Jane Addams Research Paper

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Pages: 4

Jane Addams also known as Laura Jane was born on September 6, 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois to a wealthy and well-rounded family. She was the eighth of nine children, four of whom did not survive. Her Mother, Sara Weber, stayed home for the most part and cared for her children but died when Jane was only two years of age. The night before Sarah died, she helped a neighbor give birth on a cold winter January evening. On her way home, she slipped and fell onto the icy road. The following day, she gave birth prematurely and died a week later. According to Louise W. Knight (2010), Jane’s oldest sister, 18- year old Mary, took up the task of caring and nurturing her siblings and Jane always felt a special devotion and love towards her (p.8) Her father, John Huy Addams, played a very important …show more content…
After her preparations and completion of the entrance exams, 16 year-old Jane learned she was accepted into Smith College in July of 1877 (Daniels, n.d, p.2). However, her father had a different set of plans for his daughter. Due to the death of his first wife and children, John did not want Jane to move to the other side of the United Stated and insisted she enroll in Rockford Female Seminary, an all women school which her deceased sisters had attended and neighboring to their hometown. According to Patricia Daniels (n.d), Rockford Female Seminary provided education for its students in a very strict academic and religion based methods (p.2). Jane adapted to this kind of educational environment and became a self-assured writer and public speaker by the time she graduated in 1881. Most of the students from her graduating class went on to become religious leaders. However, Jane believed that she can serve society without promoting Christianity or any other religion for that matter though she was a very divine