Jane Addams Social Justice Views

Washington and Addams

Introduction

Booker T. Washington and Jane Addams both appealed to the American value of equality by emphasizing the importance of education and opportunity for all. Washington argued that African Americans should be given the opportunity to learn trades and skills that would enable them to become self-sufficient and independent. He argued that this would lead to greater equality between the races, as African Americans would be able to compete on an equal footing with whites in the economic sphere. Addams, meanwhile, argued that the social question could be addressed by providing greater access to education and opportunity for all, regardless of race or class. She argued that this would lead to greater equality between the classes, as those from lower classes would be able to compete on an equal footing with those from higher classes. Both Washington and Addams sought to redefine the American value of equality by emphasizing the importance of education and opportunity for all. They argued that true equality could only be achieved when all individuals had access to the same resources and opportunities, regardless of race or class. This was a radical redefinition of the American value of equality, as it shifted the focus away from simply providing equal rights and instead emphasized the importance of providing equal access to resources and opportunities.

Washington’s View

Washington's Atlanta speech, also known as the "Atlanta Compromise," argued for racial cooperation and economic progress for African Americans. He argued that African Americans should focus on economic progress and education, rather than on political rights. He also argued that African Americans should accept segregation and work within the existing social and political system to improve their economic and educational opportunities. In that address, Washington said that blacks would not ask for the right to vote. Washington believed that the best way for African Americans to gain equality was through economic progress, i.e., labor and hard work and education, rather than through political action, which he knew the white Protestant “establishment” was not willing to give. He believed, however, that part of the reason for the prejudice of the white establishment against free blacks was that the white establishment believed the “negro” was good for nothing. He reasoned that if African Americans focused on economic progress and proved their value and worth to the establishment, then they would eventually gain the respect of white Americans and be able to gain the right to vote. He felt that asking for the right to vote would only lead to further conflict and violence. He wanted African Americans to focus on improving their economic and educational opportunities, and he believed that this would eventually lead to the right to vote.

As Washington stated in the “Industrial Education” address, he advocated for “industrial education and development for the Negro not because I want to cramp him, but because I want to free him.”[footnoteRef:2] What he meant was that blacks did not need a classical education, like the sort that other scholars called for, such as Du Bois and Douglass. Washington was practical: that is why he proposed that African Americans should focus on learning practical skills and trades in order to gain economic independence. He argued that education should be focused on teaching practical skills such as farming, carpentry, and mechanics, rather than academic subjects such as Latin and Greek. He also argued that African Americans should focus on economic progress and self-reliance, rather than political rights. Thus, in Washington’s "Industrial Education" address, one sees a Washington as a practical leader and advocate for practical change, arguing for the importance of industrial education, i.e., vocational education for African Americans. The better they can do a trade, the better they would be able to fend for themselves in the real world. Washington stated, "No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem."[footnoteRef:3] In short, classical studies were fine for someone who had the skills of comprehension—but Washington understood that not all blacks had that capacity, foundation, or interest. Not all could or would want to write and speak like Douglass or Du Bois. Thus, he sought a better and more balanced way forward for his people. He argued that an industrial education would provide African Americans with the skills and knowledge necessary to become self-sufficient and successful in the modern economy. He also argued that industrial education would help African Americans to gain respect and acceptance from the white community. [2: Booker T. Washington, “Industrial Education,” 3.] [3: Booker T. Washington, “Industrial Education,” 2.]

The View of Addams

In her book In Twenty Years at Hull-House, Jane Addams discussed and proposed a variety of solutions to the "social question," which she viewed as a problem of relationships, i.e., the relation of the individual to the state, of the citizen to the government, of the poor to the rich, of labor to capital, of neighbor to neighbor, and so on. She argued that the social question could only be solved through a combination of individual and collective action, and proposed a variety of solutions, including the establishment of public parks and playgrounds, the creation of public libraries, the provision of public health services, the regulation of working conditions, the improvement of housing conditions, the establishment of public schools, and the promotion of international peace. She also argued for the need to address the underlying causes of poverty and inequality, such as inadequate wages, lack of education, and discrimination.

Addams also rooted her view in Christian ideals: “Other motives which I believe make toward the Settlement are the result of a certain renaissance going forward in Christianity. The impulse to share the lives of the poor, the desire to make social service, irrespective of propaganda, express the spirit of Christ, is as old as Christianity itself.”[footnoteRef:4] Although it could be seen as a way to propagate Christian values or further missionary work, this effort ultimately reflects an innate faith in spreading kindness irrespective of self-interest. It showed Addams’ trust in human beings’ innate goodness when united to Christ. [4: Jane Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House, 47.]

Appealing to the American Value of Equality

Washington and Addams both appealed to the American value of equality by advocating for the rights of marginalized groups. Washington did so as a prominent African American leader who fought for civil rights and new educational opportunities for African Americans. His perspective was that vocational education was the key to achieving equality and worked to create educational opportunities for African Americans. Addams, for her part, was a prominent social reformer who fought for the rights of women, immigrants, and the poor. She was a leader in the settlement house movement, which provided social services to the poor and advocated for social reform. She wanted society to do its part to help those in need. Both Washington and Addams believed in the importance of equality and worked to create a more equitable society. However, they had somewhat different views on the matter overall. For instance, Washington wanted merely an educational opportunity for blacks so that they could become self-sufficient and not dependent on the state. Addams simply saw a need for the state to help out and to provide support for dependents.

Still, they both had the sense that society had to do something to help bring about this kind of equality or to open the opportunity for it. Washington stated in his “Atlanta Compromise,” for instance, that "in all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress."[footnoteRef:5] In other words, it was wrong to deny that blacks were of the same community and system as whites: they both needed to serve one another and be part of the same whole system or body. Yet Washington always had the view that equality must be achieved through hard work—not through hand-outs. Thus, he said in his “Industrial Education” address: "It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not at the top. Nor should there ever be forgotten that the ideal is not simply to make the man industrially efficient, but to make him a stronger and better man." Driven by the ideal, and presented with the opportunity to learn and perfect a trade, Washington held that blacks could show their equal value to whites. [5: Booker T. Washington, “Atlanta Compromise,” ]

Addams held that all need the same supports and benefit from the same opportunities: “the good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain, is floating in mid-air, until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.”[footnoteRef:6] She was essentially arguing for opportunity as well, just as Washington was. And just as Washington pointed out the uselessness of Latin and Greek for blacks, she pointed out the uselessness of university access for young people who had no sense of purpose or place, no ideal, no drive, no opportunity to bring about the kind of values that liberal society had instilled in them: “We have in America a fast-growing number of cultivated young people who have no recognized outlet for their active faculties. They hear constantly of the great social maladjustment, but no way is provided for them to change it, and their uselessness hangs about them heavily. Huxley declares that the sense of uselessness is the severest shock which the human system can sustain, and that if persistently sustained, it results in atrophy of function. These young people have had advantages of college, of European travel, and of economic study, but they are sustaining this shock of inaction.”[footnoteRef:7] [6: Jane Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House, 44.] [7: Jane Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House, 46.]

How They Tried to Redefine the Value of Equality and Adapt It to New Circumstances

Washington and Addams were two prominent figures who championed the importance of equality in United States society during the late 19th century and early 20th century in new and practical ways. The Founding Fathers, for instance, had championed an ideal in the Declaration of Independence—but they fell short of the mark when actually granting equality to all people. Blacks continued to be slaves for nearly another hundred years, and women and immigrants were often treated as second and third-tier citizens, if that. Thus, Washington and Addams took the idea of equality and dusted it off and held it up to the sunlight to show how it might be put to practical use in American society. Neither was looking for a hand-out—but rather both were looking for ways in which the ideal could actually be achieved in society. Washington articulated this approach in his "Atlanta Compromise" speech—calling for African Americans to be granted economic opportunity even while accepting racial segregation—whereas Addams, in her work argued that education and reform were necessary to address inequality. Both leaders exemplified their respect for equality through the promotion of industrial education which could improve employment opportunities for marginalized communities. While their approaches to achieving equality differed, both Washington's and Addams' views effectively worked towards an American nation that valued everybody as equals.

Essentially, Addams examined existing definitions of these ideas and proposed that they be adapted to modern contexts. She championed the right of all people — regardless of gender, race or economic means — to access education, a safe home, meaningful employment and other necessities. She contended that a greater degree of equality would ultimately strengthen society as whole by leading to greater reciprocity between classes. As such, Addams' writings provide an insightful record of her thoughts on how reformers can use targeted interventions to bring about lasting social change. It was a new voice of direction at a time when American society was buckling under the weight of oppression. People were organizing, unions were rising, immigrants were pushing back against the establishment, and leaders were looking for a way to revitalize the concept of equality.