Week 9 Blog: Jane Addams

Jane Addams' lifelong commitment to service and philanthropy was motivated by a couple of important figures and the ideas and values they embodied. Her service seems to be driven by spiritual desire, but does not seem to be a part of a larger religious framework.
Jane Addams felt a unique connection to President Lincoln that she attributed mostly to her childhood environment. She was motivated by his values and ideals and admired his ability to "dig channels" for the society to flow through. Her connection to Lincoln was made stronger by the symbolic ties she embedded in "Old Abe", an old War Eagle she frequently visited when younger.
Addams motivation from her father and his teachings also shaped her later goals. Many of the major moral pillars that Addams stood behind and founded the Hull House on were ones that her father had taught and emphasized to her as a child.

Addams describes the need for settlement houses with an undeniable zeal and does claim to be progressing Christianity. However, the fact that she mentions this motivation briefly, as an afterthought, and that her attitude towards to progress seems to be one of necessary change stemming from discontent with the status quo. I would argue that Addams progressiveness is her underlying ideology, because she seems to apply it to other potential thought systems including Christianity.