Born to a wealthy family in small-town Illinois, Jane Addams (Sept. 6, 1860, to May 21, 1935) rejected her narrow world of privilege and the expectations that stifled women of her class in order to put her vague democratic and philanthropic ideals into action on the west side of Chicago. She turned her energies toward bringing people together around issues of social justice, and she became one of the nation's most influential political leaders. To mark the 150th anniversary of her birth, this slide show reviews her accomplishments in areas that still confound the world. … Back to Article