 | The Selected Papers of Jane Addams: vol. 2: Venturing into Usefulness, 1881-88 Subjects: Addams Jane 1860–1935; Addams Jane 1860–1945 -- Correspondence; Hull House (Chicago Ill.) -- History; Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; Social reformers -- United States -- Biography; Social problems -- United States; Social settlem; Venturing into Usefulness, the second volume of The Selected Papers of Jane Addams, documents the experience of this major American historical figure, intellectual, social activist, and author between June 1881, when at twenty-one she had just graduated from Rockford Female Seminary, and early 1889, when she was on the verge of founding the Hull-House settlement with Ellen Gates Starr. During these years she was developing into the social reformer and advocate of women's rights, socioeconomic justice, and world peace she would eventually become. She evolved from a high-minded but inexperienced graduate of a women's seminary into an educated woman and seasoned traveler well-exposed to elite culture and circles of philanthropy. Artfully annotated, The Selected Papers of Jane Addams offers an evocative choice of correspondence, photographs, and other primary documents, presenting a multi-layered narrative of Addams's personal and emerging professional life. Themes inaugurated in the previous volume are expanded here, including dilemmas of family relations and gender roles; the history of education; the dynamics of female friendship; religious belief and ethical development; changes in opportunities for women; and the evolution of philanthropy, social welfare, and reform ideas. Jane Addams was born Laura Jane Addams in Cedarville, Illinois, on September 6, 1860. She graduated from Rockford Female Seminary with the hope of attending medical school. Her father opposed her unconventional ambition and, in an attempt to redirect it, sent her to Europe. In London, Addams was moved by the work done at Toynbee Hall, a settlement house. Upon her return to the United States, she began her lifelong fight for the underprivileged, women, children laborers, and social reform. In the space of four years she received Yale University's first honorary doctorate awarded to a woman, published her first book, was the first woman president of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections, and was elected vice president of the National American Women Suffrage Association. In 1915 she became the first president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. With Ellen G. Starr, Addams founded Hull House in Chicago, a renowned settlement house dedicated to serving the disadvantaged and the poor. Addams went on to author twelve books, including Twenty Years in Hull House, Newer Ideals of Peace, and Peace and Bread in Time of War. The latter title was written to protest the U.S.'s involvement in World War I and was based on Addams's experience assisting Herbert Hoover in sending relief supplies to women and children in enemy nations. Hospitalized following a heart attack in 1926, Addams could not accept in person the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded in 1931. She was the first American woman to receive the honor. Addams died in 1935. (Bowker Author Biography) |
