This month in “Dare to Believe,” we are featuring two historical figures who helped bring attention to the plight of the poor and advocated for social justice.

At this time of year, you will be reading A Christmas Carol or streaming one of its many iterations on television.

Charles Dickens’ masterful tale about finding the Christmas spirit also reminds us to acknowledge and reward the contributions of the people in our lives, recognize their struggles, and help in any way we can.

Though she was born into a wealthy family in the Chicago area, Jane Addams decided at a young age she wanted to devote her life to helping the poor. Her efforts spread across the United States and her life of service reminds us that one person can make a difference.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) – As a boy growing up in industrializing England, Dickens knew both prosperity and poverty. He was one of eight children. He left school for three years at 12 years old to work in a boot-blacking factory after his father was sent to debtor’s prison. When Dicken’s father received a small inheritance, he was released from prison, but Dickens’ mother insisted Charles should remain at the factory earning money instead of being allowed to return to school. Charles’ feelings of abandonment shaped his life and writings. He often wondered how children could become so disposable to their families and society in general.

After Dickens returned to school, he started his literary career as a journalist. He edited a weekly journal for 20 years and wrote fifteen novels and five novellas, hundreds of short stories, and non-fiction articles, all while campaigning for children’s rights, education, and other social issues.

While the European Industrial Revolution helped create a middle class, it also created a new class of working poor. His writings helped expose the plight of children and the many working families who lived in poverty while their employers and elected officials lived in luxury.  Dickens’ Oliver Twist satirizes child labor, and domestic violence, and exposes the plight of street children in England who were often forced into lives of crime to survive.

Dickens' novels and short stories were often serialized. Illiterate people could pay a half penny to have these installments read aloud.  Love for his work encouraged the general public to place a greater value on learning to read and write and helped reform education in England.

Dickens became well known for his philanthropy.

In 1846, Dickens was approached by Angela Burdett Coutts about establishing a home for “fallen women.” She shared her vision of a home that wouldn’t punish women for falling on hard times and being deserted by their families and the men in their lives but would offer education and the chance for redemption. Dickens managed Urania Cottage for ten years setting its rules, managing its finances, and interviewing prospective clients. During his tenure, about 100 women graduated from the program.

In 1852, Dickens began a series of public readings of his work to benefit the Great Ormond Street Hospital and raised enough money to get the hospital out of its financial difficulties.

In 1865, Dickens survived the Staplehurst rail crash. He tended to the wounded and provided comfort for the dying until help arrived. He is credited with saving many lives that day.

In his will, Dickens bequeathed the sum of £19 (£2,000 in 2021) to each servant in his employ at the time of his death. 

Jane Addams (1860-1935) - "The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain... until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life." In her novel, Twenty Years at Hull House.

Addams was the youngest of eight children in a well-to-do family.

Her father was a friend and supporter of Abraham Lincoln.

Her mother died while pregnant with her ninth child when Jane was two years old.

At four years old, Jane contracted tuberculosis of the spine (Pott’s disease) which left her with a curvature of the spine and lifelong health problems. Four of her siblings died by the time Jane turned eight.

When Jane Addams was six she observed the extreme poverty of immigrants in Chicago while taking a carriage ride with her father. During this ride, Addams vowed to her father that she’d buy the finest house in that neighborhood, live there, and dedicate her life to improving the lives of her neighbors.

Addams was inspired by the novels and short stories of Charles Dickens.

She bought Hull House, a restored mansion in the heart of a multi-ethnic neighborhood, in 1889. Her life’s work became serving the large immigrant community-- Italian, Polish, German, and Russian --  in Chicago's industrial district.   She and other residents at Hull House worked to meet the needs of the immigrant community and offer social and educational opportunities which included meals, babysitting, English classes, classes on nutrition, sanitation, sewing, bookbinding, concerts, and discussion groups. They also provided medical help and shelter for victims of domestic abuse. Addams’ efforts spearheaded the "settlement house" movement in America. By 1920, there were over 500 settlement homes in major American cities. These homes served large urban immigrant communities and helped them succeed in their new communities. 

According to Addams, “The cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy." She believed people should help others by whatever means they could.

Addams never married but had a 40-year romantic relationship with Mary Smith. They owned a home together and according to their correspondence, they viewed themselves as a married couple.

Addams was an important leader in the history of social work and women’s suffrage in the United States. In 1910 she became the first woman to receive an honorary degree from Yale University and in 1920, she co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She was a pacifist who strongly opposed the United States’ entry into World War I. She also opposed colonialism and any attempts by Americans to exert control over other countries. For a time, her beliefs caused her to fall out of favor with the American public.

In 1931, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first woman from the United States to win the award. At the time of her death, Addams was considered the best-known female public figure in the United States.

Sources for this article:

https://www.corevirtues.net/december-heroes.html