| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 107.5

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 107.5 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Canada and the United States

Jean Bethke Elshtain. Jane Addams and the Dream of American Democracy: A Life. New York: Basic Books. 2002. Pp. xxii, 329. $28.00.

At the time of her death in 1935, Jane Addams was unquestionably the most well-known American woman. As Jean Bethke Elshtain correctly points out, however, she has faded from the public memory despite the fact that "in one way or another, her name is attached to every major social reform between 1890 and 1923" (p. 16). Elshtain determines to restore Addams to a central place in American history by discussing her as an intellectual who was the author of twelve books and more than 500 essays, speeches, and other works. Elshtain's preface, "Interpreting a Life," outlines her approach: close readings of Addams's works interspersed with anecdotes of anonymous people taken from Addams's writing and titled and interpreted as parables to illustrate themes in Addams's social philosophy. The resulting intellectual history provides an intimate portrait of Addams as author and humanitarian based on an exhaustive examination of Addams's writings. 1

Addams read widely (in English, French, and German), and Elshtain connects Addams's life and work to these intellectual influences. John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress provides a framework for Addams's early life; protagonists from George Eliot's novels serve as illustrations for discussions of Addams's political philosophy; and Leo Tolstoy is a key figure in Elshtain's analysis of Addams's pacifism. This tactic serves to emphasize Addams's role as a significant literary and intellectual figure. . . .

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