Browse Exhibits (3 total)
National History Day: Breaking Barriers in History
Renee DeLora
With the generous support of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the Jane Addams Papers and Teacher Education program at Ramapo College of New Jersey, the Jane Addams Papers Project has developed this guide for teachers and students participating in National History Day.
Looking at history through the lens of breaking barriers takes individual historical events and puts them into a broader perspective. It requires an understanding of the social and political dynamics of the time period. Jane Addams's generation of women had limited, yet unprecedented access to education, which gave them more access to professional careers. As women moved into formerly male-only spaces, they broke barriers and changed old systems into new ones. Addams founded Hull-House, helping to launch the settlement movement in the United States, which had been started by men. Additionally, Addams worked as to reform society through the woman suffrage movement, prohibition, labor activism, and efforts to solve the problem of juvenile delinquency. While these movements included both men and women, women became the leaders.
In the Jane Addams Digital Edition you will find letters, speeches, articles, and other documents that illuminate this year's themes. We have highlighted a few research topics to get you started, but you can find other topics, subjects, and events that will also fit the theme.
Happy researching!
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National History Day: Innovation in History
Paige Drews
The Jane Addams Digital Edition, in association with the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the Jane Addams Papers Project and the Teacher Education Program at Ramapo College, invite you to use this guide when brainstorming for National History Day.
History has always provided occasions for innovation. When people wanted goods from another country, they found new, faster routes over land and water. When farmers wanted to increase production, they created efficient machines like the plow. When citizens needed to communicate across the world, telegraphs, telephones and eventually email would link them. Whatever the problem, humanity has been able to create a solution.
One of the most innovative solutions arose from the the Progressive Era of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. People living in this time faced issues from multiple sources: rapid industrialization brought farmers and immigrants to the cities in search of work. This influx of people sent urban populations skyrocketing. People already living in cities felt pressured by all the new faces, but they were especially threatened by the arrival of immigrants. Native-born Americans eyed their new neighbors with suspicion, fearing they would take away jobs due to their willingness to work for any price. In response to the overwhelming problems of the time, the settlement movement took shape. Wealthy men and women turned houses in the poorest neighborhoods into havens for those living in cities. They provided advice and educational services for factory workers, recreation for children and social gatherings for immigrants and nonimmigrants to reconcile their differences.
Settlement houses strived to comfort and to bring hope to everyone they served, and no house accomplished this better than Jane Addams’s Hull House. Founded in 1889, Addams quickly expanded her settlement to be one of the largest in the country, totaling thirteen buildings. Each building housed new and innovative programs for poor such as soup kitchens, a public bath and extracurricular classes for neighborhood children. She continuously sought to know those she served and always made certain to put their needs first. Her pioneering spirit and creative outlook on settlements made Hull House one of the greatest innovations of the Progressive Era.
We encourage all students and teachers to look through the Jane Addams Digital Edition for documents written by Jane Addams that will aid their work.
Good luck!
National History Day: Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History
Renee DeLora, Michael Romano, Christina Dwyer
With the generous support of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the Jane Addams Papers and Teacher Education program at Ramapo College of New Jersey, the Jane Addams Papers Project has developed this guide for teachers and students participating in National History Day.
As a major Progressive thinker and reformer, Jane Addams was involved in everything from woman suffrage to juvenile delinquency. As an intellectual revolution, the Progressive Era was a hotbed of reform and change. In working for woman suffrage, female reformers like Addams were able to advocate for social changes regarding labor, urban living, crime, and immigration. Women were able to provide a new perspective as they became increasingly political. Addams was not only a Progressive thinker, but a Progressive leader. To advocate for social change, Addams gave speeches, wrote articles, established various progressive groups, and served as an officer of multiple organizations dedicated to reform. Addams' efforts affected the masses, as hundreds, if not thousands people from all walks of life reacted to Addams' work. At times, reformers have pushed gradual and incremental change that have been enough to change the paths of history. Other times, sudden or violent events can revolutionize the way people think and behave. Real change is dependant not only on the reaction, but how civilization uses reaction to instill lasting transformation.
In the Jane Addams Digital Edition you will find letters, speeches, articles, and other documents that illuminate this year's themes. We have highlighted a few research topics to get you started, but you can find other topics, subjects, and events that will also fit the theme.
Happy researching!