Sumner And Addams Analysis

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Comparison of Sumner and Addams Sumner was well educated and taught political and social science at one of the greatest universities in the country. He found teaching others very important, particularly on the subject of science. He further related evolution, focusing on Social Darwinism, to the issues he had observed in our struggling city life. Addams had graduated from Rockford College in Illinois and stressed education as well. However, she stressed that both formal and informal education were vital in helping those who were struggling from the “overpowering poverty of the overcrowded city.” Instead of focusing education to only the wealthier classes, she was usually teaching the poor and underprivileged and she taught basic life skills, such as sewing and cooking, as well as job training. Sumner believed that we needed to change the way in which we were assisting those …show more content…

He claimed that by trying to solve an issue without knowing the cause, we can further complicate the situation. His response to this idea was that we should “Mind your own business” because “Society… does not need any care or supervision.” Addams was considered a social doctor, but she also believed that it was vital to understand a problem before finding the solution. She studied the behaviors of those who were struggling in society and based her “remedies” off of what she found. She believed that the issues causing the problems in society were lack of resources for the underprivileged, as she explains “this over accumulation and destitution is most sorely felt in the things that pertain to social and educational advantages”. She focused on providing medical care, education, and proper living conditions to not only temporarily heal them, but to also give them the resources to thrive in their