
Settlement houses were an effort by middle-class reformers to aid the lives of immigrants in large American cities beginning in the late 19th century. In these centers, immigrants participated in English and other classes, were active in clubs for sewing and other events, and enrolled their children in day care and kindergarten.
What did the settlement house movement lead to?
The settlement house movement led the way to community organization and group work practice within the newly proclaimed profession of social work. Axinn, June, and Herman Levin. Social Welfare: A History of the American Response to Need. 4th ed. White Plains, N.Y.: Longman, 1997.
How many settlement houses were there in 1918?
By 1918, settlement houses had become permanent fixtures on the urban landscape, with 400 of them stretching across the country. 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.
Why were women's paths blocked in the settlement houses?
These women' paths might otherwise have been blocked because of their gender, according to Margaret Berry, past executive director of the United Neighborhood Centers Association, Inc., who wrote a history of settlement houses. The “settlement house” was at one time practically synonymous with social work in this country.
Do settlement houses still exist?
As the National Association of Social Workers celebrates the social work profession' 100th birthday this year, it pays tribute to some institutions as old as social work itself. One is the settlement house. Settlement houses have changed, but contrary to many people' perceptions, they do exist.

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 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 United Kingdom 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 main effect of settlement houses on urban communities?
Settlement houses allowed them to live in and experience urban poverty, learn about the people there, and then figure out ways to improve the situation. For example, Lillian Wald, a nurse and pioneer of settlement houses in the U.S., joined other nurses and moved to the Lower East Side of New York City.
Who did the settlement houses help?
European immigrantsSettlement 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 help the poor quizlet?
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 was one purpose of the settlement house movement in the United States quizlet?
It provided services to the poor and immigrants. They had recreational activities like sports, choral groups, and theater. Also provided classes for immigrants and the poor to learn English and American Government.
What was a goal of the settlement houses like Hull House in Chicago?
Hull-House became not only a cultural center with music, art, and theater offerings, but also a safe haven and a place where the immigrants living on Chicago's Near West Side could find companionship and support and the assistance they needed for coping with the modern city.
What was the settlement house movement and who started it?
In 1889, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr launched Hull House in Chicago. As word of these experiments spread, other settlements appeared in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Hull House inspired Charles Zueblin to organize Northwestern University Settlement in 1891.
Where did the settlement houses spread?
Led by passionate reformers like Ward and Addams, settlement houses spread to dozens of major cities across America and became fixtures in places such as Chicago, Boston, and New York. By the turn of the 20th century, the Northeast and Midwest boasted hundreds of settlement houses. Settlement Houses: Effects.
What is settlement house?
Settlement Houses: Definition. In a poor, immigrant neighborhood on Chicago's West Side in 1889, a well-dressed and well-off young lady drew the attention of residents. She was misplaced among the grime, dilapidated buildings, and scenes of poverty. Over time, however, Jane Addams became a fixture of South Halsted Street after she leased two floors ...
How did Addams influence the Hull House?
Addams used the influence of Hull House to pressure governments to pass improved construction and safety laws and other legislation that addressed the conditions of the urban poor. Addams herself became a garbage inspector in Chicago's West Side.
How old was Jane Addams when she moved to South Halsted Street?
Over time, however, Jane Addams became a fixture of South Halsted Street after she leased two floors of the Hull House, an old structure built by Charles Hull. Twenty-nine-year-old Jane Addams was a reformer of the Progressive Era, which was a period from the 1890s to around 1920.
Why did the Reformers build settlement houses?
Second, settlement houses served a purpose for the reformers themselves, who were mostly college-educated women like Jane Addams. These women wanted to do things with the poor, not just do things for the poor. Settlement houses allowed them to live in and experience urban poverty, learn about the people there, and then figure out ways to improve the situation. For example, Lillian Ward, a nurse and pioneer of settlement houses in the U.S., joined other nurses and moved to the Lower East Side of New York City. She said they wanted ''to live in the neighborhood as nurses, identify ourselves with it socially, and contribute to it our citizenship.''
What did progressives do to help the poor?
Progressives sought ways to bring greater democracy to Americans, to make government more efficient, and, like Addams, clean up urban areas and help those in poverty, with the goal of trying to close the gap between rich and poor. Hull House was a settlement house, an institution located in mainly poor and immigrant areas of major cities, ...
What were the two main functions of settlement houses?
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
Why were settlement houses important?
In addition to providing social services, settlement houses became central locations for workers involved in political reform as it related to labor, women, and economics. Reformers worked toward legislation to
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 were the concerns of the Progressive Era?
Social settlements addressed Progressive Era concerns: education (with adult classes, kindergartens, and vocational training); citizenship; recreation; health (with visiting-nurse networks and health inspections); labor, unions, and working standards; and living conditions (establishing housing codes). Many programs became standard to education and government. Early settlement house support came through an independent board of directors or a particular religious or educational affiliation. While supporters and settlement workers were generally native-born, Protestant and middle- or upper-middle-class, clients in the early years were mostly Catholic or Jewish working-class immigrants. This difference between the settlement worker and neighborhood resident clearly distinguished the American settlement movement.
What was the impact of the settlement house on the South during World War I?
The war diverted attention from reform and Congress drastically restricted immigration. The first wave of African Americans out of the South changed settlement neighborhoods , and residents and trustees were slow to respond.
What association perpetuated the names of the original settlement houses?
However, the Chicago Commons Association (1948–) and Hull House Association (1962–), both loose federations of former settlements, neighborhood centers, and social service agencies, perpetuate the names and at least some of the aspirations of the original settlement houses. Carson, Mina.
What were the first settlements in America?
In 1889, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr launched Hull House in Chicago. As word of these experiments spread, other settlements appeared in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Hull House inspired Charles Zueblin to organize Northwestern University Settlement in 1891. The following year, Graham Taylor started Chicago Commons and Mary McDowell took charge of University of Chicago Settlement near the stockyards. By 1900, there were more than 100 settlements in America; 15 were in Chicago. Eventually there were more than 400 settlements nationwide. The most active and influential ones were in the large cities of the Northeast and Midwest.
What happened to Hull House in Chicago?
In Chicago, Hull House was displaced by a new university campus; closure of the stockyards and packinghouses undermined the University of Chicago Settlement; a new expressway destroyed much of the Chicago Commons neighborhood; and the Chicago Federation of Settlements expired in the 1980s. However, the Chicago Commons Association (1948–) and Hull House Association (1962–), both loose federations of former settlements, neighborhood centers, and social service agencies, perpetuate the names and at least some of the aspirations of the original settlement houses.
What were the first activities of the American settlements?
Thus the first outreach was to children and mothers, through day care nurseries, kindergartens , and small play lots. Mothers' clubs , English classes, and groups interested in arts, crafts, music, and drama followed. The early residents paid room and board, and volunteered as group leaders or teachers. As their numbers increased and programs expanded, the settlements incorporated and trustees raised money to purchase or build larger quarters. These structures accommodated gymnasiums, auditoriums, classrooms, and meeting halls, as well as living space and communal dining facilities for a dozen or more residents. Settlements welcomed meetings of trade unions, ethnic groups, and civic organizations. Some established country summer camps, and a few developed their music programs into serious schools. Many exchanged information through city federations, the first of which was established by the Chicago settlements in 1894. Approximately half of the American settlements, usually the smaller ones, had religious sponsors and comparatively small programs. The rest eschewed religious orientation because it was bound to offend at least some of their neighbors.
What did the Chicago settlements do?
Settlements welcomed meetings of trade unions, ethnic groups, and civic organizations. Some established country summer camps, and a few developed their music programs into serious schools. Many exchanged information through city federations, the first of which was established by the Chicago settlements in 1894.
Why did the National Federation of Settlements start?
Although settlement residents had been admitted to the National Conference of Charities and Correction in the late 1890s, they nevertheless established a National Federation of Settlements in 1911 to coordinate their reform efforts and enhance their impact on public policy.
What was the purpose of settlement houses?
Settlement houses were an effort by middle-class reformers to aid the lives of immigrants in large American cities beginning in the late 19th century. In these centers, immigrants participated in English and other classes, were active in clubs for sewing and other events, and enrolled their children in day care and kindergarten. The numbers of houses grew rapidly in the Progressive Era -- from about 100 such houses in 1900 to more than 400 by 1910.
What were the settlement houses in the 1930s?
The Catholic Worker Movement in the 1930s adopted the concept of settlement houses in the form of "hospitality houses." In the South, evangelical denominations used settlement houses for purposes of evangelism. The Methodists had "Wesley Houses" and the Southern Baptists had "Good Will Centers" (unrelated to modern Good Will Organizations).
Why did the middle class reformers establish settlement houses?
Starting in the late 19th century, middle-class reformers established settlement houses to aid the lives of immigrants in large American cities. The most famous House in America was Jane Addams’ Hull House in Chicago, founded in 1889. Though reformers originally founded settlement houses to aid immigrants, American-born working-class poor also benefited from the programs. More than 100 houses formed by 1900 and more than 400 by 1910.
What denominations ran settlement houses?
Thus, a pejorative attitude developed. However, Methodist Episcopal Church, South and the Southern Baptist Convention’s Woman’s Missionary Union ran settlement houses with programs similar to their northern counterparts. The Methodists called their ministries Wesley Houses and the Southern Baptists, Good Will Centers (not connected with the modern Good Will Organization).
What was the common move for the Reformers?
A common move for the reformers was from the Settlement Houses into the political realm. Seeing needs in the working-class neighborhood drove the women to push for national laws regarding child labor and working hours and conditions. Others negotiated with local governments for better city sanitation and regulation of housing standards.
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 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.
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.
Where did Ramey work?
Ramey once headed the Neighborhood Settlement in Akron, Ohio, and labored in other settlements. “Today, there are other community-based organizations, including Ys, community centers, and neighborhood centers that work with that same orientation,” he adds.
What was the settlement house movement?
America’s settlement house movement was born in the late 19th century. The Industrial Revolution; dramatic advances in technology, transportation, and communication; and an influx in immigrants caused significant population swells in urban areas. City slums emerged where families lived in crowded, unsanitary housing.
What did settlement workers do?
Settlement workers and other neighbors were pioneers in the fight against racial discrimination. Their advocacy efforts also contributed to progressive legislation on housing, child labor, work conditions, and health and sanitation. Pioneers in the movement gather for a meeting of the National Federation of Settlements.
What was the meeting of the Pioneers in the movement?
Pioneers in the movement gather for a meeting of the National Federation of Settlements.
Who founded the Andover House?
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.
When did the United Neighborhood Centers of America start?
In 1911, a group of settlement house movement pioneers founded the National Federation of Settlements, which was renamed United Neighborhood Centers of America (UNCA) in 1979 .
Where is closing held?
The closing can be held in any agreed upon location, such as your title and settlement services ’ office, your lender’s office, or a real estate attorney’s office. Once everyone is in the right room, business can begin. One of the main tasks you’ll be doing is reading and signing all of your loan documents.
Who is in attendance at a closing?
Aside from you and the seller of the house, other people who might be there include your or the seller’s attorney, real estate agents, a closing agent (someone from your title and settlement services company ), as well as a loan officer, if you hired a local lender.
Can you walk through the front door of a new home?
Sure it can be a long process, but once you walk through the front door of your new home, you’ll be happy you braved through it.
Should you schedule a closing for the last week of the month?
Our advice would be to avoid scheduling settlement for the last week of the month. There is a misconception in the real estate industry that if you make settlement at the end of the month, it saves the buyer money. Not only is this not true, but many lenders are so overwhelmed with the number of closings that are scheduled for the last week of the month, your chances for a delay increase significantly.

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...
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.