Jane Addams Contributions

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Jane Addams Through her sheer grit, fierce tenacity, creativity, and integrity to affect social change and improve the living conditions of those improvised, oppressed and exploited, Laura Jane Addams, who can be described as the quintessential social worker, stands as a true leader in the area of social reform in the United States during the Progressive Era and a source of inspiration to all modern day social workers who follow in her legacy of work. Jane’s contributions include the development of Hull House, the first settlement house in the United States. She was also advocate for women’s suffrage and a key player behind the establishment of safe and fair working conditions for women. Jane’s devotion to the well-being of children was also integral to the development of child labor laws, in addition to development of the first juvenile courts in the United States. She was also cofounder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Adams, Jane, 2008). Through these and other social reform works of Jane, she was co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 (Jane Addams, 2012). Jane was born September 6, 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois. She was the eighth of nine children born to Sarah and John Addams, a wealthy agricultural entrepreneur who also served as state senator of Illinois for…show more content…
I had confidence that although life itself might contain many difficulties, the period of mere passive receptivity had come to an end, and I had at last finished with the everlasting “preparation for life,” however ill-prepared I might be (Addams, 1910, pp.
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