
Helpful Terms
- Settlement house: Settlement houses are an early version of social welfare. ...
- Residents: The folks who staffed the settlement houses. They often lived there, hence the name resident.
- Neighbor: The folks who visited the settlement houses and used their services or engaged in their programming.
Full Answer
What were settlement houses and who started them?
The settlement houses provided services such as daycare, English classes, and healthcare to improve the lives of the poor in these areas. The most famous settlement house of the time was Hull House, founded by Jane Addams and Ellen Starr . Toynbee Hall settlement house, founded 1884, pictured here in 1902
What were settlement houses used for?
The settlement house movement began in England and then emerged in the U.S. in 1886 with the founding of University Settlement House in New York City. Settlement houses had two functions. First, they provided a safe place for poor residents to receive medical care and provided nurseries for the children of working mothers.
What is the purpose of a settlement house?
The main functions of a settlement are:
- Market town – where farmers will buy and sell their goods and materials.
- Mining town – where minerals and fuel might be extracted.
- Industrial town – where raw materials will be processed into manufactured products.
- Port – a place where goods can be imported and exported.
Do you think settlement houses were successful?
do you think settlement house were successful? yes they were in the time that they were needed but then that turned into something bigger and even better Key terms for all three sections

What was the purpose of the settlement houses?
Settlement houses were organizations that provided support services to the urban poor and European immigrants, often including education, healthcare, childcare, and employment resources.
What is the meaning of settlement houses?
: an institution providing various community services especially to large city populations.
What is an example of a settlement house?
Several of the city's settlement houses achieved national recognition; for example, KARAMU HOUSE, one of the centers of African-American theater in the U.S., and the CLEVELAND MUSIC SCHOOL SETTLEMENT, with its model music training programs. The settlement movement began in England in 1884 when a group of Oxford Univ.
How did the settlement houses help the poor?
How did settlement houses help the poor? Settlement houses provided the environment for the poor tenants to create social clubs, community groups, and cultural events. This promoted fellowship between the residents. Education programs were also conducted under the auspices of the houses.
Who started settlement houses?
Robert A. Woods founded Andover House, Boston's first settlement house, in 1891. Today it is United South End Settlements. Woods also served as the National Federation of Settlements' first executive secretary.
What is a settlement?
1 : a formal agreement that ends an argument or dispute. 2 : final payment (as of a bill) 3 : the act or fact of establishing colonies the settlement of New England. 4 : a place or region newly settled. 5 : a small village.
Do settlement houses still exist?
Today, it is estimated that there are more than 900 settlement houses in the United States, according to UNCA, an association of 156 of them. Formerly known as the National Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers, UNCA was actually founded in 1911 by Jane Addams and other pioneers of the settlement movement.
What were settlement houses quizlet?
What was a settlement house? Community centers that offer services to the poor. How did these houses help immigrants? These houses helped the immigrants because volunteers would teach classes about English and American Government.
What was the first settlement house?
In 1889, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr established Hull-House in Chicago, the first settlement house in the United States. By the late 1800s, Chicago had begun its transformation into the manufacturing hub of the United States.
Who received benefits from settlement houses?
Who received benefits from settlement houses in the late 1800s and early 1900s? middle class. Which is the most complete explanation of why people immigrated to the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s?
Were settlement houses successful?
Although settlement houses failed to eliminate the worst aspects of poverty among new immigrants, they provided some measure of relief and hope to their neighborhoods.
When did settlement houses start?
1886The settlement movement began officially in the United States in 1886, with the establishment of University Settlement, New York. Settlements derived their name from the fact that the resident workers “settled” in the poor neighborhoods they sought to serve, living there as friends and neighbors.
What were settlement houses quizlet?
What was a settlement house? Community centers that offer services to the poor. How did these houses help immigrants? These houses helped the immigrants because volunteers would teach classes about English and American Government.
How do you use settlement house in a sentence?
1. Many more settlements, houses and trailers, side roads disappearing into the dark, than there were years ago. 2. These two women ran the settlement house on their block, gave them books, and liked them because they were clean.
Where does settlement take place?
The property settlement will usually either occur at the vendor's conveyancer or solicitor's office, or at the vendor's bank. If a mortgage is involved, the settlement will take place at the bank, or if there is a clear title; the solicitor's office.
What does settlement possession mean?
This is when the ownership of the property will be transferred from the seller to the buyer.
What was the settlement house movement?
The Settlement House Movement. by John E. Hansan, Ph.D. One of the most influential organizations in the history of American social welfare was the “settlement house.”. The establishment and expansion of social settlements and neighborhood houses in the United States corresponded closely with the Progressive Era, the struggle for woman suffrage, ...
How were settlements organized?
Settlements were organized initially to be “friendly and open households,” a place where members of the privileged class could live and work as pioneers or “settlers” in poor areas of a city where social and environmental problems were great. Settlements had no set program or method of work. The idea was that university students and others would make a commitment to “reside” in the settlement house in order to “know intimately” their neighbors. The primary goal for many of the early settlement residents was to conduct sociological observation and research. For others it was the opportunity to share their education and/or Christian values as a means of helping the poor and disinherited to overcome their personal handicaps.
How did settlements help the world?
It is important to note that settlements helped create and foster many new organizations and social welfare programs, some of which continue to the present time. Settlements were action oriented and new programs and services were added as needs were discovered; settlement workers tried to find, not be, the solution for social and environmental deficits affecting their neighbors. In the process, some settlements became engaged in issues such as housing reform, factory safety, labor organizing, protecting children, opening health clinics, legal aid programs, consumer protection, milk pasteurization initiatives and well-baby clinics. Others created parks and playgrounds or emphasized the arts by establishing theaters and classes for the fine arts and music education. A number of settlement leaders and residents conducted research, prepared statistical studies, wrote reports or described their personal experiences in memoirs (e.g., Hull-House Maps and Papers, Robert Woods’s City Wilderness, Jane Addams’s Twenty Years at Hull-House, and Lillian Wald’s House on Henry Street).
What did Hull House do for Black people?
Although Hull-House and other settlements helped establish separate institutions for Black neighborhoods , pioneered in studying Black urban communities, and helped organize the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Blacks were not welcome at the major settlements.
What actually happened to the residents of settlements?
What actually happened was that residents of settlements learned as much or more from their neighbors than they taught them. The “settlers” found themselves designing and organizing activities to meet the needs of the residents of the neighborhoods in which they were living.
How did the American settlement movement differ from the English model?
The American settlement movement diverged from the English model in several ways. More women became leaders in the American movement; and there was a greater interest in social research and reform. But probably the biggest difference was that American settlements were located in overcrowded slum neighborhoods filled with recent immigrants. Working with the inhabitants of these neighborhoods, settlement workers became caught up in searching for ways to ease their neighbor’s adjustment and integration into a new society. Settlement house residents often acted as advocates on behalf of immigrants and their neighborhoods; and, in various areas, they organized English classes and immigrant protective associations, established “penny banks” and sponsored festivals and pageants designed to value and preserve the heritage of immigrants.
What were the contributions of settlement workers?
At other times, bringing about a change required becoming advocates for a specific cause or acting as spokespersons appealing to a wider public for understanding or support for a proposed civic matter or political measure. From their advocacy, research and sometimes eloquent descriptions of social needs afflicting their neighbors, lasting contributions were made by residents of settlement houses in the areas of education, public health, recreation, labor organizing, housing, local and state politics, woman’s rights, crime and delinquency, music and the arts. Settlements soon became renown as the fountainhead for producing highly motivated social reformers, social scientists and public administrators, including such early notables as
What was the purpose of the settlement house?
The settlement house, an approach to social reform with roots in the late 19th century and the Progressive Movement, was a method for serving the poor in urban areas by living among them and serving them directly. As the residents of settlement houses learned effective methods of helping, they then worked to transfer long-term responsibility for the programs to government agencies. Settlement house workers, in their work to find more effective solutions to poverty and injustice, also pioneered the profession of social work. Philanthropists funded the settlement houses. Often, organizers like Jane Addams made their funding appeals to the wives of the wealthy businessmen. Through their connections, the women and men who ran the settlement houses were also able to influence political and economic reforms.
What did settlement houses serve?
Some settlement houses served whatever ethnic groups were in the area. Others, such as those directed towards African Americans or Jews, served groups that weren't always welcome in other community institutions.
What were the roots of the settlement house movement?
Community organizing and group work both have roots in the settlement house movement's ideas and practices. The settlement houses tended to be founded with secular goals, but many who were involved were religious progressives, often influenced by the social gospel ideals.
What were the names of the early settlement houses?
Other notable early settlement houses were the East Side House in 1891 in New York City, Boston's South End House in 1892, the University of Chicago Settlement and the Chicago Commons (both in Chicago in 1894), Hiram House in Cleveland in 1896, Hudson Guild in New York City in 1897, and Greenwich House in New York in 1902.
How many settlement houses were there in 1910?
By 1910, there were more than 400 settlement houses in more than 30 states in America. At the peak in the 1920s, there were almost 500 of these organizations. The United Neighborhood Houses of New York today encompasses 35 settlement houses in New York City.
When was the first settlement house built?
The first settlement house was Toynbee Hall in London, founded in 1883 by Samuel and Henrietta Barnett. This was followed by Oxford House in 1884, and others such as the Mansfield House Settlement.
Who made the funding appeals to the wives of the wealthy businessmen?
Often, organizers like Jane Addams made their funding appeals to the wives of the wealthy businessmen. Through their connections, the women and men who ran the settlement houses were also able to influence political and economic reforms.
What are some examples of settlement houses?
Recent Examples on the Web As a child in the 1950s, Amelia Cooper lived in a multigenerational home in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood that often served as a settlement house for friends of her grandfather, the blues musician Muddy Waters.
Did African Americans benefit from settlement houses?
African Americans, too, benefited from settlement houses. — Andre M. Archie, National Review, 7 Nov. 2019 Richard’s parents met in 1905 at a Henry Street dance; Wald and Lehman attended their wedding, and Louis Abrons later became a major benefactor of the settlement house.
What were the settlement houses in Cleveland?
SETTLEMENT HOUSES. Cleveland, along with Chicago, Boston, and New York , was one of the centers of the U.S. settlement-house movement. Local settlement work began in the late 1890s, and within a decade a half-dozen settlements operated in Cleveland neighborhoods. Several of the city's settlement houses achieved national recognition; for example, KARAMU HOUSE, one of the centers of African-American theater in the U.S., and the CLEVELAND MUSIC SCHOOL SETTLEMENT, with its model music training programs. The settlement movement began in England in 1884 when a group of Oxford Univ. students established Toynbee Hall, a residence in a London slum. Sharing knowledge and skills with area residents, they strove to understand and solve urban problems. The urban village concept was foremost, attempting to replicate in city neighborhoods the network of mutual aid common to a small village. New York City's Neighborhood Guild (1885) and Jane Addams' Hull House (Chicago, 1888) marked the importation of settlement houses to the U.S.; over 100 existed in America by 1900. The settlement movement grew in response to the overcrowding, impoverishment, corruption, and disease caused by rapid industrialization and urbanization. One of the most enduring reform movements, it uniquely attempted to change problem neighborhoods from within.
What were the first settlements in Cleveland?
The first settlement house established in Cleveland was HIRAM HOUSE (1896). By WORLD WAR I, many other settlements served Cleveland neighborhoods. While Hiram House served JEWS (later ITALIANS and then AFRICAN AMERICANS) along lower Woodland Ave., ALTA HOUSE (1900) served the Italians of LITTLE ITALY. EAST END NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE (1907) worked with HUNGARIANS and SLOVAKS in the BUCKEYE-WOODLAND -Woodhill district, and Goodrich House (1897, see GOODRICH-GANNETT NEIGHBORHOOD CTR.) served South Slavic groups residing along St. Clair Ave. By the 1920s, other local settlements included the WEST SIDE COMMUNITY HOUSE (1922), MERRICK HOUSE (1919), the RAINEY INSTITUTE (1904), UNIV. SOCIAL SETTLEMENT (1922), the Playhouse Settlement (1915, later Karamu House), the Council Educational Alliance (1899, forerunner of the JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER ), the FRIENDLY INN (1897), and the Cleveland Music School Settlement (1912). The 1920s and 1930s saw tremendous nationwide changes in settlement operation, especially the hiring of trained social workers and the emphasis on a more scientific methodology and program. National and local organizations, such as the National Federation of Settlements (est. 1911), the Cleveland Settlement Union, and, later, the GREATER CLEVELAND NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS ASSN., fostered such change.
What is the settlement house?
More than simply a women’s history site, Black history site, immigration history site, or a Progressive Era history site, the settlement house stands at the intersection of multiple narratives that reveal a broad, complex, and fuller American story.
When did the settlement house movement start?
The settlement house movement was founded in London in 1884 and earned their name from the fact that their mostly college-educated, (and eventually) mostly female staff also lived on site, ‘settling’ among the local communities they aimed to serve.
What is Denison House?
Denison House’s vibrant programming and commitment to serving their local communities also illustrates the tensions between a desire to embrace diversity and an insistence upon immigrant assimilation. Denison House workers engaged daily with their Italian, Syrian, Armenian, Irish, and Eastern European Jewish neighbors—many of whom would themselves become volunteers. These ambitious women pushed back against anti-immigrant sentiment by embracing cultural diversity and working to eradicate the oppressive social and environmental conditions in poor neighborhoods.
When was Denison House founded?
Founded in 1892 by activists and recent women’s college graduates Vida Scudder, Katherine Coman, and Emily Green Balch, Denison House began with one building at 92 Tyler Street in the crowded immigrant enclave of Boston’s South Cove neighborhood. Closely associated with Wellesley College, from which Scudder graduated and at which Green Balch would soon become an economics professor, Denison House was one of three settlements established by the College Settlement Association, founded in 1890 with the mission to “bring all college women within the scope of a common purpose and a common work.”
How many settlement houses were there in the 19th century?
While the more than 400 settlement houses established during the late 19th and early 20th century each have their own individual stories, two sites highlight how demographic and economic changes, along with anti-immigrant nativism and anti-Black racism, together defined and challenged the settlement house movement project. Denison House in Boston’s South Cove immigrant enclave and the White Rose Mission of Harlem in New York City showcase how the history of a settlement house is both a national and local tale.
What did the settlement movement do to the American people?
Though leaders of the settlement movement pushed back against the hostilities of nativists and celebrated the cultural and intellectual contributions of the communities amongst whom they lived, they nonetheless insisted upon the superiority of American cultural and political ideologies, while prioritizing their own approaches to child-rearing, hygiene, and education that often denigrated the traditions or overlooked the priorities of the communities they hoped to serve.
What are the dorm rooms, parlors, kitchens, and classrooms of settlement houses?
The dorm rooms, parlors, kitchens, and classrooms of settlement houses reveal a multitude of stories inextricably bound to the places in which they occurred. Settlement houses are sites in which women defined new roles in American public life, where immigrant and minority communities reshaped American political, intellectual, and cultural ideologies, and where social reformers showed how reimagining the urban landscape and built environment were part-and-parcel to their vision of progress.
What was the purpose of settlement houses?
Settlement houses were characterized not by a set of services but by an approach: that initiative to correct social ills should come from indigenous neighborhood leaders or organizations. Settlement workers were not dispensing charity; they were working toward the general welfare.
When did the settlement house start?
The “settlement house” was at one time practically synonymous with social work in this country. The movement began officially in the United States in 1886, with the establishment of the Neighborhood Guild, later called University Settlement, in New York City. Its founder was Stanton Coit. But the idea was not originally American.
What is the fine line between community centers and settlement houses?
Part of the fine line between community centers and settlement houses lies in history . “Our philosophy is distinct,” Isaacs explains. “It is to build community, with and not just for neighborhoods. We work with neighborhoods to develop their strengths, not just to provide services.”
Why are settlement houses invisible?
One reason for the near invisibility of settlement houses is that despite some associations, each one works to some degree alone in response to its individual community. Another reason is the name confusion.
Why did the settlement workers have to come to their task with a certain humility?
Because of the cultural diversity among immigrants, settlement workers had to come to their task with a certain humility. They had as much to learn from the immigrants as the new Americans did from them. Much has changed about settlement houses.
How many settlement houses are there in the world?
There is also an International Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers, which was organized in 1926 and now has a membership of more than 4500 settlement houses and neighborhood centers around the world.
Who built the Hull House?
America' most famous settlement house, Hull House, was the creation of Jane Addams, later a Nobel Laureate for Peace, and Ellen Starr.
What happens if a house settles?
Should a home incur excessive settlement, then the home may suffer damage to the foundation. If the damage is significant it can cause damage to the rest of the home sitting on-top of the foundation. When the foundation moves, it can cause plumbing pipes to crack or sewer lines to separate, damage trusses or rafters, as well as damage other components of the home.
When does a home settle down?
It is not unusual for a home to settle a little, especially in the first year or two.
Why is the foundation of a house compacted?
Primary and secondary compaction. Generally the soil that a homes foundation is built on will be compacted in order to better support the bottom of the foundation and if the soil is not well (consolidated) compacted the foundation will settle more than normal, especially in the first few years.
What happens when the weight of a home causes the soil particles to consolidate tighter?
When the weight of a home causes the soil particles to consolidate tighter, then the home drops down or settles. There are 3 basic types of settlement and one type usually causes more damage to the home, than the other two types.
What to look for when settling a house?
Evidence that a home may be having settlement include: Foundation appears to have dropped down or sunk. Top of foundation not level. Cracks in the foundation. Basement walls cracked, leaning or bowed. Roof sags, wavy or has a hump. Cracks in drywall or plaster; cracks in stucco, block or brick siding.
How to tell if a house has settled?
Evidence that a home may be having settlement include: 1 Foundation appears to have dropped down or sunk 2 Top of foundation not level 3 Cracks in the foundation 4 Basement walls cracked, leaning or bowed 5 Roof sags, wavy or has a hump 6 Cracks in drywall or plaster; cracks in stucco, block or brick siding 7 Sloping floors, doors and windows sticking
What is differential settlement?
Differential settlement is basically where one portion of the foundation stays in place and one part of the foundation drops down or shifts. This means that the foundation and home will probably suffer more damage than will occur with uniform or tipping settlement. Engineers often considers this to be the worst type of settlement.

First Settlement Houses
Famous Settlement Houses
- The best-known settlement house is perhaps Hull House in Chicago, founded in 1889 by Jane Addams with her friend Ellen Gates Starr. Lillian Wald and the Henry Street Settlement in New York is also well known. Both of these houses were staffed primarily by women and both resulted in many reforms with long-lasting effects and many programs that exist today.
The Movement Spreads
- Other notable early settlement houses were the East Side House in 1891 in New York City, Boston's South End House in 1892, the University of Chicago Settlement and the Chicago Commons (both in Chicago in 1894), Hiram House in Cleveland in 1896, Hudson Guild in New York City in 1897, and Greenwich House in New York in 1902. By 1910, there were more than 40…
More House Residents and Leaders
- Edith Abbott, a pioneer in social work and social service administration, was a Hull House resident with her sister Grace Abbott, New Deal chief of the federal Children's Bureau.
- Emily Greene Balch, later a Nobel Peace Prize winner, worked in and for some time headed Boston's Denison House.
- George Bellamy founded Hiram House in Cleveland in 1896.
- Edith Abbott, a pioneer in social work and social service administration, was a Hull House resident with her sister Grace Abbott, New Deal chief of the federal Children's Bureau.
- Emily Greene Balch, later a Nobel Peace Prize winner, worked in and for some time headed Boston's Denison House.
- George Bellamy founded Hiram House in Cleveland in 1896.
- Sophonisba Breckinridge from Kentucky was another Hull House resident who went on to contribute to the field of professional social work.