Judith Bloom Fradin and Dennis Brindell Fradin,
Jane Addams: Champion of Democracy
Clarion Books, 2006

Ages 12+

In this wonderful new biography, authors Judith Bloom Fradin And Dennis Brindell Fradin (The Power of One: Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine and Ida B. Wells: Mother of the Civil Rights Movement) use their talent for illuminating the lives of inspiring women to shed new light on Jane Addams.  Once the best known (and considered by some "the most dangerous") woman in America, Jane Addams is largely forgotten today, but her pioneering work in social justice, women's suffrage and, eventually, the peace movement earned her numerous accolades during her lifetime, including the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize; and had an undeniable effect on shaping policy.  While she lived, however, few of her admirers realized some of her more personal struggles, such as her fight against depression and having to overcome physical adversity.  Today, too many people have never heard of her at all.

With compelling text and a wealth of archival photographs, the Fradins follow Jane Addams' life from the death of her mother when Jane was only two, through the adventurous childhood she shared with a beloved stepbrother, her rebellious college days, travels abroad, and years of depression that ended with her decision to create Hull House, one of the nation's first settlement houses, serving the poor and needy of Chicago.  Addams dedicated most of her life to bringing essential services and dignity to the lives of Chicago's poverty stricken and immigrant classes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  The success of Hull House in elevating and improving the lives of thousands captured the nation's attention, and within twenty years of its founding there were 400 settlement houses in the country assisting needy families with everything from food and clothing to legal aid, adult education, child care, and summer camps.

Jane's dedication to Hull House and the plight of the poor and needy continued throughout her life, but at the dawn of World War I, she began redirecting her energy to the cause of peace.  Using her influence and means (her father, a wealthy man, had left her enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life), Addams was key to the founding of the Women's Peace Party in America, of which she became president.  In 1915 she traveled to the Hague for a historic peace conference of 'brave' women from opposing nations, out of which grew the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom: again, Jane was elected its founding president. Addams encouraged nations to solve their problems with words and diplomacy rather than bloodshed: and it was her insistence on a non-violent resolution to hostilities, even after America's entry into the war, which caused so much controversy and led to her being dubbed "the most dangerous woman in America."   It was also this work that eventually earned her the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Fradins' candid treatment of Jane Addams' life is refreshing for a book aimed at young readers, who will surely appreciate the implication that they are mature enough to handle the facts as well as the rumors about this remarkable woman.  They don't shrink from discussing her possible homosexuality, for example, but they do so gracefully, leaving readers to form their own conclusions.  They are also unafraid to suggest that Addams' historical legacy may have been largely suppressed because of her work in the peace movement.  This is a great book with much to teach about a woman who has had an important role in shaping history.  It is also a good catalyst for inspiring independent and critical thinking in young adult readers, something Jane Addams certainly would have appreciated.

Abigail Sawyer
March 2007