
The settlement house, an approach to social reform with roots in the late 19th century and the Progressive Movement
Progressive Era
The Progressive Era was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States that spanned the 1890s to the 1920s. The main objectives of the Progressive movement were eliminating problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and political corruption. The movement primarily targeted political machines and their bosses. By taking down these corrupt re…
How did settlement houses help the poor?
The Settlement House Movement provided community centers to support city dwellers. Settlement houses were set up in poor urban areas to offer services like healthcare, education, and daycare to enhance the quality of life of the poor people in these areas.
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 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.
What did settlement houses provide for immigrants?
Settlement houses were organizations that provided support services to the urban poor and European immigrants, often including education, healthcare, childcare, and employment resources. Many settlement houses established during this period are still thriving today. How did settlement houses improve the community?

How did settlement houses help the poor?
Settlement houses were organizations that provided support services to the urban poor and European immigrants, often including education, healthcare, childcare, and employment resources. Many settlement houses established during this period are still thriving today.
What is it that settlement houses do?
These houses served as gathering places for fostering relationships that would serve as the foundation for stronger, healthier communities. Middle- and working-class individuals lived side by side in fellowship.
What did settlement houses offer immigrants?
Around the turn of the 1900s, northern cities experienced an influx of immigrants from Europe and a Great Migration of African Americans from the American South. Settlement houses offered social, educational, and welfare services to migrant and impoverished communities.
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.
What are the benefits of a settlement house?
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. They offered meals and employment placement services. They sponsored lectures and gave music lessons.
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?
What was the main goal of settlement house movement?
The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in England and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and social interconnectedness.
Were settlement houses good or bad?
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.
Do you think settlement houses were successful Why or why not?
Do you think settlement houses were successful? Yes, they offered people who had limited means opportunities to learn new skills, languages and provided daycare and education to children.
What is the main goal of the settlement house movement?
The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in England and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and social interconnectedness.
What was the purpose of settlement houses quizlet?
What are settlement houses? Community centers that offered services to the poor. How did settlement houses help immigrants? They gave them a home, taught them English, and about the American government, provided them with services.
What was the main goal of the settlement house movement quizlet?
What was the main goal of the settlement house movement? A large number of immigrants arrived, and they sought acculturation programs at settlement houses. What was one common way that members of the temperance movement attempted to stop people from drinking alcohol? urban charity organizations.
What is a settlement house mean?
Definition of settlement house : an institution providing various community services especially to large city populations.
Was the settlement house movement successful?
Settlement houses were successful in some ways but not in others. They failed to eliminate poverty and all of its causes, but they were able to all...
What did the settlement house movement do?
The settlement movement was part of a broader effort for social reform. House founders attempted to uplift the working class urban poor by exposing...
How did settlement houses work?
Settlement houses were housing projects designed to elevate the situation of the members of the poor working class. University students and other v...
How did 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. For example, the kindergarten program initiated at Hull House served up to 24 students. Adults and youth attended lecture series from community leaders and university graduates and educators.
What was the settlement house movement?
What was the settlement house movement? The settlement house movement was a social movement that supported the idea of creating large housing projects to provide mobility for the working class. It grew out of a desire for reform that had already had effects in several other areas, such as the creation of numerous charities to help people in poverty. Widespread support for this idea began in Great Britain in the 1860s and quickly spread to other Western countries such as the United States and Canada. The Industrial Revolution and its social effects, such as long working hours, the safety hazards of the factory system, and the self-absorption of industrialists, alarmed the idealistic Christian Socialists who desired to help the poor rise above their condition through education and moral improvement.
What was settlement work?
Settlement work was concerned with helping the poor as a social class rather than on an individual basis. It was theorized that if members of the poor working class lived in proximity to educated, refined people, their work morale and education status would improve as well. To aid this, half of the tenants of these houses were ''refined'' graduates of upper-class colleges who lived there to aid the working class by association. House organizers hoped that the sub-culture of higher education would elevate the paradigm of the poor and help them to rise out of their situation.
What did administrators of houses do?
Administrators of the houses and educators worked not only with the tenants of the houses but also with leaders of the community, including factory owners and politicians. Services offered included infant nurseries, job training, and medical care. Although the founders of the houses had high aspirations, many of the workers who had the most interaction with the working class were amateurs who could not have much effect.
What does it mean to enroll in a course?
Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams.
What were some examples of settlement houses?
In Cleveland, Ohio, for example, different settlement houses served different immigrant populations. Hiram House, for example, mostly worked with Jews, Italian immigrants, and African Americans. East End Neighborhood House and Goodrich House served east European immigrants.
How successful were settlement houses?
Settlement houses were successful in some ways but not in others. They failed to eliminate poverty and all of its causes, but they were able to alleviate some of them.
What were settlement house workers?
Settlement house workers were educated poor persons, both children and adults, who often engaged in social action on behalf of the community . In attaining their goals, the settlement house reformers had an enviable record.
How did settlement houses affect the lives of immigrants?
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. Nonetheless, historians have found that settlement house workers held a very condescending attitude toward immigrant populations, one that dismissed native cultures and sought to impose decidedly white middle-class values. Despite any such limitations, settlement house workers raised public awareness of pollution issues, especially in the areas of health, sanitation, and city services. They influenced politicians and forced them to consider issues of importance to immigrants. Finally and equally importantly, settlement house workers provided a legitimate venue for women to become active in city politics and other national issues, such as the burgeoning women's suffrage movement.
What are some examples of settlement houses?
Probably the best-known example is Chicago Commons, founded in 1894 by the Reverend Graham Taylor, who was the first professor of Christian sociology at the Chicago Theological Seminary. He founded Chicago Commons partially as a social laboratory for his students. As Allen F. Davis has pointed out, of the more than 400 settlements established by 1910, 167 (more than 40 percent) were identified as religious, 31 Methodist, 29 Episcopal, 24 Jewish, 22 Roman Catholic, 20 Presbyterian, 10 Congregational, and 31 unspecified. In 1930, there were approximately 460 settlement houses, and most of these were church supported.
How did the settlement house movement affect World War I?
World War I had an adverse effect on the settlement house movement. The settlement houses declined in importance and there seemed to be less need of them. Gradually organizations such as the Young Men's Christian Association, summer camps, neighborhood youth centers, and other local and national agencies were established to carry on similar work. The settlement house movement gradually broadened into a national federation of neighborhood centers. By the early twentieth century, settlement houses were beginning to cooperate with, and merge into, " social work ." The settlement house movement led the way to community organization and group work practice within the newly proclaimed profession of social work.
What was the Toynbee Hall?
In the midst of this neighborhood (settlement), Toynbee Hall housed educated and wealthy people who served as examples, teachers, and providers of basic human services to the poor residents of the settlement.
How many settlement houses were there in 1930?
In 1930, there were approximately 460 settlement houses, and most of these were church supported. Settlement houses were run in part by client groups. They emphasized social reform rather than relief or assistance. (Residence, research, and reform were the three Rs of the movement.)
What were the enclaves of immigrants?
Ethnic enclaves sheltered immigrants who were experiencing isolation, new customs, and a strange language. Established in large cities, settlement houses were privately supported institutions that focused on helping the poor and disadvantaged by addressing the environ-mental factors involved in poverty.
What was the Hartley House Settlement?
Hartley House Settlement According to the Association, Hartley House was to be a small “homemaking” school, where poor girls could be taught to make and keep a home neat, tidy, and attractive, not for their own good merely , but for the good also of their families and husbands, brothers, and friends.".
What is Hamilton Madison House?
It is both a history of settlement work on the Lower East Side of New York City and an excellent example of community organization in a racially diverse neighborhood. This proposal was written in the first year that Community Action grants were being awarded as part of the War on Poverty.
What is Greenwich House?
Greenwich House, New York City "A settlement aims to get things done for a given neighborhood. It proposes to be the guardian of that neighborhood’s interests, and through identification of the interests of the settlement group with local interests, it forms a steadying and permanent element in a community which is more or less wavering and influx."
Why was Hamilton House founded?
Hamilton House was established in 1902 to help the new Italian immigrants who were suffering from Tuberculosis
What is the University House of Philadelphia?
University House of Philadelphia Written by John E. Hansan, Ph.D. "Members of the University of Pennsylvania’s Christian Association (CA) founded University Settlement House in 1898 ...to promote 'spiritual welfare of the students of the University of Pennsylvania by encouraging Christian fellowship and cooperation.' The organization linked its mission for Christian advancement with such social services as operating settlement houses for the poor and providing summer camps for kids from less fortunate families in the vicinity of the University campus.
What was the purpose of settlement houses?
Residents and volunteers of early settlement houses helped create and foster new organizations and social welfare programs, some of which continue to the present time. Settlements were action oriented and new programs ...
When was East Side House founded?
East Side House, New York City East Side House, founded in 1891, has served the Mott Haven section of the Bronx since 1963. Educational Alliance "Educational Alliance: A History of a Lower East Side Settlement House," by EJ Sampson. "The Educational Alliance...balanced the growing professionalization of settlement house work by becoming ...
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 Lucy Flower of Hull House do?
Lucy Flower of Hull House was involved in a variety of movements . Mary Parker Follett used what she learned in settlement house work in Boston to write about human relations, organization, and management theory, inspiring many later management writers, including Peter Drucker.
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 is a neighborhood center?
The term "neighborhood center" (or in British English, neighbourhood centre) is often used today for similar institutions, as the early tradition of "residents" settling in the neighborhood has given way to professionalized social work. Some settlement houses served whatever ethnic groups were in the area.
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.
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.
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.
What is UNH in Texas?
UNH also works for policy changes in child care, senior services, literacy, employment, housing, education, nutrition, and health care. In a very different part of the country, the Good Neighbor Settlement House was established in 1953 in Brownsville, Texas, and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
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.
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.
Why did Hull and Starr start kindergarten?
The enterprise expanded well beyond their expectations. Because the people who came to participate in their activities brought along so many children , Hull and Starr began a kindergarten program. Many more clubs and activities developed-some planned and some not. The flexibility and responsiveness of Hull House became the hallmark of settlement houses.
