The Legacy of Hull-House
Before the Industrial Revolution, most of the population was spread out in agriculture and water-driven industries. However, with the rise of steam-power machines and factories, a great need for urban labour aros and hit a peak in the Progressive Area. Poor migrants from farms and immigrants from abroad flocked to cities such as New York and Boston in search of work. As a result, these cities and their populations grew larger, a feat that would lead to several problems.
Because of the large population jump, securing jobs and housing became more competitive. While city industry boomed and companies thrived, thousands of working men fought each other for work. Those who managed to find a job toiled for long hours in unbearable conditions. The meager sums they earned could scarcely cover the cost of rent, food and clothing, especially if they had families to support. Companies paid immigrants less than native-born Americans because they could take advantage of their tenuous condition. Many American workers distrusted and hated them because they felt they were undercutting their jobs. In most working class families, everyone had to work: men, women and children. Survival depended on how many family members could work and how much they could get. If someone was injured or caught one of the many disease outbreaks that swept through the slums, the family survival could be threatened. Trapped in a constant cycle of work, the poor rarely had time for recreation or education.
This is where Jane Addams enters the picture. Observing the downtrodden and the working class around her, she tried to put herself into their shoes, imagining the sorts of help she could provide. Some private organizations already offered services such as free or reduced meals or clothing, but Addams knew that more could be done. She wanted to focus on underserved groups such as women, children and immigrants. A visit with college friend Ellen Gates Starr to English settlement home Toynbee Hall provided inspiration; with a focus on teaching core school subjects and physical fitness, Toynbee Hall invested more in the wellbeing of all poor citizens. The visit combined with Addams’s own thoughts resulted in one of America’s first settlement houses, Hull House. Like Toynbee Hall, Addams pushed beyond basic needs, attempting to bring joy to and fostering the minds of every poor person. For example, she hosted social gatherings and parties that allowed young adults from different parts of Chicago to mingle and have fun. For poor immigrants, she set up a labor museum, showcased their craftsmanship and held English classes to help them connect with their new American neighbors. For younger children, she set up extracurricular classes, teaching them art, music and language for free. For All of these programs show how Addams wanted to develop the neglected aspects in the lives of poor people.
While the idea of hosting parties, creating a labor museum and teaching children art may not look very innovative from a modern perspective, they were unheard of in Jane Addams’s time. Private charity organizations, the predecessors to the settlement movement, believed that help should only be offered to poor people who were “worthy.” They determined “worth” by whether or not a person was willing to fight his or her battles. For example, workers laid off due to accidents and the terminally ill could receive aid, but common thieves, beggars and immigrants were turned away. In addition, private organizations provided food and clothing, but no other services were offered beyond this. These charities, often run by wealthy women and men, only believed in giving the poor the bare minimum, helping them briefly but not investing in their futures. In other words, they believed that even with their help, the poor would always be too lazy and morally deficient to rise out of poverty.
Addams, however, refused to give into this idea. She believed that the poor, regardless of morality or ethnicity, were capable of great things and needed the right tools and skills to lift them out of their state. For example, a young Russian steel worker could change his circumstances by picking up a musical instrument. He could join a local band and if he had a natural gift, could be admitted to a large orchestra. With a seat in a prominent group, the boy could make more money than he could ever have dreamed of by working in steel. This scenario could not be realized without programs and institutions like Hull House that empowered the poor.
Suggested Primary Sources:
Addams, Jane “Autobiographical Notes Upon Twenty Years at Hull-House: The Resources of the Immigrant,” August 1910. Jane Addams Digital Edition.
Addams, Jane “Address to the University Settlement Society of New York,” December 7th, 1911. Jane Addams Digital Edition.
Addams, Jane “The Call of the Social Field,” June 12th, 1911. Jane Addams Digital Edition. Addams, Jane “Address to the North Broadway Social Settlement,” November 5th, 1903. Jane Addams Digital Edition.
Additional Resources:
Addams, Jane.Twenty Years at Hull House with Autobiographical Notes. New York: Macmillan Company, 1912.
Elshtain, Jean Bethke. Jane Addams and the Dream of American Democracy: A Life. New York: BasicBooks, 2003.
Residents, Hull House Hull House Maps and Papers New York: T.Y. Crowell, 1895.
Suggested Subjects:
Hull-House, educational programs
People associated with Hull-House.
Organizations associated with Hull-House.
Photo credit
Hull-House, ca. 1910. New York Public Library.