Sociology

One of the individuals who attained recognition throughout the world for being a social worker in twentieth century America, a feminist and an internationalist was Jane Addams. She was an individual who devoted her time and effort into fields of civic responsibility and had been appointed as head in several committees and organizations (The Nobel Foundation).
    She was also the first woman to be able to head the National Conference of Charities and Corrections as the president. Jane Addams also led investigations in Chicago regarding narcotics consumption, milk supplies, sanitary conditions, and midwifery. Apart from this, Yale University also awarded her with an honorary degreethe first ever awarded to a woman (The Nobel Foundation).
Jane Addams was a feminist and she believed that women should be able to make themselves be heard therefore, she also believed that women should be able to vote. Apart from this, Jane Addams believed that women are not to be shelved in the home instead, they should create their own dreams and aspirations and find opportunities and means to realize these goals (The Noble Foundation).
Jane Addams was an individual who believed that war is not the answer to misunderstandings. In fact, she even taught other individuals about her beliefs. She also had published a book, entitled, Newer Ideals of Peace, wherein she discussed about means to attain peace without going through war (The Nobel Foundation).
Allen Davis American Heroine The Life and Legend of Jane Addams is a book that discusses Jane Addams life and works and how she was able to attain her goals through her hard work. The book also describes how Jane Addams proved herself to be a strong woman who wanted to make the world a better place for other individuals despite the fact that there may be a lot of problems to face.
Background
    Jane Addams was born in the Illinois in 1860 and belonged to a generation when women were experiencing changes in their roles in society. Women during Jane Addams generation were amongst the women who were first to go to college, the first to develop professional careers in government, research and social work, the first to be able to transcend the notion that women are bound to housework, and the first to be able to win the vote (Davis 3).
    However, the shift of womens roles and status in society, as well as the opportunities and situations, gave Jane Addams and the women of her generation much pain and remorse. It was the time when feminism was on its formative years and Jane Addams and her generations were amongst those who experienced the struggle (Davis 3).
    Jane Addams was from a family not different from other families, despite the fact that her family is complex and that she had an illness. Her mother died when she was only two years old and she had always been protected and pampered by her sisters, Martha and Mary, due to her tuberculosis of the spine. Her father was always on business or in Springfield as the member of a legislature, so she depended on her older sisters (Davis 6).
    When Jane Addams was young, she was just like most women of her generationshe was not militant like Elizabeth Cady Stanton or Susan B. Anthony who were militant pioneer feminists whom pushed for womens rights. In fact, she did not consider Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony as her heroines. She did not look up to themand the only women whom she looked up to were her mother and the two older sisters in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Most of the people whom she looked up to were men such as Carlyle, Emerson, Mazzini, and most importantly, her father (Davis 3).
    Jane Addams father, John Addams, was the dominant individual in their household. He demanded respect and obedience, but the management of Addams household and family was taken care of her mother, Sarah Addams. Her mother was not aspiring for a career and she did not care for the womens movement, and she was a woman who knew her place in society however, underneath this all, she was a woman who had an ability to command, a sense of purpose as strong as Jane Addams father, and determination (Davis 5).
    When Sarah Addams was pregnant, she went and helped another pregnant woman who was in labor for the village doctor was not available. She was able to successfully help the woman deliver her child however, on the way home, she stumbled and fell. She had a miscarriage and the baby that she was carrying died after a week, Sarah Addams also died and was buried with her child (Davis 5).
When Addams was six years old, her older sister, Martha, died of typhoid fever she often got nightmares that her other older sister, Mary, would die and leave her alone and unloved. Marthas death prompted Jane Addams to strongly attach herself to her father and to Mary (Davis 7).
    Jane Addams life was once again changed after two years. Mary left home to marry a Presbyterian minister and Jane Addams father remarried. Jane Addams stepmother, Anna Haldeman Addams, was an attractive and high-strung woman who had minimal formal education. However, she was from an intellectual familyshe read a lot of books and was very talented in music (Davis 6).
 She introduced order, discipline and culture to the Addams household and these were concepts that developed Jane Addams into who she is. However, despite the rigid changes that her stepmother made in the Addams household, Jane Addams had an affectionate relationship with her stepmother (Davis 7).
    The events that occurred in Jane Addams life were all factors in her future development. As she was growing up, she early developed a sense of purpose and commitment. Although Jane Addams was sickly due to her illness, she never let this preoccupy her mind. She never tried to be burdened by her sickness and tried to function as an individual who is well. Apart from these, given that she grew up in a family that was exposed to culture and proper discipline, Jane Addams grew up believing in equality, democracy, as well as equal opportunity, despite the fact that she was from the richest family in their village (Davis 7-8).
    Jane Addams father, John Addams, was different from most men, for believed that women should be educated. Given that he believes that educated women are vital in society, he supported the Rockfold Female Seminary. Jane Addams entered this seminary just like her sisters and studied there for over a year (Davis 11).
Social Work
Allen Davis American Heroine The Life and Legend of Jane Addams discusses how Jane Addams was able to determine that her calling in life was to be a social worker when she was in Chicago, she began a settlement house wherein she was flocked by a lot of people who needed child care, medical care and so on. It also provided classes for immigrants to learn English, vocational skills, music, art and drama.
    Jane Addams settlement house, also called the Hull House, was something that seemed to threaten the feminine ideal, however, people were more accepting of her role as a social worker, for she had not abandoned a husband or a child in order to help the poor. It must be understood that during 1889, people still believed the feminine ideal, which states that women are destined to be homemakers and mothers (Davis 66).
    In 1910, people began to notice that there was, indeed, a change in the feminine ideal. People started realizing that the feminine ideal does not necessarily mean that the women have to be weak and dependent. Apart from this, women were seen in a different light, wherein they could be much more than just homemakers and mothers (Davis 207).
    The books also states that Jane Addams was someone who was able to fight for women and childrens legislative protection, advocate womens suffrage, a juvenile court system, compulsory education and labor laws. She also became internationally famous as an advocate for peace and was a founder of the Womens Peace Party, for she was intent on searching for a moral equivalent to war (Davis 135).
    A lot of radical individuals misinterpreted her intentions and said that if she werent appealing to wealthy people, she would have been branded as radical. Jane Addams had always felt that it was her job to make peace with all groups and to help them address their issues regarding war with other groups. Apart from this, she also believed that she played an important role in making people realize that war is not the morally right way to achieve a certain end (Davis 119).
    Jane Addams was also a member of the investigation committee of the Civic Federation of Chicago, where she and the other committee members were concerned about how much class warfare is prevalent. They wanted to sort out the differences and restore peace and order amongst the classes (Davis 112).
    According to Allen Davis American Heroine The Life and Legend of Jane Addams (294), Jane Addams characteristic of being a reformer earned her a Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. It was an achievement that she and her friends considered a vindication for all their efforts in the peace movement and they were optimistic that the peace movement may be considered and understood more by other individuals.
    Jane Addams helped create the Womens Peace Party, wherein she was appointed as a leader because of her prestige when it comes to fighting for peace among groups. She devoted a lot of time and energy in the Womens Peace Party (Davis 222), which was a result of her goal to give women a share and a voice in the decision-making processes which occur between peace and war (Davis 225). In fact, Jane Addams and other members of the Womens Peace Party were so persuasive and unrelenting that they managed to convince President Wilson of their plea (Davis 250).
    According to Davis (22), Jane Addams believed that women should be able to make themselves heard. They should also know that by being able to make them heard by other people, or speaking out for themselves, they are taking the path to truth and knowledge. Apart from this, women should learn that they should use their talents in means that would sway and en-noble those around them.
Criticism
    Despite the fact that her intentions were good and the she was only working to improve the current society, Jane Addams also faced a lot of criticism from other individuals. When Jane Addams spoke in defense of labor and that American businesses were depriving working men and women of their basic rights in labor, a lot of people branded her as an anarchist and a socialist, for they believed that she was trying to redo the current system, which everyone has already adhered to (Davis 111).
    In fact, one Chicago businessman stated that Jane Addams was not a good leader and that people should not follow her. He insisted that Jane Addams was become far more socialistic than what is tolerable and that it was no longer wise to follow her goals (Davis 116).
    Apart from this, a lot of her critics insisted that she was a radical however, Jane Addams consistently and constantly rejected the radical option and always opted for the middle ground. She stated that a lot of individuals misinterpreted her advocacy for freedom of speech--which is why they keep on criticizing her standpoints. Jane Addams believes that war is not an option and that there are other means to do sohowever, a lot of people still criticized her for being a pacifist (Davis 116).
    In fact, private citizens, medical organizations and church groups were among all of those groups who criticized and tried to undermine Jane Addams. The most persistent group who wanted to undermine her was the Daughters of the American Revolution. Despite the fact that she was given membership to the group, they were vindictive towards her and continuously attacked her (Davis 267).
Because Jane Addams tried to influence American citizens to change their views about the reality of war, a lot of her critics deemed her to be a Bolshevik or a Communist. America feared subversion and they anyone who stated a view or perspective that is different from the current dominant perspective was considered against them and would be branded as disloyal and un-American (Davis 251).
Jane Addams never took a side when it comes to her beliefs. She always took the neutral ground she was not a radical and nor was she a conservative. However, by taking the middle ground, she made herself vulnerable to attacks from both of the groups. Radicals would criticize her and say that she was simply not doing enough, while those who are on the conservative side would criticize her and state that she is a traitor to the Americans because she is acting like a Communist or a Bolshevik (Davis 110).
Given that a lot of organizations and the press were trying to undermine Jane Addams, she decided to shift her humanitarian goals to helping people through the Department of Food Administration with the help of Robert Hoover. She helped in providing children and women relief goods and other vital supplies. She also asked other women to help in the production, as well as conservation of the food, so that there may be more to go around for other individuals. In fact, she spoke to high school assemblies, womens clubs, and public meetings about the need to do so (Davis 247).
Davis (258) states that Jane Addams was considered to be the most dangerous woman in America during her time. Most defined her as a dangerous radical and one critic even stated that Jane Addams merely an ignorant immigrant trying to become a socialist (Davis 118).
Subversives are referred to as Communists or pink, and Jane Addams was on top of the list. In fact, one general during her time stated that Jane Addams was the reddest of the red among the list of subversives (Davis 272).
According to Judy Bloom Fradin (158), sometime in closing of the 1920s, Jane Addams was described as a woman who worked against her countrys best interests and that she stands out as the most dangerous woman in America. When this occurred, Jane Addams friends were quick to defend her.
Carrie Chapman Catt defended her friend by publishing a letter in the Woman Citizen journal. She wrote that Jane Addams is a great woman and that she had given her life selflessly to other people without a single selfish motive, and yet people keep on criticizing her with harsh words and slanders. Despite that, Jane Addams never complained. She just went through her job and tried her best to help other people (Davis 158).
Another friend of Jane Addams, Florence Kelly, told Jane Addams that she should file a libel suit against those people who are trying to undermine her by saying negative things about her work and her personality. However, Jane Addams had no intention of getting back at her oppressors, no matter how much they branded her as a disloyal and dangerous American woman (Fradin 158).
During those times, people were convinced that pacifists, radicals and Bolsheviks are all the same, and that they are dangerous beings who would try to destroy the current peace within society. Jane Addams. They argued that they could not control Jane Addams actions, but they are welcome to refer to her as dangerous to America. Jane Addams stated that she is open to all forms of criticism, but to brand her as disloyal to her country would be taking it too far, for everything she has done was for the countrys benefit (Davis 262).
Whenever someone would brand her as someone dangerous or as a Communist, Jane Addams would often try her best to not retaliate. In a manner of speaking, she also did her best to live up to her teachings. Instead of retaliating, which she considers as a trigger of war, she would try to talk with the individual in a peaceful manner wherein they could discuss their differences (Davis 270).
Analysis
    If one looks at Jane Addams life story at a sociological perspective, it could be said that she was one female who tried to defy all odds in order to give voice to other women, the poor, and the numerous victims of war. She was a woman who wanted other people to see that there is nothing wrong if women and men are given the same privileges, for they women are capable of doing other jobs than just merely staying at home doing housework and taking care of children.
    She wanted people to see that there is nothing wrong with choosing a life as a mother, or as a homemaker, but she also wanted to show that women can aspire for dreams and goals, and that these dreams and goals are not out of their reach. They just have to work to attain it and believe that they are not pre-destined to stay at home while men pursue their goals in life.
 She was also a humanitarian who believed that helping other people is important if one wants society to remain intact. People need other people, and Jane Addams story showed that she wants to be able to help people realize their dreams and finally raise themselves from their problems, be it monetary or whatnot.
It could be said that Jane Addams greatest work is that she convinced people that war is not the answer to differences between people or countries. She wanted people to be able to talk through their differences, instead of shooting people down, or firing bombs and rockets. She was a pacifist, and a lot of individuals criticized her for wanting to create a world where people were not at war.
However, as seen in the previous discussion, given that Jane Addams was a pacifist, she did not want to strike back at those people who were criticizing her, even if they were saying that she was a Communist, threatening the American society or that she was the most dangerous woman of her time. She lived by what she preached, and she chose to talk to them in a peaceful manner in order to settle differences. Despite the many criticisms that Jane Addams received during her life, Jane Addams was able to make herself heard, help people, try to prevent wars--and those things, apparently, are far more of significance than what any critic would say.