Term Paper on "Twenty Years at Hull House"

Term Paper 4 pages (1307 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Hull-House by Jane Addams. Specifically, it will discuss what her political argument is, and how she goes about promoting it in the book. Jane Addams has a clear political argument that sets the tone for her book, and the editor states it early in the manuscript. She quotes, "As the very existence of the state depends upon the character of its citizens, therefore if certain industrial conditions are forcing the workers below the standard of decency, it becomes possible to deduce the right of state regulation" (Addams 1). Addams political argument is clear. It is the responsibility of the government to care and aid those in poverty, and regulating the workplace is one place to begin this aid. In fact, she encourages equality for all members of society, rich or poor, and wholeheartedly believes the poor have just as much knowledge and expertise about solving social ills. Thus, Addams promotes the idea that everyone needs to respect each other and work together to solve society's toughest problems.

From her girlhood, Jane Addams always wanted to work with the poor, and she dedicated her life to that task. Even when recuperating from illness in Europe, she cannot ignore the slums of the cities she visits, or the poor people that inhabit them. She writes, "This is what we are all doing, lumbering our minds with literature that only served to cloud the really vital situation spread before our eyes" (71). Her mind is made up, when she returns to America she will become actively involved with helping the poor, and she will call their plight to the attention of others, as well.

When Addams opened Hull-House in 1889, she wanted it to be a place for all people to live together in harmony and understanding. She writes the goal was "to make social intercourse express the growing sense of the economic unity of society and to add the social function to democracy" (80). Thus, her political argument is set in stone as Hull-House opens. She believes society should not depend on class and wealth for direction and leadership. All should work together to form a common class with common goals. Throughout the book, Addams sees this does not happen, and urges Americans to change the way they view and interact with the poor, as well as how they support them.

Part of her argument surrounds the inactivity of local and state governments to create decent living and working conditions for the nation's poor. She writes, "The policy of the public authorities of never taking an initiative, and always waiting to be urged to do their duty, is obviously fatal in a neighborhood where there is little initiative among the citizens" (83). The city has a moral obligation to create decent conditions for the city's poorest workers, but she notices that often they shirk their responsibility because the immigrant citizens do not know their rights or how to access them. She notes that many houses do not have sewers, there is little street lighting, the streets are dirty, and the schools are inadequate, among other things. In effect, the government is taking advantage of the citizens because it can, and she sees this as a great societal injustice. It forms one of the foundations of her argument, and indicates that government must take a larger role in creating alternatives to poverty; it is the morally equitable thing to do.

Later she notes that when she proposed public baths in the neighborhood, because only three homes had bathtubs, officials felt they would not be used. She writes, "Great fear was expressed by the public authorities that the baths would not be used, and the old story of the bathtubs in model tenements which had been turned into coal bins was often quoted to us" (163). Her experiences indicate the city government turned its back on the conditions in the neighborhood, or simply did not… READ MORE

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