The Urban Experience

The treasure hunt may finally end! In the ‘Historical Narrative’ section, under ‘Beginnings of Settlement Life in Chicago’, and ‘Garnering Support for Hull-House from the Clergy’ is an enlightening article about the involvement of religiously affiliated people with the establishment of Hull House.
Jane Adams and Ellen Starr clearly had some skill in networking. They garnered the support of Moody, Fourth Presbyterian, and Plymouth Congregational Churches, which then “gave the two young women an entre to the respectable and influential business elite engaged in Christian social outreach in the city associated with these congregations”. This groundwork of support is crucial in launching the Hull House program, as the support of several churches is helpful in validating the presence of the two women, alone in the city. While this public support offers a sense of legitimacy to the aims and goals of Adams and Starr, the article also mentions a clash between the conservative and liberal pastors. Clearly, Adams and Starr had to be careful to maintain the support of arguing benefactors, especially when “Adams and Starr received support from David Swing, originally at Fourth Presbyterian, where his views clashed with the conservative Presbyterian synod and with Cyrus H. McCormick, influential benefactor”. While the founders of Hull House were able to gain the support of several respectable churches in Chicago, these churches were not all united with each other, and their feuding certainly was a cause of concern for Jane Adams and Ellen Starr.