She Changed History

15. Jane Addams:  Trailblazer for Social Reform

• Vicky and Simon • Season 1 • Episode 15

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Jane Addams: Trailblazer for Social Reform

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In this episode of 'She Changed History,' hosts Simon and Vicky explore the life and lasting impact of Jane Addams, one of the most influential figures in American social reform. Born in 1860, Addams was a pioneer in social work, founding the Hull House in Chicago to support immigrants and the working class with education, job training, and legal aid. Her holistic approach to social problems and her advocacy for systemic change laid the groundwork for modern social work and set a template for future social welfare programs. Recognized globally, she became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.

Other Episodes referenced: 10. Lise Meitner and 2. Ada Lovelace

00:00 Hometown Anecdotes and Personal Catch-Up
02:34 Introduction to Jane Addams
05:50 Early Life and Education of Jane Addams
10:23 Founding of Hull House
15:01 Impact and Legacy of Hull House
16:55 Structural Societal Reforms
17:30 Holistic Approach to Social Reform
19:26 Advocacy for Women's Rights and Peace
25:21 Recognition and Legacy
29:52 Interconnectedness of Social Issues
32:54 Jane Addams' Lasting Impact
35:27 Conclusion and Reflections

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In Boston, where my hometown is, we have a like the main, I had to get from one end of the town to the other really quick. They called it John Adams Way, randomly after the second president of America, in our little hometown in rural England. How weird is that? Of all the things to make after. They were like, yeah, John Adams, that guy. That's some local legend. It's so random. But yeah, it's a little factoid

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there.

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there. All right. Well, hi, Simon. Hi, Vicky. How are you doing? How are you? Yeah, very well, thanks. We're going to, Bristol tomorrow for a candlelight concert. Ooh, tell me more. Have you ever seen them? They're sort of pop up adverts on Facebook and things. Yes, on Gloucester though, not Bristol. Yeah, we've been to a couple at the Blackfriars Priory. It's a gorgeous old building. It sounds amazing. But we're in Bristol. I don't know where in Bristol. Oh, that's, Cat's telling me where to drive. She's just doing it, fab. Yeah, we got given some tickets for Christmas and it's a Taylor Swift one. God, you guys, that's the best day. Can't wait.

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Sounds amazing. Gonna be lush.

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lush. Are

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up for anything? Save a candlelight.

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candlelight. Oh my gosh, now I'm cleaning my house.

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Mine's

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very dull. We were gonna try. Simply Wild. It's like a fine dining kind of restaurant vibe. Yeah. I'd recommend it. Yeah. I took, my friend over Christmas and, and yeah, it was reasonably priced. It's like more expensive than your usual forest dinner. But like, you know, I don't mind that if you know, if you're paying for something nice and it was, it's more about like value than cost, isn't it? I think so. They did this soup and it was like a foamy soup. I've never had that before. And, oh God, it was amazing. And stuff you'd never make, like it was chicory something soup. And I would never cook chicory. But it was so lush and would definitely, yeah, definitely recommend that. That's what I want in a restaurant. Sort of go there and think, I could have just made this. I mean, it's nice not having to make it, but it's a little bit disappointing. Especially when you think you could make it better. Jamie's always like, I feel like I could make this better. It's difficult to get over that. It is, you feel like really reluctant. So yeah, we might do that tomorrow, maybe. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, be cute. Cool. Well, this is She Changed History. We didn't say that at the top. Welcome. Simon's got a story for us today. Yeah. So today we are going to be talking about a trailblazer for social reform, an American lady called Jane Addams. Born in 1860, she is remembered as one of the most influential figures in the history of American social reform. A remarkable life and work have left a lasting imprint on fields ranging from social justice and women's rights to the development of social work as a profession. Most famously, in 1931, she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless efforts to foster global peace during a time of political tension and war. She is widely regarded as a pioneering figure in social work, with Hull House, the settlement house she founded in Chicago, Through Hull House, she not only improved the conditions of the working class, but also championed the rights of women, children and immigrants. Today we're going to explore the many facets of Adam's life ultimately reflecting on how her work continues to inspire social reformers today. Ooh, so the birth of social work, yeah? Pretty much, yeah. That's what I got. Okay, what are we defining as social work? Like helping those That's interesting. Yeah, I, I sort of take social work as like giving assistance and propping up people who don't necessarily have the means to prop themselves up for durability. I agree. So it's like acceptable state intervention in Yes. a citizen's well being. Yeah, and it covers regardless of who those people are. So like children, immigrants, women. Yeah You mentioned international cooperation. So that's exciting. Yeah So like born in 1860 a life extended into Periods covering World War I. Oh, of course, right. We'll get on to like her, penchant for peace and diplomacy later on. I've given a couple of pictures. So the first one is of Hull House itself. She started, I'm liking the sort of period photo with the automobiles in the front.

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Yeah,

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so they're really

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early.

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So automobiles were like, 1900 ish. Yeah, yeah. and you can still see the horses are in use. Still a little horse carriage in the back. Yeah, so it's like a hybrid. And, it looks a very well kept building, so I imagine it's quite new. It looks new and shiny. Yeah, and she's, We've got another photo of her in a pretty ridiculous hat, but you know, fashion darling, fashion, in her fineries, quite a few references for today's mostly, excerpts and things from books about her life, both her life in social work and also her sort of campaigns for peace. so something from the National Women's History Museum and the Nobel Prize official website. By the way, love the National Women's History. You get so much good facts from there and so much, I use it every week. That's true, that's true. But I just love it. but I've never heard of it before we started doing this. No, no. Okay. So, Jane Addams was born, as I said, 1860, and she was born, unlike many of our, subjects on She Changed History, thanks for listening, she was born into a privileged family. This was a family of, wealth and influence, in a place called

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Cedarville,

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Illinois, September the 6th. Her father, John H.

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Adams,

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not the second president of the U. S.,

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just.

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Your name. That's true.

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there's

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two D's in Adams in her name.

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Oh. So

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it's completely different Adam. It's like the

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Adams family. It's like

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the Adams family and literally, yeah. Yeah. There was a prosperous businessman,

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Illinois

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state senator, so real power.

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Yeah.

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Yeah. Um, her mother, Sarah, came from a well established family. Despite their wealth and influence, though, Adam's early life was marked by personal tragedy, and her mother passed away when she was just two years old. And her father, though he was, a loving father, he had a lot on his plate,

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with

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his businesses, being a senator, you know, his political duties were always dragging his attention

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away,

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so he was, loving but absent.

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Yeah.

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Yeah. So Jane was raised predominantly by her stepmother and sisters, which gave her this sort of early sense of independence. So she

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so she

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had siblings. Yeah. She had siblings. Yeah. Okay. So she wasn't isolating I always think of like Ada Lovelace and I feel like she was quite isolated. And she really was like deliberately isolated by her family. Wasn't she sort of shut? Yeah. So she has a lot warmer. Yeah. Yeah, she was always an exceptional student and from a young age showed a keen interest in intellectual pursuits but This being late 19th century, it doesn't matter how prosperous a family you come from or how intellectually, fantastic you are. The educational opportunities for her were limited because she was a she. Oh, okay. So it was like one of those private tutor situations, was it? And then I think so.

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Yeah.

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Yeah. she did

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managed to,

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in 1881, she was very determined to continue her education and she enrolled at the Rockford Female Seminary, Which is a progressive, progressive institution, uh, really promoted intellectual development for women. A progressive institution. Like a uni, but not a uni. A seminary is typically somewhere that, teaches religious studies. Okay. Scripture, theology. But this was wider than just that. And she covered, literature, history, philosophy. and her experiences here really had a lasting impact. They broadened her world view and strengthened her resolve to challenge the social norms of the time. Okay, so we're saying like her values were from education rather from like family, immediate family. From what I've read, yeah, yeah, there's certainly some influence from her father. I mean, a

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senator.

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Yeah, it's a position of power, but also the, public office is a sacrifice. You do it because you want to make change, because you want to make things better. Yeah, I understand. Although the actual sort of time from her father may have been limited. There's definitely that sort of ethos of public service already in her family. I know he's not a, I know he's not a senator, but did you see Trump's new, official office portrait? I did, yeah. Oh my god, we're all gonna die. It was like super villain 101. He copied his mugshot, didn't he? When he was arrested. Yeah, pretty sure. But also he reminded me of, like a villain from like Despicable Me or something. I'm sure that's the vibe he was going for. Yeah, I was just like, oh, I see you, Trump. I like the difference between his and JD Vance's. And JD Vance's sort of super smiley and tripper. Yeah, and a lot more, conventional, trump's picture is very different from the one he used for his first term in office. I didn't compare. In that first one, he is smiley and friendly and welcoming, but he looks far more hardened in this one. Um, after she graduated in 1882, Adams, like many women of that era, faced societal pressure to marry and settle down. That was the sort of normal progression, but her vision extended beyond these traditional roles she was determined to find her own path, one that would allow her to make a meaningful impact on society. Her journey would take her to Chicago, where she would eventually found Hull House, marking the beginning of her transformative work in social

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reform. Okay,

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so

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so she,

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Like a gap year vibe that feels like, like I'm gonna find my own path guys. Well, it's funny you mentioned gap, it's more like gap seven years.

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Okay.

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whole house really. We're privileged.

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Yeah. That's fine.

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Jumping forward to

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1889 where

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she'd been traveling and reflecting for several years. Um, having a good old think, you know. I have the biggest gap here all the time, I love it. Just sort of wafting around, thinking what society needs. She and her friend, Ellen Gates Starr, established Hull House in a poor immigrant neighbourhood on the west side of Chicago. it's what was called a settlement house, which, offered social services. and educational programs to help improve the lives of the city's most disadvantaged residents. So they did this really as a response to really severe poverty and squalid living conditions and that many of the immigrants, particularly those from Eastern and Southern Europe who were arriving at the time, faced when they arrived in the US. So she set this up herself? She set this up. I bought a house, this is being involved in it from

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the ground up.

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From the ground up, and

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mean, the whole house is

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maybe a bit of a misleading name because this is much larger than

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than a

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house. This is

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a

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proper Was it that

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entire photo?

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Was it all Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a massive building.

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That building. Oh,

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I

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I assumed it

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was just this house on the corner. Oh,

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no, it's,

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it's the whole, like

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it's,

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it's the whole shebang. Yeah. Wow.

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And she's setting it, up. it looks like a

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a hospital.

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Yeah. It

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It does look better, doesn't it? Well, yeah, I mean, like in size. Sorry. Like

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a

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3, 4, 5 five levels.

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five flights, five levels. Yeah, my God.

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I didn't appreciate that. She's set this up not

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just as

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a charitable institution. This is

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not

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that I'm knocking soup kitchens, but it's not like a, it's not just a soup kitchen. You come in, you get something, you leave, off you go. She's really wanted to make

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it

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a hub

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for,

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like, social reform.

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Okay.

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Um, It's like 24

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seven.

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Yeah, so her ethos was not simply providing handouts, but she really wanted to empower the community and give them the sort of resources, the tools, the knowledge, to move their lives forward. Do you think these immigrants coming over with very little from Eastern and Southern Europe, come along from one type of poverty to another, not speaking the language. Struggling to get jobs, maybe not trained in the jobs

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that were around

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at the time, don't have any legal

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aid.

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So she's really trying to help particularly the immigrants, help them like adapt to American society while also respecting their cultural identities. So she provided things like English language classes, job training, legal aid, and then other services around it.

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there

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was a kindergarten and daycare so that working mums could. actually go out to work, other educational classes for adults. It's given me a lot of Nellie Bly vibes. Yeah. Because it's a really similar timeframe. Yeah. She was in New York, wasn't she? And the thing about English language classes, you know, where those people were trapped because they couldn't speak. Yeah, so the fact that these people, A, aren't even trapped, it's like a refuge, and B, she's already thinking about what do these people actually need to get on with this society? They need to speak English and she's proactively, it feels like anyway, doing those things that Nellie had to uncover and had to point out because people weren't offering that. Isn't that interesting? If you haven't listened to it already, go back to the Nellie Bly episode, because that was, for those who haven't heard it, was these, I mean, they called them mental asylums at the time, that Nellie went into undercover, but so many of the people in those asylums, were not mentally ill, they were just foreign, and they were only there because they couldn't speak English. They can't get a job. They can't speak English. They have no legal representation. This is then where they end up. so you're absolutely right. Yeah. These are teaching them English, just giving them these foundations to

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survive.

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the

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influence of Hull House

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though, which was really the first of its kind, extended far beyond the walls of the building itself. it became a model for over 400 similar settlement houses across the country. Oh nice, so it's like a blueprint. Yeah. So as a response to this, that sort of blueprint

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of

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don't just give handouts but actually enable people, don't lock them up, just give them the training so that they can integrate. And it's not trying to wipe their

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identity.

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these people are still Italian. Of course, yeah. Whatever, they just now hopefully have the tools to integrate into society. And that's because it was so successful. Yeah. The, the 400s go from one to 400. 400 is amazing, isn't it? Yeah. What? That's 400 cities she's helped potentially, isn't it? Yeah. And so she's really on like the front line here after her many years of wafting around and thinking about things, she's really dived into the front line of the poorest. Like in addition to the practical services that they provided at Hull House, it also became a center for intellectual and political engagement. So, Jane. and other social reformers at Hull House worked closely with political leaders and scholars to address issues then like child labour, workers rights and women's

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suffrage.

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They were instrumental in shaping

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development

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of social work as a profession, laying the groundwork

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future generations

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of social workers and activists. Nice. so she really touched every corner. Like activists, suffragettes,

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education, health,

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kindergarten, like she's covering all bases, it's insane. And it feels like a sort of

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escalating,

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she's like moving up the ladder of empowerment and influence. She's starting off just really with the

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empowering them to

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get a job, not get arrested, not get sent

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to

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the asylum to provide for their family. And once that's more locked down, she's going on to then the more Structural societal reforms and campaigning

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the things

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that actually now these people have got jobs. Well, they need rights for those jobs. Their kids shouldn't be working. If these people are working and contributing to society, they should have a vote. Why is this, why is this point of view of half of the population being ignored? Jane, she's so on it. Her work at Hull House marked a defining moment in the development of social reform in America. A holistic approach to addressing poverty and inequality, which combined social services with activism and advocacy, became a blueprint for later social welfare programs in the U. S. Furthermore, her emphasis on community engagement and empowerment made her a pioneer in the field of social work. I guess, the closest these days outside of social work is charities, maybe like Oxfam, for example. I don't necessarily know enough about Oxfam to really be commenting, but it's just my impression of them. In that you get these two sides of it, in that you have the one side which is, almost handouts, but providing aid for people, and the other side is the campaigning activism, lobbying, then for larger social reforms. As well to try and prevent the thing that they are helping out with. I'm guessing now, but like the ultimate goal of a place like this is that it's no longer needed. And that will, it's because that's passing the ladder down to the next generation, isn't it? It's like, yeah, we've created a safe society. You, yeah.

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can

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thrive independently now. I think that's true for all charities, I guess, to a certain degree, isn't it? Like utopian. Yeah. We don't need to be here. It's really interesting that she came from privilege, but this seems to be the first major thing she did. Because she didn't do it half heartedly either. This isn't like a side hustle. This is like a passion, like a part of her identity. And it's a passion that just keeps expanding throughout her life. And you see so much in, particularly with poverty, of it repeating, it's a repeating cycle through the generations. So the parents can't provide good nutrition, can't provide education, and then that gets passed on to the next generation who just repeat this cycle. So she's really trying to, get them out of this cycle. Okay. and get the, societal structures in place to support them then when they do. Mm hmm. While she was perhaps best known for her work at Hull House, she was also an outspoken advocate for women's rights and peace. Her commitment to pacifism became particularly evident during World War I. She led efforts to organise international peace conferences and encouraged diplomacy between warring nations. International peace, that's not an easy thing during World War I. Is it? It's really not, no. Hang on a second, guys. Has everyone, calmed down? So you've got the world plunging into war and at this point she's arguing passionately that war was a destructive and unnecessary force and she instead believed that diplomacy and dialogue rather than violence were the keys to resolving these international disputes. So, did she actually, she got people around the table, did she? Like, it wasn't protesting in the street, this was like an actual intervention. I mean, we're jumping forward to 1915 now. So a year after the start of World War I, and that's when she helped establish the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, which is an organization dedicated to promoting peace and women's involvement in political decision making. Women's involvement in the decision making. Mate, so she's like, these guys, they're just cheering each other apart, look what we can do. Gosh, she had cuts, didn't she? She pretty did, yeah. What a good thing. Ballsy lady. Good for her. The So the mission of this league, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, she really wanted to challenge the militaristic and nationalistic tendencies of the times, advocating instead for cooperation and understanding between nations. her work with the League, was central to her peace efforts, and she used this platform to highlight the devastating impact of war, particularly on women and children. So it ties in with her earlier work, she's seen these refugees, these immigrants coming from war torn countries, she's seen the impact of it, she's helped sort of try and band aid over it, and is now really going to the source. It's really seamless as

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well,

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like there's such a synergy between that and this. she must have been listened to as well. She, I guess if you're, if you've come from one to 400 houses, like you're respected in that world, aren't you? So she must have had real influence over those discussions. Like a real platform. Definitely a platform. Yeah. Card. Amazing. She was a staunch supporter of women's rights, including the fight for suffrage. So this is all around the time of the suffragette movement. She saw women's enfranchisement as a critical step towards achieving a more just and equitable society. Advocacy for Women's Rights was part of a broader vision of gender equality that also included improvements in labour laws, education, and healthcare. Gosh, she was ahead of her time, weren't she? Really was. like, a broader vision for gender equality. We could be doing some of that now. That'd be great right now. Well, yeah, it's like the big three, isn't it? Gender equality in labour laws. Equal pay, um, education, educational outcomes for girls and healthcare, where still, as we recorded last week, you know, things still are not research funded, acknowledged, recognised, resolved adequately for sort of women specific healthcare. She believed that women had a unique perspective on social issues and should have a voice in shaping public policy. Um, right. We are 50 percent of the nation. Yes. I think saying it with a little bit of a sing song really gave you more gravitas there. Thank you. You know, I got, that was some of my feedback from my graduate programme was that I don't have any gravitas and therefore, I would find it challenging in the workplace What they told you that. Of course, yeah, it's feedback from my first placement

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you tell

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them to off? Well, no, because I was 21.

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Oh,

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Oh, man. I know. So it's kind of a bit of a trigger word for me. Like anything, I'm

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well, do I? Do I? Did I do it? Sometimes I worry I have too much gravitas. Or did you steal my gravitas? You You did. What happened? I think I might be confusing gravitas with volume though.. Kat and I are going back to the Harry Potter books. We're reading a chapter a night. You're too cute, you guys. And, last night, because we need to start talking to the baby. So 16 weeks now and the baby can hear outside noises. I love that first sounds of Harry Potter. It's Harry Potter, chapter 12 of the Philosopher's Stone. Yeah, all about Quidditch. I'm not used to reading books aloud. And Kat pointed out after five minutes that I maybe needed to just turn down the volume slightly and, um, like use my normal speaking voice rather than Your criticism is so strong. Harry and Hermione walk down the corridor. It's unnecessary. Oh, I love how Cat was fed back to you. Like, no, no, no. What are you doing with your voice? Where's your normal voice gone? That was funny. Jane placed, so you imagine 1915, the world is in this nationalistic fervor. It's called a world war for a reason. Uh, absolutely brutal time. And she actually faced a lot of criticism, and opposition for her pacifism during this time, it was really going against the grain. The general vibe between the leaders and those in charge, they're pretty war hungry. She remained resolute in her beliefs. and kept campaigning, through the league. and it was then in 1931 that her work in the peace movement earned her recognition around the world and she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her lifelong efforts to promote peace and international cooperation. So she got honoured at the right time as well, it wasn't like Lisa Mitre. She was, Kind of snubbed, wasn't she, for her contribution, but it seems like Jane's contribution was noted in a timely fashion, yeah. Yeah, while she was still alive, which makes a change. How rare! How rare, yeah. Throughout her life, she received numerous accolades and recognition of her extraordinary contributions to, a modest list of things, just social reform, world peace and women's rights. They're big topics, Si, they're so big. I wouldn't even know where to start. I know.

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She received several honorary degrees from prestigious universities, including Yale and Columbia. A frequent speaker at international conferences, respected for her intellectual contributions to social theory and policy. Her place in history as a leader in the settlement house movement, a champion of women's suffrage, and a pioneering figure in the peace movement, cemented her reputation as one of the foremost social reformers of the time. isn't it interesting that, do you think in the nicest way, do you think she got all this recognition because women are allowed to talk about peace and women are allowed to talk about children and health care and things like that, but if you're Lisa Meitner, in World War II, which is not far off across the pond. It was so blocked off to her because it was Clearly interesting. Do you think it's because it's male dominated? STEM's more male dominated than this. This is welfare, isn't it? And this is probably more feminine, I guess, quote unquote, as a topic. Maybe that's why she got Because this is insane. can you imagine Lisa Minor going to Yale and being accepted? I just couldn't. Yeah, here we've got honorary degrees. Yeah, I hadn't considered that, but it really is a sort of stick to your lane situation. It feels like I could be wrong, but that's the, obviously we're talking about different societies as well. We're talking about US versus Europe, but I don't know, I wonder how much sort of recognition a man speaking about peace rather than being a warmonger or a scientist on the flip side would have Would've got for that? Is that, yeah, maybe sort of societally. It's a bit jarring. Like an unconscious bias. Uh, yeah. That person shouldn't be talking about that. Yeah. Yeah. It was just inter,

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I just

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can't believe how well she was like all these

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accolades

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that, it's a

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lot,

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isn't it? It's a vast, yeah. get that so much these days as well, and I think like, the Manosphere movement and the sort of ultra masculine. What's Manosphere? What's that? Oh, the Manosphere refers to, podcasts and social media and things, of like, Andrew Tate and similar. Oh, Manosphere! That's a new term. Yeah. Which is, like promoting masculinity, promoting traditional male values, but it's still difficult, for men to talk about things that aren't to do with, being strong and, demeaning women and things. They are seen as less masculine. And still women who, like, maybe talk about sport or something are seen as less feminine. It's something that's still, oh God, it's depressing how little things have changed. But that's not taken away from anything she did. It was just interesting. normally we hear, oh, and she wasn't recognised until she died. But actually, Jane Eyre seems to be, and I guess some of that will come from her privilege, but it seems to be that she got timely recognition, which is very, very welcomed on the border. Definitely. Um, there's recognition that she got. I mean, her work for the settlement houses was in the US and social reform there, although the sort of principles of it definitely spread further afield, but her peace advocacy, she was respected and admired for it in Europe as well, especially in the aftermath of the Great War, because she spent so much time coming over to Europe and, advocating over here and these international conferences that she would speak at. She was a real global advocate for this. Her global recognition really reflected the universal appeal of her message that peace, social justice, and equality were interconnected and necessary for a better world. I really like that so often, problems are seen in isolation, or without thinking more about the root cause of them, and the fixes that you give with, as she called them, handouts and things, is a sticking plaster over a problem, rather than actually looking at the root cause. And it seems that so much of what she campaigned for was to resolve these root causes. Like, yeah, she had a deep understanding. Yeah. She really saw that big picture of how it all fits together. they sound like three big topics, but really they're all interconnected. They're all the same thing. Like, same topic, same solution, You know what

video1572279143-1:

it's

audio1572279143-1:

making me think of, which is completely left field, is Jamie Oliver and his school dinners. He never got to the root cause all at all to do was that there's lack of school funding and that there's, lack of education on how to cook healthy food. Right. And all he did was take turkey twizzlers away. And then when he left, There's a really interesting show if you listen to maintenance phase I'd listen to Jamie Oliver episode because they really go into how he achieved zero during that 10 year stint and He couldn't make a healthy meal within the school's budget But because it was a channel 4 documentary and they needed to show an arc He just said oh I did it No And it just shows that he didn't go to the root cause of that, which was, funding for schools. He got Blair to give like a one off donation or something. but that was it. And it's like, no, that's not reform,

video1572279143-1:

it?

audio1572279143-1:

That's

video1572279143-1:

what

audio1572279143-1:

you're talking about here. You're talking about like what can give people a better projection. And yeah, yeah, all I'm hearing is Jamie Oliver moaning about, about Turkey Twizzlers. Oh, nice try though, Jamie. Yeah. But like the school dinner sort of thing, you look at that and that, for me, comes back to, like, general education around healthy cooking and how to buy sensibly. And it's those three pillars that

video1572279143-1:

you

audio1572279143-1:

just

video1572279143-1:

spoke about.

audio1572279143-1:

about. It's, Healthcare, it's education, and it's having time because it takes time to go to the

video1572279143-1:

shop and

audio1572279143-1:

buy fresh things. And it takes time, which is labour and equality. So it's all those three pillars that Jane Addams worked out a hundred years before Jamie.

video1572279143-1:

Yeah,

audio1572279143-1:

it takes time and it takes money

video1572279143-1:

to either

audio1572279143-1:

either hop in the car or get on the bus or

video1572279143-1:

or

audio1572279143-1:

so it's like I wonder how much like free public transport would

video1572279143-1:

help

audio1572279143-1:

healthy meals.

video1572279143-1:

Oh my god, so much. I

audio1572279143-1:

find this interconnectedness of everything is so fascinating and she really seemed to understand it and hit on

video1572279143-1:

it

audio1572279143-1:

and you can see the different phases of her life. She really tried to address these sort of different facets of the problem. Nice. her work at Hull House really lay foundation for modern social work profession,

video1572279143-1:

and

audio1572279143-1:

advocacy for women's rights and peace continues to inspire movements for social justice today. She demonstrated this

video1572279143-1:

combination,

audio1572279143-1:

like we were talking

video1572279143-1:

about,

audio1572279143-1:

with Charities as well have both direct action and advocacy

video1572279143-1:

make

audio1572279143-1:

more structural changes,

video1572279143-1:

Okay.

audio1572279143-1:

showing that addressing

video1572279143-1:

social

audio1572279143-1:

problems require both immediate solutions and long term systemic change. Her efforts to improve the lives of immigrants

video1572279143-1:

the

audio1572279143-1:

poor were way ahead of their

video1572279143-1:

their

audio1572279143-1:

time.

video1572279143-1:

Her Hull

audio1572279143-1:

House not only

video1572279143-1:

served as a

audio1572279143-1:

model for settlement houses, but also influenced public policy on issues like child labour and urban development. and her campaigns helped shape the labour reforms that would later be

video1572279143-1:

enshrined

audio1572279143-1:

in law. But perhaps her most lasting impact lies in her pioneering work for peace, at a time where peace seemed pretty unimaginable in the, like, the depths of World War I. nationalism and militarism on the rise but she had this vision of the world where countries work together for a common good, and that seemed a really radical concept at the time. That's NATO, isn't

video1572279143-1:

it?

audio1572279143-1:

Well, the UN, yeah,

video1572279143-1:

the sort

audio1572279143-1:

commitment to diplomacy and cooperation

video1572279143-1:

laid the

audio1572279143-1:

groundwork for later peace movements, as well as for organisations like the United Nations. Oh, well done, Vicky. Well done,

video1572279143-1:

Vicky, yeah.

audio1572279143-1:

Thank you. Very well spotted. So what she did

video1572279143-1:

gave the

audio1572279143-1:

a path to the UN. That's what we're saying. Yeah. And a template for this idea that actually, let's just take a step back. Let's have neutral territory where we can discuss things, understand each other, come to, there is an alternative solution to this other than just like, I want that bit of land. Like she was in those peace talks in the war. Yeah. So a lot of transferable, skills, but she's applying them to slightly different conversations. Yeah, and so much what she does seem to have resulted in a template. Oh god I love a template or a blueprint or a procedure Amazing, isn't it? And like she set up this almost proof of concept in whole house. It's like Here's what you can do, here's how

video1572279143-1:

do

audio1572279143-1:

it, here's the impact it has. What do they call that? A flagship store, they call that. Oh yeah. Commercial world, like you've got that shiny Oxford street shop. Yeah. So she, the

video1572279143-1:

whole house was a flagship

audio1572279143-1:

shop, I've got a closing paragraph here. Today Adams's legacy remains relevant as debates about social justice, gender equality, and global peace continue to dominate Her life is a testament to the power of one individual to challenge the status quo and change the world. Through her pioneering work in social reform, women's rights, and peace, Jane Adams reshaped American society and made an indelible mark on the course of history. An indelible mark. Oh, hey. That's kind of Mark. that was such an uplifting, hopeful. I feel hopeful. Yeah. That idea of a blueprint, because obviously there'll be changes, of course, like not every city is like west side of Chicago, but like at least it's a foot in the door, isn't it? but gosh, gosh, she achieved a lot. Wow. But it's really made me distinguish between the one off sticking plaster solutions and then things that you can put your time into that actually make more of a systemic change. Okay. Which really then I suppose Because these changes that she made really multiplied the effect of the input that she put, that she gave. She could have spent that same amount of time just helping people as a one off thing, and then when she stopped it would have stopped. That's that, like re generational dinners. Yes. But putting time into these real, lasting changes of attitude and changes of system and process, it's such a massive impact. Solution orientated, we'd say at the OU. I love that. Yeah, honestly, I feel so like change can happen, can't it, in mass scales. Yeah, it's a bit of a different

video1572279143-1:

vibe to

audio1572279143-1:

to my last subject.

video1572279143-1:

my last subject. Yeah, yeah, hope. I'm

audio1572279143-1:

so. Yeah, good. More hopeful, please, which is great.

video1572279143-1:

So,

audio1572279143-1:

yeah, thank you so much. That's great.

video1572279143-1:

lady.

audio1572279143-1:

What an amazing lady. That was Jane Addams, Trailblazer for Social Reform. I'm Simon. I'm Vicky. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed it, please like, comment, rate, subscribe. Any engagement is welcome. Yeah, check out our Facebook page. She Changed History. If you have any ideas of ones that you want us to cover, if you do want to push us out of our comfort zone, we're more than happy to take it on. Give it a go. Yeah, give it a go. so you can email that to shechangedhistoryatgmail. com and yeah, thank you so much. It's it's really lovely learning these things. So hopefully you enjoyed it too. Thank you. Bye. See you next time.

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