and children , factory inspection, and demands for justice for women, the black population, and the immigrant population. In 1910 Addams was the first woman president of the National Conference of Social Work; In 1915 she was the president of the International Women’s Congress in The Hague, and in 1931 she was the first winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Today Hull-House has become a museum dedicated to Jane Addams and the women who worked together for education and social development.
Theoretical and philosophical development of Jane Addams
Jane Addams worked to ensure that her theoretical development did not stray from the reality she lived. And vice versa, she wanted the implications of her activism to have reality on a theoretical level. Thus, Jane Addams’ works are full of examples of her experiences at Hull House, and she addresses unusual topics ranging from folklore stories of immigrants and prostitution, to garbage collection (Hamington, 2018 ).
Drawing from her work at Hull House, as well as her personal experience, Addams’s theoretical perspective develops an ethic of care that is not limited to the parent-child relationship , but it extends towards the notion of community and towards social development. As a result of his academic activity, Addams published a dozen books and more than 500 articles in which he also problematized in an important way the North American pragmatic tradition, in which he had originally been trained.
