Who is She? Jane Addams was a Nobel Prize winning social worker and pacifist.
What did She do? In 1889, Jane Addams and her partner Ellen Gates Star opened Hull House, America's first settlement house, in Chicago's West Side. The two women lived in this house, offering room, board, classes, food and all manner of services to the poor immigrants of their city. These services had never been provided before in the US, at least not at the same scale. Addams was also an accomplished writer who was passionate about equal rights for African Americans, women's right to vote and the campaign for world peace. She formed the Women's Peace Party which gathered together women from around Europe to come up with a peaceful resolution for the growing conflict there. In 1931 she won the Nobel Peace Prize for continuing to oppose World War I, even though American troops were fighting in Europe.
Why does She matter? Jane Addams' work at Hull House is the basis for all social services in this country. She helped to found the NAACP which directed the actions of the Civil Rights Movement in the 19050s and 1960s. During World War I, Addams shouldered the burden of being called the “Most Dangerous Woman in America” because she believed so strongly in her vision of a peaceful future for all.
