Howell's horrid depiction of a young African woman would seriously displease her. Humanitarian and Political Activist (Laura) Jane Addams In Twenty Years at Hull-House, Jane Addams documented her belief that Americanization should include services available for all. Her focus was equality for American citizens and foreign immigrants into the United States, and she actively worked to achieve this goal. She originally planned to attend medical school, but her father would not allow it. Instead, she attended Rockford Female Seminary and graduated in 1882. Addams became known for social reform, including housing and sanitation issues, factory inspection, rights of immigrants, women and children, pacifism and the 8-hour day. Addams was Vice President of the National Woman Suffrage Association from 1911–1914, campaigned for presidential candidate Teddy Roosevelt in 1912, worked with the Peace Party, helped found and served as president (1919–1935) of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and in 1931 she was the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1889, Addams co-founded Hull House, a social settlement in Chicago. In addition to shelter, services available at the settlement included food, education, healthcare, and a variety of social activities. Addams based her support of Americanization on the belief that immigrants should embrace their new identity as an American, but should not leave behind their heritage. She reasoned that past experiences, family history, and culture are all a part of who you are. We learn from who we are today and where we came from. Becoming Americanized did not mean reinventing yourself, but rather melding your history with your present and future. Addams suggested immigrants bridge relations between their European and American experiences. American history started long before America declared independence, and part of the Americanization process for early settlers was deciding what practices to retain from their old country, and which ones to adopt in the new. Addams supported the adage, "united we stand, divided we fall". She believed that everyone had something to offer American society, and combining knowledge with skills would create a more united America. She was a proponent for preserving history by recognizing how the past influences progress. References History of immigration to the United States