Final answer:
Settlement houses like Jane Addams' Hull House aimed to support the working poor by providing healthcare, education, childcare, legal aid, and were integral to social reform movements. These institutions helped shape labor and child welfare laws, advanced women's rights, and established the foundation for modern social work.
Step-by-step explanation:
The primary purpose of settlement houses such as Jane Addams' Hull House was to provide support and relief to the working poor, particularly working-class women and immigrants, in urban areas. Founded in 1889, Hull House and others like it offered access to healthcare clinics, legal aid, education, and childcare, thus serving as community centers for those in need. These centers also acted as hubs for social reform, giving rise to new legislation for child labor laws, housing laws, and worker's compensation laws, and were pivotal in progressive movements including women's suffrage and labor rights.
Jane Addams and her fellow workers were instrumental in this movement, providing social services while also engaging in sociological research that informed public policy. Through settlement houses, activists like Addams and her collaborator Florence Kelley contributed significantly to social welfare in the United States and laid the groundwork for the future of social work as a profession.