Essay: Hilda Polacheck and Jane Addams

The life of Hilda Polacheck offered extraordinary insight into the roles of women during the late 19th and early 20th century. This period in time is better understood as a time of ongoing constraints for women, despite the continued success that Hilda had as an immigrant and more importantly a woman. Women faced limitations every day that were especially prominent through their lack of rights, the treatment they were subjected to in the workplace, and lastly through the traditional roles they were expected to follow. During the late 1800’s to early 1900’s Hilda Polacheck’s life revealed an abundance of insightful information pertaining to the roles of women through their civil participation, acceptance and involvement towards bettering communities of all ethnicities and nationalities, and lastly through their traditional motherly roles and more specifically the extreme sacrifices that mothers had to make for their families.
The roles women had in regards to civil participation was up and coming during Hilda Polachecks life. Prior to being well versed in the ways of American life, Hilda was under the impression that men had more power than women, and therefore should be treated better. In fact she had stated that, “my father had come to America, I kept saying to myself, because here in this wonderful country a man was free to say what he wanted, even if he was wrong.”. This idea as stated by the father she loved and trusted showed how America felt about women. Women were not supposed to speak out. Men could speak out, and they always had the benefit of the doubt. They were held with high regard in areas of politics and were given a voice. Although what her father had told her seemed great, she was young and did not realize that it was unjust that women would not have the same treatment. Hilda Polacheck, after experiencing America for herself, quickly changed her ways and believed fighting for women’s rights independently and collectively was what she wanted to stand for. A role model of hers, Jane Addams, had shown the capability women had in participating in the community. One incident where Jane Addams had showed the power women had in addressing public concerns was when she had called the attention of the health department to the unsanitary conditions present in Chicago. The department claimed it was under control, but with the backing of some businessmen she put in a bid to collect garbage. In some time she was appointed garbage inspector of the ward. Jane Addams, a woman, was given a role in the community after addressing pressing concerns. She took action where it was needed, and started to try and fix the community in which she lived. Another time a problem existed with public baths, Jane Addams decided she would somehow come up with a solution. Jane Addams wanted to show that people would use public bathing facilities if they were offered to them. However, the board had claimed people would not use the facilities and it would be a major waste of public funds. So after Jane Addams got proof that people used them by having 3 baths put into the Hull House Basement, the Board of Health decided to open the first public bathing facility in all of Chicago. In Miss Addam’s words ,“Our contention was justified by the immediate and overflowing use of the public baths”. After Hilda was introduced to Hull House she wanted to make a way for herself. Hull house had taught her what she needed, and after being an apprentice to the inspiring and determined Jane Addams, she soon became a woman who was determined to make her own way in the world. Hilda had taken many jobs over the course of her life, and although that sounds impressive it also meant she left many of them. One incident where Hilda had a problem with the treatment of employees, was during her time as a bill clerk. Her responsibility was to operate the billing machine, but she was not permitted to talk to the girl next to her. They were given notecards, in which the color of each card would mean different things. After some time working for the company, Hilda’s voice started showing the toll being mute at work had. In response Hilda, “..made a feeble protest. I saw no reason why I could not speak to the girl next to me once in a while. The next day I was told that I was “too smart” for the job, and I was fired” Although the girls were experiencing jail like treatment, the inhuman aspect that the job offered failed to inspire other workers to speak out. Hull House had showed Hilda the power of using her voice, and the power of reasoning. As a result she was fired, but she successfully engaged civically and stood up for herself. Over time Hilda had became well aware that women were treated like second-class citizens, they paid taxes but lacked a voice in determining where those taxes were to be spent. They had no voice in making a difference and had insufficient numbers that were needed to create change. Hilda faced the on going constraints women had, especially in the workplace. Even though she had learned to speak out against this, other women would not necessarily follow in her footsteps. Unfortunately it was an ongoing problem, and for change to happen women needed time and numbers. The role women had in civil participation was lacking, however, figures like Hilda Polacheck and Jane Addams were the very reason one day a change would come. They both showed that participating in pressing concerns of the community and country at large was of grave importance. They knew that what they were doing was considered to be odd during the time period, but they did not care because they were playing their role in the community and trying to better the place around them, despite their gender.
Being a mother meant taking on a role that was never per say easy. Traditionally mothers were expected to stay home and take care of the children while the father was at work. As shown by Hilda’s childhood, her mother was always at home cooking, and watching the children. Louis Satt would go work on tombstones all day, making a wage that could provide for his family. They were more than comfortable during their time outside the U.S but it was when they made the move to the states that everything changed. Hilda’s father would never have wanted Mrs.Satt, or any of his girls to have to work. But even he could not control what was to happen when he unfortunately became very ill and died in 1894. The family became poverty stricken and it changed the mother’s role dramatically. Hilda’s mom had never worked before, but she was forced to provide an income for the family. At the same time she was still maintaining the role of the traditional mother, she took care of the children, provided them with food, and was the glue of the family. However, a mom can only do so much when faced with hardship and she had to make sacrifices for the family that would unfortunately change the whole dynamic of the Satts. In fact, “children, by going to school and to work, did come in contact with forces in American life and had a better chance of becoming Americanized.” School was a place where opportunity was given to immigrants. Becoming part of the American culture meant a lot, and it offered a new way of life. It was very important for the girls to go to school, and therefore Rose and Hilda had both attended one. Rose ended up leaving school to work at a knitting factory and help support her mother. Then, at the age of 13 Hilda decided she was to join her sister. The wages they made were a necessity to support the family. It was a huge sacrifice made by the girls, and by the mother. The girls gave up on an education for a low paying salary that would offer them bare necessities. The mother allowed them to do so, even though it was upsetting to see them leave school. As any mother would, she wanted what was best for her daughters. But at the same time she knew this ever changing choice would allow the family to survive economically. They both made sacrifices for the bettering of the family and this was hard for the girls, but hardest for the mom who had to see the girls choose a less promising and exhausting way of life. Interestingly enough, Hilda had faced this same hardship when Bill had died. She had four children and Bill’s income was something they previously relied on. Hilda was forced to find work, just like her mother, and it was a great burden. Something that set her apart of her mother was that she was involved outside the house when her husband had died. Hilda had to give up certain activities that she had enjoyed in order to take care of her family. As shown throughout the book, mothers had a very unique role in society during this time period. Traditionally they were to be married, produce children, cook, and take care of the home. However, mothers also had to be willing to sacrifice much more than their husband would ever have to. If a husband lost his wife, he would most likely remarry, thus having the void of his wife filled. But as shown through Hilda and her mother, it was not the same for women. Therefore women played a role that was hard to define during this time period. If they became poverty stricken then they would have to sacrifice the way of life they had adjusted to. They would have to make choices that were needed, but not always wanted. The role women played in society was perhaps one that was unnoticed, but they were in a strange way equally important to the structure of the family. The roles of women during the 1800-1900’s was one of great sacrifice, as well as one of great importance as shown through Hilda Polacheck’s interesting life.
The last but most important role that women played was through their involvement in communities and the less fortunate. Jane Addams used hull house as, “a laboratory for experiments in human needs. These experiments were so ably demonstrated that the city fathers could not ignore them.” Jane Addams used Hull House to experiment with all of her ideas to better the life of people. She became very much involved in the struggles of older immigrants, young people, and anyone and everyone who needed a little help. She convinced a man who inherited property that he should tear down the building and build a playground. This would be best for the people of the town because children were put in danger having to play in unsafe places. After some thought the man readily agreed and the first Chicago playground was born. Amazingly, “that playground became an example for the entire country. And today, not only has Chicago the finest system of playgrounds, but the city also supports the best system of social centers.” Hull house was a place of opportunity and it would never had gotten anywhere without Jane Addams. One of her amazing projects during her lifetime was the help and guidance she gave to Hilda. She took her in as one of her own children, and allowed her to grow as a person. She offered the facilities of Hull House to everyone, and the greatness of the facility is shown through Hilda Polacheck. At one point a man named Mr.Chandler gave a writing class at Hull House and because of Hilda’s impressive paper she was offered a full scholarship to attend the University of Chicago. She was to be an unclassified student, and her grades were irrelevant. The most impressive part of the eventful news was that a high school diploma was not required. A place created for helping the community had gotten a girl into college, because of the connections that were created by Miss.Addams. This place had given people the best experiences of their life. Hilda had proclaimed, “the day I picked up the Hull-House Bulletin and saw my name listed as a teacher of an English class equaled the day when I was told that I could go to the University of Chicago.” Not only did Hilda get to learn at Hull house, but she worked, and became very involved there. The best way to show the impact both Jane Addams and Hull house had on people was by knowing the story of Miss.Addams. Hilda had said that the, “almost daily contacts with Jane Addams gave me an abiding faith in the true principles of Americanism. She was a firm believer in freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.” Jane Addams simply believed that the world could change, but failed to realize the impact that economic problems had on people. She had hope when nobody else did, and she became a leader for many Americans. Jane Addams made people feel inspired and helped young people get something right in their life. Whether it was keeping them out of jail, helping them pursue a music or arts career, or even finding them a job to make income for their families. She made people love the country and that alone is why she was such an important and influential woman. Her role was to give her service to the people of Chicago, to the people of the United States, to humanity and more importantly to anyone who needed a little help or guidance. The most important role of women during this time period was to inspire change. Hull House did not simply focus on helping out women, but their aim was to help out unfortunate people. It showed that although women had gotten the short end of the stick, they weren’t going to be mean to men who had wronged them. Hull House wanted to change the world, and what women did was show that despite ongoing constraints they faced, the overall well being of society and the country was more important than anything else. Although they primarily rallied behind issues of women’s rights, they supported any cause that wanted to stop the corruption present. Through people like Miss.Addams and Hilda it became evident that role of women was overall to better the world, and change the direction of where the United States was headed during the 1900s.
The Progressive Era was a time of change. One of the main issues was women’s rights, however the time also presented many problems with human rights and how the United States was ran. This time period was all about fighting for bettering the lives of individuals and making life more bearable and fair for everyone, despite gender or background. Hilda Polacheck and Jane Addams were two very influential women who attempted to tackle some of these ongoing problems. One of the biggest problems during this era was women’s rights, how they were treated in the workplace, and the traditional roles they were supposed to follow. As presented through Hilda Polachecks life, a great amount of information is revealed about women’s roles in society during the late 19th and early 20th century. It showed that women made many sacrifices in order to support their family, participated greatly in the community, and most importantly played a huge role in bettering the status of the United States. Despite ongoing constraints being present throughout the period shown in the book, it was spectacular how some women ignored this and still fought for a better society. Hilda Polacheck’s life simply shows the impressive nature of women to be patient and not back down, and it truly exemplifies all the important roles women have played in society throughout history.