Editing Hull House (section)

==Hull House neighborhood==
One of the first newspaper articles ever written about Hull House<ref>''Chicago Tribune'', <!--Article title?--> May 19, 1890.</ref> quotes the following invitation sent to the residents of the Hull House neighborhood.  It begins with: "''Mio Carissimo Amico''"...and is signed, ''Le Signorine'', Jane Addams and Ellen Starr.  That invitation to the community, written during the first year of Hull House's existence, suggests that the inner core of what Addams labeled "The Hull House Neighborhood" was overwhelmingly Italian at that time.  "10,000 Italians lived between the river and [[Halsted Street]]."<ref>Jane Addams, ''Images of Hull House'', p. 10.</ref>
[[Image:Hullhouse.jpg|thumb|left|Hull House community workshop poster, 1938]]
By all accounts, the greater Hull House neighborhood (Chicago's [[Near West Side, Chicago|Near West Side]]) was a mix of various ethnic groups that had immigrated to Chicago.  There was no discrimination of race, language, creed, or tradition for those who entered the doors of the Hull House. Every person was treated with respect. The Bethlehem-Howard Neighborhood Center records substantiate that, "Germans and Jews resided south of that inner core (south of twelfth street)...The Greek delta formed by Harrison, Halsted and Blue Island Streets served as a buffer to the Irish residing to the south and the Canadian–French to the northwest.  From the river on the east end, on out to the western ends of what came to be known as "[[Little Italy, Chicago|Little Italy]]", from Roosevelt Road on the south to the Harrison Street delta on the north, became the port-of-call for Italians who continued to immigrate to Chicago from the shores of southern Italy until a quota system was implemented in 1924 for most Southern Europeans.<ref name="Hull House Museum"/>

The [[Greektown, Chicago|Greektown]] and [[Maxwell Street]] residents, along with the remnants of other immigrant groups living on the outer fringes of the Hull House Neighborhood, disappeared long before the physical demise of Hull House.  The exodus of most ethnic groups began shortly after the turn of the twentieth century. Their businesses, e.g. Greektown and Maxwell Street, however, remained.  Italian Americans were the only immigrant group that endured as a vibrant on-going community. That community came to be known as "[[Little Italy]]".  Taylor Street's Little Italy, the inner core of Addams' "Hull House Neighborhood", remained as the laboratory upon which the social and philanthropic groups of Hull House elitists had tested their theories and formulated their challenges to the establishment.<ref name="TSA"/>

The synergy between Taylor Street's Little Italy and the Hull House complex; i.e., the settlement house and its summer camp, the [[Bowen Country Club]], is well documented.<ref name="TSA" />  Dr. [[Alice Hamilton]], an early member of that elite Hull House hierarchy, wrote in her autobiography, "Those Italian women knew what a baby needed, far better than my Ann Arbor professors did."<ref>{{cite book | last=Hamilton | first=Alice | title=Exploring the Dangerous Trades – The Autobiography of Alice Hamilton, M.D. | page=69 | publisher=Little, Brown and Company | location=Boston, MA | year=1943 }}</ref> The ancillary literature between, among and about members of Hull House's inner sanctum of sociologists and philanthropists is littered with such comments, reinforcing the relationship that existed between Taylor Street's Little Italy and Hull House.  A review of the ethnic composition of those who registered for and utilized the services provided by the Hull House complex, during its 74 years as a tenant of the near-west side, suggests an ethnic bias. Of the 257 known WWII veterans who were alumni of the Bowen Country Club, "virtually all had a vowel at the end of their names...denoting their Italian heritage."<ref name="TSA"/>

A historic picture, "Meet the Hull House Kids," was taken on a summer day in 1924 by [[Wallace Kirkland|Wallace K. Kirkland Sr.]], Hull House Director. He later became a top photographer with ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]''. The twenty Hull House Kids were erroneously described as young boys, of Irish ancestry, posing in the Dante School yard on Forquer Street (now Arthington Street).  It circulated the world as a "poster child" of sorts for the Hull House social experiment.  On April 5, 1987, over a half century later, the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' refuted the contention that the Hull House Boys were of Irish ancestry. In doing so, the ''Sun-Times'' article listed the names of each of the young boys.<ref>Michael Cordts, "Meet the 'Hull House Kids'", ''Chicago Sun-Times'', Sunday, April 5, 1987, page 6.</ref>  All twenty boys were first-generation Italian-Americans, all with vowels at the end of their names.  "They grew up to be lawyers and mechanics, sewer workers and dump truck drivers, a candy shop owner, a boxer and a mob boss."

Because of the immigrants' loneliness for their homeland, Addams started hosting ethnic evenings at Hull House. This would include ethnic food, dancing, music, and maybe a short lecture on a topic of interest. Some of the themed evenings were Italian, Greek, German, Polish, etc. Ellen Gates Starr described one Italian evening as having the room packed full with people. One of the ladies who attended "recited a patriotic poem with great spirit" and everyone was moved by it.<ref>Polikoff, Barbara Garland. ''With One Bold Act : The Story of Jane Addams'', p. 76, New York: Boswell Books, 1999.</ref>

===Accomplishments===
[[File:UIC Hull House.JPG|thumb|Jane Addams Hull-House Museum in 2006.  The museum is located in and preserves the first building from which the Addams settlement took its name, ''Hull House,'' and one related structure.  Additional settlement facilities, which over-time grew up around the house, were removed in the 1960s.|alt=]]
Throughout the first two decades, along with thousands of immigrants from the surrounding area, Hull House attracted many female residents who later became prominent and influential reformers at various levels.<ref name="EOCHH" /> At the beginning, Addams and Starr volunteered as on-call doctors when the real doctors either didn't show up or weren't available. They acted as midwives, saved babies from neglect, prepared the dead for burial, nursed the sick, and sheltered domestic violence victims. For example, one Italian bride had lost her wedding ring and in turn was beaten by her husband for a week. She sought shelter at the settlement and it was granted to her. Also, a baby born with a cleft palate was unwanted by his mother so he was kept at the Hull House for six weeks after an operation. In another case, a woman was about to give birth to an illegitimate baby, so none of the Irish matrons would touch it. Addams and Starr stepped in and delivered this helpless little one. Finally, a female Italian immigrant was so thrilled about fresh roses at one of the Hull House receptions that she insisted they had come from Italy. She had never seen anything as beautiful in America despite the fact that she lived within ten blocks of a florist shop. Her limited view of America came from the untidy street she lived on and the long struggle to adapt to American ways.<ref>Addams, Jane, and Ruth W. Messinger. ''Twenty Years at Hull-House'', p. 72-73, New York: Signet Classics, 1999.</ref> The settlement was also gradually drawn into advocating for legislative reforms at the municipal, state and federal levels, addressing issues such as [[child labor]], [[women's suffrage]], healthcare reform and [[immigration policy]]. Some claim that the work of the Hull House marked the beginning of what we know today as "Social Welfare".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome — Department of English |url=https://louisville.edu/english/ |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=louisville.edu |language=en}}</ref>

At the neighborhood level, Hull House established the city's first public playground, bathhouse, and public gymnasium (in 1893), pursued educational and political reform, and investigated housing, working, and sanitation issues.<ref name="EOCHH" /> The playground opened on May Day in 1893, located on Polk Street. Families dressed in party attire and came to join the celebration that day. Addams had studied child behavior and painfully concluded that "children robbed of childhood were likely to become dull, sullen men and women working mindless jobs, or criminals for whom the adventure of crime became the only way to break out of the bleakness of their lives" <ref>Polikoff, Barbara Garland. ''With One Bold Act : The Story of Jane Addams'', p. 124-126, New York: Boswell Books, 1999.</ref> Addams' thinking regarding the importance of childhood play opportunities contributed to a national conversation about the need for playgrounds and a movement that started the Playground Association of America <ref>{{cite web|url=https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/organizations/playground-association-of-america-earlly-days/|title=Playground Association of America: Early Days - Social Welfare History Project|date=August 21, 2012|website=vcu.edu|access-date=March 25, 2018}}</ref> Also, one volunteer, Jenny Dow, started a kindergarten class for children left at the settlement while their mothers worked in the sweatshops. Within three weeks, Dow had 24 registered kindergartners and 70 on a waiting list.<ref>Polikoff, Barbara Garland. ''With One Bold Act : The Story of Jane Addams'', p. 74, New York: Boswell Books, 1999.</ref> At the municipal level, their pursuit of legal reforms led to the first [[juvenile court]] in the United States, and their work influenced urban planning and the transition to a branch library system.<ref name="EOCHH" />  At the state level Hull House influenced legislation on [[child labor]] laws, [[occupational safety]] and health provisions, [[compulsory education]], [[immigrant]] rights, and pension laws.<ref name="EOCHH" /> These experiences translated to success at the federal level, working with the settlement house network to champion national child labor laws, women's suffrage, a children's bureau, [[unemployment compensation]], [[workers' compensation]], and other elements of the Progressive agenda during the first two decades of the twentieth century.<ref name="EOCHH" />

[[Jane Addams]] and many other Hull House residents such as [[Florence Kelley]] and [[Julia Lathrop]] inspired and stimulated social reforms. Hull House residents generated action. What is less well known, is that Hull House also generated a unique philosophy often described as feminist pragmatism. Philosophy is generally associated with academia. [[Plato]], is known for establishing the academy (387 BCE), which was a forerunner of universities. Men dominated this world of thought --philosophy. Hull House offered an alternative location where women could debate, reflect, ponder and make sense of urban life through the prism of feminine experience. According to Maurice Hamington <ref>Hamington, M. (2009). ''The Social Philosophy of Jane Addams''. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press.</ref> Hull House was an incubator of ideas where feminist pragmatism was jump started. The Hull House philosophy, contrasted sharply with the approach of Plato. He used geometry and math as a spring board  to a theory of Forms, which were "ideal, eternal, unchanging and pleasingly independence of earthly visible things.<ref>Gottlieb, A. (2016). ''The Dream of Reason: A History of Western Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance''. New York: W. W. Norton & Co</ref> Addams, on the other hand, was not interested in abstract truth. She wanted her philosophic approach to incorporate the messy world of lived experience - with emphasis on the under explored world of women's experience.<ref>Addams, J. (1902). ''Democracy and Social Ethics''. MacMillan.  This book is anchored by the experiences of Hull House neighbors and residents. It is also highly cited.</ref> Rather than focusing on fixed individual characteristics (virtues), her social ethics engaged the individual in broader society and focused on a social responsibility and participatory democracy.<ref>Shields, P. M. (2006). Democracy and the Social Ethics of Jane Addams: A Vision for public administration. ''Administrative Theory and Praxis'', 28(3), 418–443. </ref><ref>Shields, Patricia M. (2017). Jane Addams: Public Philosopher, and Practicing feminist Pragmatist. In, P. Shields Editor, ''Jane Addams: Progressive Pioneer of Peace, Philosophy, Sociology, Social Work and Public Administration'' pp. 43–68. ISBN 978-3-319-50646-3</ref> In 1897, Alice Hamilton after graduating from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine joined Hull House and founded one of the first child welfare and outpatient pediatric clinic.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bracht |first=Neil F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PbJYX8E2r2MC |title=Social Work in Health Care: A Guide to Professional Practice |date=1978 |publisher=The Haworth Press |isbn=978-0-917724-04-6 |location=New York |pages=12 |language=en}}</ref>

===Teachings===
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 | caption1  = Smith Hall along [[Halsted Street|Halsted St.]], 1910
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Later, the settlement branched out and offered services to ameliorate some of the effects of poverty. A [[public dispensary]] provided nutritious food for the sick as well as a daycare center and public baths. Among the courses Hull House offered was a [[bookbinding]] course, which was timely — given the employment opportunities in the growing printing trade.<ref name="EOCBA">{{cite encyclopedia|author=Gehl, Paul F.|title=Book Arts|url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/156.html|editor=Grossman, James R. |editor2=Keating, Ann Durkin |editor3=Reiff, Janice L.|year=2004|encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Chicago]]|publisher=[[Chicago Historical Society]]}}</ref> Hull House was well known for its success in aiding American assimilation, especially with immigrant youth.<ref name="EOCCyc">{{cite encyclopedia|author=Gems, Gerald R.|title=Clubs: Youth Clubs|url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/307.html|editor=Grossman, James R. |editor2=Keating, Ann Durkin |editor3=Reiff, Janice L.|year=2004|encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Chicago]]|publisher=[[Chicago Historical Society]]}}</ref> Hull House became the center of the movement to promote hand workmanship as a moral regenerative force.<ref name="EOCAaCM">{{cite encyclopedia|author=Darling, Sharon S.|title=Arts and Crafts Movement|url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/84.html|editor=Grossman, James R. |editor2=Keating, Ann Durkin |editor3=Reiff, Janice L.|year=2004|encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Chicago]]|publisher=[[Chicago Historical Society]]}}</ref> The [[Hull-House Kilns]] program was directed by [[Myrtle Merritt French]].<ref name="Koplos">{{cite book |last1=Koplos |first1=Janet |last2=Metcalf |first2=Bruce |title=Makers: a history of American studio craft |date=2010 |publisher=University of North Carolina press |location=Chapel Hill |isbn=9780807834138 |page=133}}</ref> Under the direction of [[Laura Dainty Pelham]] their theater group performed the Chicago premiers of several plays by [[John Galsworthy]], [[Henrik Ibsen]], and [[George Bernard Shaw]], and was given credit for founding the American [[Little Theatre Movement]].<ref>Peggy Glowacki and Julia Hendry, ''Images of America: Hull-House'', Arcadia Publishing, Chicago, Illinois, 2004 p. 34, {{ISBN|0-7385-3351-3}}</ref>  The success of Hull House led [[Paul U. Kellogg|Paul Kellogg]] to refer to the group as the "Great Ladies of Halsted Street".<ref>{{cite web |author= McMillen, Wayne |url= http://www.ssa.uchicago.edu/aboutssa/history/tour1d.shtml |title=  SSA Tour: Edith Abbott |publisher= The University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration |year= 2007 |access-date=January 7, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061230031430/http://www.ssa.uchicago.edu/aboutssa/history/tour1d.shtml <!--Added by H3llBot--> |archive-date= December 30, 2006 }}</ref>

The objective of Hull House, as stated in its charter, was: "To provide a center for a higher civic and social life; to institute and maintain educational and philanthropic enterprises, and to investigate and improve the conditions in the industrial districts of Chicago."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://libraries.cua.edu/achrcua/howmuch/doc2.htm|access-date=March 26, 2007|title=Hull House Settlement House Questionnaire, 1893|publisher=The Catholic University Of America|author=All ACUA Staff|year=2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061130021228/http://libraries.cua.edu/achrcua/howmuch/doc2.htm |archive-date = November 30, 2006}}</ref>