Jane Addams | Biography, Accomplishments, Significance, Hull House, Books, & Facts

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[{"p":1,"t":5365},{"p":1,"t":275272},{"p":2,"t":646779},{"p":1,"t":667287},{"p":1,"t":283562},{"p":1,"t":19400},{"p":1,"t":551438},{"p":1,"t":275667},{"p":7,"t":110319},{"p":8,"t":551426}], "sequence": 1, "topics": {} }); </script> <article class="article-content container-lg qa-content px-0 pt-0 pb-40 py-lg-20 content " data-topic-id="5365"> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jane-Addams">Jane Addams</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" 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d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/76009-004-875B433E/Jane-Addams.jpg" alt="Jane Addams" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/99/164499-050-280E9EAF/Jane-Addams-American-peace-delegates-International-Congress-1915.jpg" data-href="/media/1/5365/252883" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/99/164499-004-09F1493C/Jane-Addams-American-peace-delegates-International-Congress-1915.jpg" alt="Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Jane Addams, and Alice Thacher Post" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/197212-050-B8FF9ECE/Jane-Addams-children-1930.jpg" data-href="/media/1/5365/242482" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/197212-004-6F03AA0D/Jane-Addams-children-1930.jpg" alt="Jane Addams" height="50" /> </a> <a 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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-02-19T00:00:00CST" >Feb 19, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jane-Addams/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 module-spacing js-inline-ai-ask-button p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Born: </dt> <dd>September 6, 1860, Cedarville, <a href="/place/Illinois-state">Illinois</a>, <a href="/place/United-States">U.S.</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Died: </dt> <dd>May 21, 1935, <a href="/place/Chicago">Chicago</a>, <a href="/place/Illinois-state">Illinois</a> (aged 74)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Founder: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/Hull-House">Hull House</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Awards And Honors: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/Hall-of-Fame-for-Great-Americans">Hall of Fame (1965)</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Nobel-Prize">Nobel Prize (1931)</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>On the Web: </dt> <dd><a href="https://www.nps.gov/people/jane-addams.htm" target="_blank">National Park Service - Jane Addams</a> (Feb. 14, 2025)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Jane-Addams"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What is Jane Addams known for? <\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Jane Addams cofounded and led <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Hull-House\">Hull House<\/a>, one of the first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/social-settlement\">settlement houses<\/a> in North America. Hull House provided child care, practical and cultural training and education, and other services to the largely immigrant population of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Chicago\">Chicago<\/a> neighbourhood. Addams also successfully advocated for social reform." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What were Jane Addams\u2019s accomplishments?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Addams was the first woman president of the National Conference of Social Work. A pacifist, she served as president of the International Congress of Women in 1915 and founded the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Womans-Peace-Party\">Woman\u2019s Peace Party<\/a>, the predecessor to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Womens-International-League-for-Peace-and-Freedom\">Women\u2019s International League for Peace and Freedom<\/a>. Addams was a recipient of the 1931 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Nobel-Prize\">Nobel Prize<\/a> for Peace." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What were Jane Addams\u2019s beliefs?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Addams believed that effective social reform required the more- and less-fortunate to get to know one another and also required research into the causes of poverty. She worked for protective legislation for children and women and advocated for labour reforms. She strove for justice for immigrants and African Americans, and she favoured <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/woman-suffrage\">women\u2019s suffrage<\/a>." } } ] } </script> <div class="top-questions qa-accordion d-flex flex-column module-spacing"><div class="font-weight-bold font-14 mb-5"> Top Questions </div><div id="intent-accordion" class="md-intent-accordion"><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="1"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What is Jane Addams known for? </div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Jane Addams cofounded and led <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hull-House" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hull House</a>, one of the first <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-settlement" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">settlement houses</a> in North America. Hull House provided child care, practical and cultural training and education, and other services to the largely immigrant population of its <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Chicago" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chicago</a> neighbourhood. Addams also successfully advocated for social reform.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="2"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What were Jane Addams’s accomplishments?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Addams was the first woman president of the National Conference of Social Work. A pacifist, she served as president of the International Congress of Women in 1915 and founded the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Womans-Peace-Party" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Woman’s Peace Party</a>, the predecessor to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Womens-International-League-for-Peace-and-Freedom" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom</a>. Addams was a recipient of the 1931 <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nobel-Prize" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nobel Prize</a> for Peace.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="3"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What were Jane Addams’s beliefs?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Addams believed that effective social reform required the more- and less-fortunate to get to know one another and also required research into the causes of poverty. She worked for protective legislation for children and women and advocated for labour reforms. She strove for justice for immigrants and African Americans, and she favoured <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">women’s suffrage</a>.</p></div></div></div></div></div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref62697"></span>Jane Addams</strong> (born September 6, 1860, Cedarville, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Illinois-state" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Illinois</a>, U.S.—died May 21, 1935, Chicago, Illinois) was an American social reformer and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="pacifist" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/pacifist" data-type="EB">pacifist</a>, co-winner (with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicholas-Murray-Butler" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nicholas Murray Butler</a>) of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nobel-Prize" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nobel Prize</a> for Peace in 1931. She is probably best known as a co-founder of <span id="ref62698"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hull-House" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hull House</a> in<a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Chicago" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"> Chicago</a>, one of the first <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-settlement" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">social settlements</a> in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/North-America" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">North America</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Addams graduated from Rockford Female Seminary in Illinois in 1881 and was granted a degree the following year when the institution became Rockford College. Following the death of her father in 1881, her own health problems, and an unhappy year at the Woman’s Medical College, Philadelphia, she was an invalid for two years. During neither subsequent travel in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Europe" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Europe</a> in 1883–85 nor her stay in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltimore" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Baltimore</a>, Maryland, in 1885–87 did she find a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="vocation" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/vocation" data-type="EB">vocation</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="242481" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/164500-050-529B750F/Jane-Addams-trip-womens-right-Washington-DC.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/5365/242481"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/164500-050-529B750F/Jane-Addams-trip-womens-right-Washington-DC.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/164500-050-529B750F/Jane-Addams-trip-womens-right-Washington-DC.jpg?w=300" alt="Julia Lathrop, Jane Addams, and Mary McDowell" data-width="1034" data-height="1376" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/164500-050-529B750F/Jane-Addams-trip-womens-right-Washington-DC.jpg" data-href="/media/1/5365/242481">Julia Lathrop, Jane Addams, and Mary McDowell</a><span>(From left) Julia Lathrop, Jane Addams, and Mary McDowell in Washington, D.C., 1913.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1887–88 Addams returned to Europe with a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rockford" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Rockford</a> classmate, <span id="ref874725"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ellen-Gates-Starr" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ellen Gates Starr</a>. On a visit to the <span id="ref62699"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Toynbee-Hall" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Toynbee Hall</a> settlement house (founded 1884) in the Whitechapel industrial district in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/London" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">London</a>, Addams’s vague leanings toward reform work crystallized. Upon returning to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">United States</a>, she and Starr determined to create something like Toynbee Hall. In a working-class immigrant district in <span id="ref62700"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Chicago" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chicago</a>, they acquired a large vacant residence built by Charles Hull in 1856, and, calling it Hull House, they moved into it on September 18, 1889. Eventually the settlement included 13 buildings and a playground, as well as a camp near <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Geneva-Wisconsin-United-States" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lake Geneva</a>, Wisconsin. Many prominent social workers and reformers—<a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julia-Clifford-Lathrop" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Julia Lathrop</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Florence-Kelley" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Florence Kelley</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Grace-Abbott" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Grace</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edith-Abbott" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Edith Abbott</a>—came to live at Hull House, as did others who continued to make their living in business or the arts while helping Addams in settlement activities.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="96492" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/76009-050-942450DF/Jane-Addams.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/5365/96492"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/76009-050-942450DF/Jane-Addams.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/76009-050-942450DF/Jane-Addams.jpg?w=300" alt="Jane Addams" data-width="1229" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/09/76009-050-942450DF/Jane-Addams.jpg" data-href="/media/1/5365/96492">Jane Addams</a><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Among the facilities at Hull House were a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/day-care-center" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">day nursery</a>, a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/gymnasium-sports" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">gymnasium</a>, a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="community" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community" data-type="MW">community</a> kitchen, and a boarding club for working girls. Hull House offered college-level courses in various subjects, furnished training in art, music, and crafts such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/bookbinding" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">bookbinding</a>, and sponsored one of the earliest little-theatre groups, the Hull House Players. In addition to making available services and cultural opportunities for the largely immigrant population of the neighbourhood, Hull House afforded an opportunity for young social workers to acquire training.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="252883" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/99/164499-050-280E9EAF/Jane-Addams-American-peace-delegates-International-Congress-1915.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/5365/252883"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/99/164499-050-280E9EAF/Jane-Addams-American-peace-delegates-International-Congress-1915.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/99/164499-050-280E9EAF/Jane-Addams-American-peace-delegates-International-Congress-1915.jpg?w=300" alt="Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Jane Addams, and Alice Thacher Post" data-width="1204" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/99/164499-050-280E9EAF/Jane-Addams-American-peace-delegates-International-Congress-1915.jpg" data-href="/media/1/5365/252883">Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Jane Addams, and Alice Thacher Post </a><span>Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence (left), Jane Addams (centre), and Alice Thacher Post (right) on the deck of the Noordam, heading to the International Congress of Women held at The Hague, Netherlands, 1915.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="242482" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/197212-050-B8FF9ECE/Jane-Addams-children-1930.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/5365/242482"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/197212-050-B8FF9ECE/Jane-Addams-children-1930.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/197212-050-B8FF9ECE/Jane-Addams-children-1930.jpg?w=300" alt="Jane Addams" data-width="1157" data-height="1476" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/197212-050-B8FF9ECE/Jane-Addams-children-1930.jpg" data-href="/media/1/5365/242482">Jane Addams</a><span>Jane Addams with children, c. 1930.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Addams worked with labour as well as other reform groups toward goals including the first juvenile-court law, tenement-house regulation, an eight-hour working day for women, factory inspection, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/workers-compensation" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">workers’ compensation</a>. She strove, in addition, for <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="justice" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/justice" data-type="MW">justice</a> for immigrants and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/African-American" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">African Americans</a>, advocated research aimed at determining the causes of poverty and crime, and supported <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">women’s suffrage</a>. In 1910 she became the first woman president of the <span id="ref874726"></span>National Conference of Social Work, and in 1912 she played an active part in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bull-Moose-Party" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Progressive Party</a>’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1912" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">presidential campaign</a> for <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theodore-Roosevelt" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Theodore Roosevelt</a>. At <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/The-Hague" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">The Hague</a> in 1915 she served as chairman of the International Congress of Women, following which was established the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Womens-International-League-for-Peace-and-Freedom" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom</a>. She was also involved in the founding of the <span id="ref874728"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Civil-Liberties-Union" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">American Civil Liberties Union</a> in 1920. In 1931 she was a cowinner of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Winners-of-the-Nobel-Prize-for-Peace-1856940" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nobel Prize for Peace</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="212946" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/02/164502-050-D0B39DEA/Jane-Addams-Hull-House-Museum-Chicago-settlement-buildings.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/5365/212946"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/02/164502-050-D0B39DEA/Jane-Addams-Hull-House-Museum-Chicago-settlement-buildings.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/02/164502-050-D0B39DEA/Jane-Addams-Hull-House-Museum-Chicago-settlement-buildings.jpg?w=300" alt="Chicago: Jane Addams Hull-House Museum" data-width="1600" data-height="1097" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/02/164502-050-D0B39DEA/Jane-Addams-Hull-House-Museum-Chicago-settlement-buildings.jpg" data-href="/media/1/5365/212946">Chicago: Jane Addams Hull-House Museum</a><span>The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Chicago. It occupies two of the original buildings of the Hull House settlement.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">The establishment of the Chicago campus of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Illinois" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">University of Illinois</a> in 1963 forced the Hull House Association to relocate its headquarters. The majority of its original buildings were demolished, but the Hull residence itself was preserved as a <span id="ref1279462"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jane-Addams-Hull-House-Museum" class="md-crosslink ">monument</a> to Jane Addams.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Among Addams’s books are <em>Democracy and Social Ethics</em> (1902), <em>Newer Ideals of Peace</em> (1907), <em>Twenty Years at Hull-House</em> (1910), and <em>The Second Twenty Years at Hull-House</em> (1930).</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=august-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature font-12"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span><span class="md-signature font-12">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/contributor/encyclopaedia-britannica/12989892">Encyclopaedia Britannica</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-simplify-root"></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":5365,"pageLength":554,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.36"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.36' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"BIO_MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Jane Addams | Biography, Accomplishments, Significance, Hull House, Books, & Facts | Britannica