StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Jane Addams' Vision of Democracy - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Laura Jane Addams was born on September 6, 1860 in the small town of Cedarville, Illinois. Having lost her mother very early in life, she was greatly influenced by her father. One remarkable guiding principle for her was to look at facts of life straight and deal with them; she hated evading problems…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.6% of users find it useful
Jane Addams Vision of Democracy
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Jane Addams' Vision of Democracy"

Download file to see previous pages

She spent seven years after her graduation trying to identify a worthwhile career. (US Political thought). In search of clarity, she made two trips to Europe. The first was in 1883-85. The second was in 1887-88. During her second trip she visited Toynbee Hall and was greatly influenced by what she saw. She decided to establish a similar settlement house in Chicago. Joining hands with her friend Ellen Gates Starr, she opened the Hull House in September 1889. The life history of Jane Addams is marked by ups and downs.

The ebbs and tides of social recognition she received were severe and strong. Her defense of the anarchists following the assassination of the President William McKinlev (September 1901) showed her in poor light. But it was her stand against the involvement of America in the First World War that brought her name and fame to a record low level. The negative feedbacks never slowed her down. Jean Bethke Elshtain points out, "Elizabeth Dilling described Jane Addams as a dangerous radical masquerading as a saintly champion of the poor.

" (Elshtain 19) Jane Addams seemed to accept bouquets and brickbats gracefully. She was continuing on her chosen path. In 1931 she was awarded the honorary doctorate by the University of Chicago. In the same year, she got Nobel Award jointly with Nicholas Murray Butler. The beautiful life sketch drawn by Jean Bethke Elshtain brings out vividly how Jane Addams who fought to improve the living standards of the residents of Hull House, was drawn into the realms of dangerous and seedy realms of Chicago politics; how her insistence upon peace and justice at international level, made lose her popularity at national level; and how, in due course her relentless fight for peace gradually removed the national scorn; and again, she gained recognition at national and international levels.

Though Jane Addams' fame did slide down sometimes, her sincere work has carved a niche for her in the minds of the people. A proof for this is that her book 'Twenty Years at Hull-House' in which she has given a description of her early years has never gone out of print since its first publication in 1910.Jane Addams was admired as a respectable social worker, fighter for the rights of women and downtrodden, an intellectual, effective writer and a political activist. She highlighted by her own example that the core of true citizenship was the concern for others' difficulties and concerted efforts to be of help to all.

In her vision of democracy, by personal example, she laid rules for true citizens. By defining true citizens, by emphasizing direct participation in social life, she defined democracy. Jean Bethke Elshtain, who was determined "to draw back the curtain of historic mist and dust that has obscured Addams and blurred her reputation", has provided the most appropriate source to understand Jane Addams' vision of American Democracy. Addams did believe in Democracy. Her father had given her a concept of democracy.

learnt from Abraham Lincoln, his one time political acquaintance. We all know that the most simple, direct and evocative definition of Democracy, "Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people." has come down to us from Abraham Lincoln. Addams had been initiated into this personally by her father in her formative years. So her vision of dem

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Jane Addams' Vision of Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Jane Addams' Vision of Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1514557-jane-addams-vision-of-democracy
(Jane Addams' Vision of Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
Jane Addams' Vision of Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1514557-jane-addams-vision-of-democracy.
“Jane Addams' Vision of Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1514557-jane-addams-vision-of-democracy.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Jane Addams' Vision of Democracy

Most Effect Strategies in Resolving Organizational Conflicts

This essay explores the conflict resolution, which is defined as “any process used to manage, determine, or settle differences that may arise among individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities, nations, or any other social unit” (Barsky, 2011).... hellip; The main purpose of this study is to determine the best and most effective strategies that mangers can use in resolving organizational conflicts....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

John Deweys Educational Reforms

ewey's theory of democracy was designed to reconcile freedom with authority, social stability with the need for reform, and universal standards with specific circumstances.... People must be persuaded that the social order ultimately serves their long-range interests and that this interest harmonizes with the common good....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Role of the World Bank in a Global Economy

The World Bank comprises of five different international organizations whose role is to provide financial help as well as suggestions to its member countries so that there is complete transfer of economic development within those states and poverty is reduced or minimized as a… The World Bank was created on 27 December 1945....
20 Pages (5000 words) Essay

Role of Christianity in the Progressive Era

They discorded with the liberal conception of faith and politics until the reconciling of Catholic teaching with liberal democracy.... Several protestant ministers and theologians in the 19th century such as Jennings Bryan and settlement founders such as jane Addams espoused this belief4....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Cosmopolitan Perspective on Issues of War and Peace

jane Addams' approach towards cosmopolitanism is more focused on gender equality.... What is nobler than the recognition of equal rights and responsibility for each person as such each person is a part of the world as any other is.... Cosmopolitanism also recognizes that… The Grecian Stoics gave birth to the idea that we, humans, are “Citizens of the world”....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Exhibition

Art began during the Stone Age where the people then lived in caves and drew various images of the animals that they hunted and other activities that they participated in as a way of… Just like other means of communication, art has been evolving as time goes to incorporate various aspects and themes that have been mushrooming in the context of humanity....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

The Development of Ethical Standards

The paper 'The Development of Ethical Standards' presents an organization that cannot exist like an 'island' in isolation.... The organization has to be in the midst of action to create a sensation.... Sensation in the sense, the organization's existence should be extensively propagated.... hellip; The author states that the public normally believes in what they see and hear, and if an organization wants to make the people believe in them, they have to reach the minds of the people, through their sense organs....
8 Pages (2000 words) Term Paper

Direct Democracy as a Pipe-Dream - Sounds Good, But It Will Never Work

The author of the paper "Direct Democracy as a Pipe-Dream - Sounds Good, But It Will Never Work" will begin with the statement that direct democracy refers to the form of democracy where the people decide on policies directly by way of voting or forming a consensus (Atman, 2011, p.... hellip; Direct democracy is opposed to the representative type of democracy where the people elect representatives to decide policies on their behalf.... On the other hand, Deliberative democracy, also known as discursive democracy is a type of democracy where deliberation is fundamental to the process of decision making....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us