Selected Papers, Volume 4

The Selected Papers of Jane Addams, Volume 4: Moving Beyond Hull-House

Edited by Stacy Lynn, with Cathy Moran Hajo and Victoria Sciancalepore.

July 7, 2026 (University of Illinois Press).

This volume presents a selection of Jane Addams’s writings from 1901 to 1907, a period of significant growth in her influence as a reformer, writer, and public intellectual. The front matter provides editorial method, transcription policies, and historical context. Part 1, Progress Belongs to Us Altogether, 1901-1903, explores Addams’s expansion of Hull-House, advocacy for immigrants, child labor legislation, and engagement with political leaders. Part 2, Making All Life Fuller and Better, 1904-1905, highlights her role as a member of the Chicago Board of Education, and growing interest in international peace. Part 3, In the Hands of Women, 1906-1907, examines her deepening commitment to the woman suffrage movement and continued activism in labor and child welfare. Throughout this period, Addams’s prominence grew as she connected settlement work with broader social and political reforms. She balanced activism with writing, publishing Democracy and Social Ethics (1902) and Newer Ideals of Peace (1907), positioning herself as a leading voice in Progressive Era thought. This volume captures her evolving philosophy, expanding national presence, and enduring commitment to social justice, illustrating her transition from a local settlement leader to an influential advocate for systemic change.

Jane Addams entered 1901 as a confident voice in the American settlement movement and pioneer in many of its methods. The period that followed marked the dramatic expansion of the Hull-House campus and its reach even as Addams increasingly devoted more time to lecturing, lobbying, and building bridges of reform in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and beyond.

The fourth volume in the series follows Addams’s increasingly busy life. Her activities included greater participation in the women’s suffrage movement and speaking tours of twenty-five states and the District of Columbia to discuss child labor, settlement work, and women’s issues. At the same time, she maintained relationships with an intimate circle of female friends, her extended family, the Hull-House community, and most importantly her companion Mary Rozet Smith. The editors provide an extensive collection of documents on this side of Addams’s life while rooting her in the unique time and place of an era of fast and far-reaching change.