Choosing Topics

Jane Addams took part in many of the social reform movements of the early twentieth century. She worked with a broad alliance of social workers, educators, politicians, academics, and club women to help ameliorate the social problems Americans faced as the United States shifted from a nation of farmers to an industrial power. Thus, there are a wide variety of topics to choose among for your National History Day project. For Debate & Diplomacy, we have highlighted the topics of:

• Labor Unions
• International Congress of Women (1915)
• Child Labor
• Election of 1912
• Woman Suffrage

as particularly applicable. But there are many others that you can explore. Browse our subject headings, or consult the following search results for ideas.

• The Progressive Party
• Immigration Reform
• Peace Movement
• Elections

Another way to narrow your topic is to focus on Addams' relationship with one individual or group. For Debate & Diplomacy, you could explore Addams' relationships with opponents and allies who saw things just a little differently. Some suggestions:

• Mabel T. Boardman, who argued that suffragists should not support political parties
• Samuel Gompers, leader of the AFL and a labor activist
• International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace
• Rosika Schwimmer, who was a passionate pacifist and worked closely with Addams on the peace movement
• William T. Davis, a theater manager who opposed limitations on child actors.

Focus on the relationships between people and groups to unpack their different points of view to find the debates. How did they employ diplomacy to settle those issues?