Jane
Addams was a feminist, pacifist and social worker who in 1931 became the first
American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She served as President of the Women's
International League for Peace and Freedom, and founded Hull House, the nation's
first settlement house, providing services for her community in Chicago. She led
a powerful reform movement that helped the Illinois legislature enact laws protecting
women, children and immigrants at the turn of the century. Their efforts spread
to the national level resulting in a federal child labor law in 1916.
