Jane Addams, who had become a popular national figure, sought to help others outside Hull House as well. She and other Hull House residents often "lobbied" city and state governments. When they lobbied, they contacted public officials and legislators and urged them to pass certain laws and take other actions to benefit a community. For example, Addams and her friends lobbied for the construction of playgrounds, the setup of kindergartens throughout Chicago, legislation to make factory work safer, child labor laws, and enforcement of anti-drug laws.

Addams believed in an individual's obligation to help his or her community, but she also thought the government could help make Americans' lives safer and healthier. In this way, Addams and many other Americans in the 1890s and 1900s were part of the Progressive movement. For a while, they even had a political party. When Theodore Roosevelt ran for president for the Progressive Party in 1912, Jane Addams publicly supported him at the party convention.