Harriet Elizabeth Vittum (February 14, 1872 – December 16, 1953) was an American social reformer, especially active in the

settlement 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 s ...

in Chicago.

Early life

Vittum was born in

Canton, Illinois Canton is the largest city in Fulton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,704 at the 2010 census, down from 15,288 as of the 2000 census. The Canton Micropolitan Statistical Area covers all of Fulton County; it is in turn, part ...

, the daughter of George B. Vittum and Delia A. Burrell Vittum. Her father was a merchant, and she had three brothers. Harriet_E

Career

Vittum had social reform interests from an early age, as evidenced when she opened a clinic in her family's home in Canton. She moved to Chicago in 1893, initially to work at the Illinois pavilion at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

, and later working with the Illinois

Children's Aid Society Children's Aid, formerly the Children's Aid Society, is a private child welfare nonprofit in New York City founded in 1853 by Charles Loring Brace. With an annual budget of over $100 million, 45 citywide sites, and over 1,200 full-time employee ...

. She started a milk station for infants, and worked for school nurses, playgrounds, night school classes, and summer camps. Vittum was head resident of the

Northwestern University Settlement The Northwestern University Settlement House is an Arts and Crafts movement, Arts and Crafts style house located at 1400 West Augusta Boulevard in Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, United States. The Settlement Association was founded in 1891 ...

. She was active in the suffrage movement, civic director of the Woman's City Club, and president of the Chicago Kindergarten Institute. In 1914, Vittum ran for alderman in Chicago's 17th ward. She also ran for a seat on the

Cook County Board of Commissioners The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the Uni ...

. In 1915, she was elected mayor of Eleanor Model City, a civics project of the Eleanor Association of Chicago. In 1918, she debated Clarence Darrow on the topic of film censorship, noting "I believe that motion pictures ought to be an important educational and social asset." She was a friend to Black social worker Ada S. McKinley; they marched together and gave joint lectures. She worked on the presidential campaigns of Charles Evans Hughes in 1916, and Leonard Wood in 1920. Vittum spoke about her work in Chicago at women's groups. "We so-called Americans who have lived here for several generations need to Americanize ourselves," she told an Iowa audience in 1924. "We must remake within ourselves something of the true American spirit before we can make the foreigners who come here see what it means."

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

mentioned breakfast with Vittum in a 1938 newspaper column. In 1940, Vittum was founder and president of Roll Call of American Women, a women's organization opposed to American involvement in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; Jessamine Hoagland was the organization's treasurer. During both

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and World War II, she was director of Illinois' Woman's Committee of the

Council of National Defense The Council of National Defense was a United States organization formed during World War I to coordinate resources and industry in support of the war effort, including the coordination of transportation, industrial and farm production, financial s ...

. She retired from the Northwestern University Settlement in 1947. In 1948, she testified at a joint Congressional hearing on housing, and advocated for improved housing and recreational opportunities in Chicago's Northwest Town neighborhood.

Publications

* "Culture of Family Life from the Social Settlement Standpoint" (1914) * "Neighborhood Development" (1914) * "The House and the Delinquent Child" (1917) * "The Evolution of the Christmas Spirit" (1920)

Personal life and legacy

Vittum lived at the Alexandria Hotel after retiring from the Northwestern University Settlement. She died after a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in 1953, aged 81 years. There is a Harriet Elizabeth Vittum Park in Chicago, named in her memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vittum, Harriet 1872 births 1953 deaths American social reformers Suffragists from Illinois People from Canton, Illinois Clubwomen