Hull-House by Jane Addams. Specifically, Term Paper

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They left the city's poorest people to their own devices; something Addams felt had to stop for the country to truly call itself a democracy.

Addams ideas were not only concerning shelter and hunger. She also wanted Hull-House to be a place where people could gather socially to learn new ideas, enrich their lives, and even have their own social gatherings. She notes, "The Hull-House students and club members supped together in little groups or held their reunions and social banquets, as, to a certain extent, did organizations from all parts of the town (98). The house was open to any and all, and it provided a safe, comfortable atmosphere where people could meet, learn more about each other, and study topics they wanted to learn more about. The fact that so many different people used the house regularly shows that Addams ideas were accepted by many members of the community, and they agreed with her political arguments that all of society should work together to solve problems.

Later she writes of child labor and the horrible conditions children worked in. She states, "When the injury of one of these boys resulted in his death, we felt quite sure that the owners of the factory would share our horror and remorse, and that they would to everything possible to prevent the recurrence of such a tragedy" (122). They of course, did nothing. Her documentation of this and many other unspeakable working conditions, along with many others like her, helped lead to the formation of labor unions and government safety regulations that protect workers today. It took death and dismemberment to bring these regulations into effect, when Addams maintains they should have been in place all along. It is the government's responsibility to protect its citizens, and if citizens cannot depend on the government to protect them, who can they rely on? Many considered Addams a Socialist, but her ideas seem to be based on fairness and equality.

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She promotes democracy, but is afraid it will not survive unless the classes disappear and everyone operates from peace and understanding. She worked tirelessly for Child Labor Law reform, and eventually did see a factory reform bill pass that limited child workers to 14 and above and helped protect female factory workers from sweatshop conditions.

Addams supported the arts and learning at Hull-House as another way to erase class distinctions and differences between people. As with most of her endeavors, many people criticized her for attempting to educate the masses. She writes, "It is constantly said that because the masses have never had social advantages, they do not want them, that they are heavy and dull, and that it will take political or philanthropic machinery to change them" (180). She proved her detractors wrong by offering classes and lectures to anyone who wanted to enjoy them, and the neighborhood took full advantage of them. She proved that class lines disappear when people have the opportunity to better themselves.

In conclusion, Addams political convictions are abundantly clear in this book. She believes there is too much distance between the rich and poor in America, and that must change if the industrialized society is going to survive. Unfortunately, her observations are still true today. The poor are still far removed from the wealthy in our society, and many have little hope of ever making it out of poverty. The government still turns its back on the nation's poorest citizens. There are still people who go to be hungry every night in America, and that is something Addams probably would not have foreseen 100 years after her Settlement experiment. The gap between the poorest Americans and the wealthiest Americans just seems to be getting wider instead of narrowing, and the wealthy still have the most power and control over most aspects of the government and industry. That fact would probably make Addams extremely distressed......

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