Jacob Riis Research Paper

Many people lived in small, run-down apartments in cities called tenements. Like the cities, these tenements were also overcrowded, with some homes showing “six children on a single fire escape” (Document 6). With long work hours, many families were unable to come home and see their children; they were essentially separated. Some even described themselves as “a stranger am I to my child; and he one to me” (Document 2) due to the family separation. Another horrid living condition within the cities was pollution. With coal being the main source of power, especially in factories, it could create pollution (Document 3). The pollution could eventually cause breathing problems for the people within the cities, making the living conditions even worse. Even the “fast travel of railroad” (Document 5) could contribute to pollution, since it also ran on coal. Like the machines in the factories, it could create pollution as well since the coal could release potential toxins into the air, worsening living conditions even

Joel Rifkin, born January 20, 1959, lived in East Meadow, Long Island, where he was enrolled in Prospect Avenue Elementary School, was a serial killer who killed 17 women in the 1990s. He killed his first woman in 1989 and continued his killing spree until 1993 police tried to pull him over for a missing license plate and then discovered a corpse in his car. He was convicted the following year and then plead guilty to additional counts of murder. He is presently and inmate at the Clinton Correctional Facility in New York. During his childhood he was bullied, exclude from sports because of poor posture and also suffered from dyslexia and struggled in school, despite his high IQ. The torment continued into his teen years and eventually it wore

Riis covers many aspects of the poverty that has stricken the tenement lodgers but when talking about one end of the spectrum (poor) you also need to discuss the other (rich). With out telling people how the other half of the other half lives he's leaving out a crucial part of how people live in New York. By avoiding, that topic he's giving the illusion that all people in New York live in such cramped housing as tenements. When in reality New York was and is presently not composed of strictly tenement housing. There was a ‘rich' part of town where the thought of not having any money was never even contemplated. In addition, where the industrial revolution only touched higher societies on positive outcomes such as economics the industrial revolution only made it harder for the immigrants to get ahead. By this, meaning, that they worked harder, got paid little to nothing, and still had to compensate for the short comings that where being pressed against them because

Although the industrial industry played a major role, in how all the tenement dwellers made their incomes Riis never discussed that issue at any great length. He focused purely on the housing and the conditions of it. One of the examples of the conditions in the book refers to how dusty and full of dirt the buildings are. On page

Riis shows how society had long turned a blind eye to this less reality. As he informs the readers in How the other Half Lives, the upper classes had long harbored fear from the poor. This fact proved very useful for Riis as it gave him room to use fear-evoking arguments to convince the higher class that the social reform is essential for everyone’s good. Riis argued that the ever- growing poverty in America posed a high risk not only for immigrants living in the slums. He employed statistical data correlating the ever-growing poverty with the increase the crime rate as well as the rapid expansion of tenement, to warn the middle and high class that poverty is a serious risk for them too. Hi goes on to argue that the cholera epidemic showed Americans how devastating such widespread illness could be, especially in urban areas. He warned the middle and high class that the tenements were the hotbeds for such epidemics and reminded them that such deceases never discriminate but bring death to the rich and poor alike.

Kyvigs use of both authentic photographs and census statistics helps better exemplify his statements as supporting evidence to his thesis.

As immigrants migrated to the United States, cities became cramp, living conditions were poor, and working conditions were careless. In document one, the image taken by Jacob Riis, in 1890, shows a group of immigrants living in a tiny and filthy room. It is clear that all five of the men live in that single room because there is a stove, pans, and a bed all in one area. It is also clear that they have a poor living condition because there are cracks in the wall and dirty clothes. Also, Jacob Riis is known for his work How

The essay will conclude by revealing through the use of evidence which was the dominant factor in the speech in gaining support

“Greatly moved by Riis's book, Roosevelt began to accompany him on many of his nightly journeys through the slums of New York. Roosevelt admired Riis, and when he became president he offered Riis government positions. Riis refused, however, claiming his work was in the city. By the turn of the twentieth century, Riis's work had started to take effect and improvement began to occur. New Yorkers demanded action to renovate the city's slums. School playgrounds and boys' and girls' clubs were established. The city water was purified, which reduced epidemics of yellow fever, smallpox, and cholera. The police station lodging houses for the homeless were eliminated and more humane shelters were created. Riis helped force the destruction of overcrowded

Conditions in these were terrible, Most people had no lights or any air. They were overcrowded. They were very dirty. Laws were eventually made to improve the conditions in these tenement houses. They made changes because people were dying from terrible conditions.

Riis wrote about different ethnic groups when he was living in New York. He wrote about greedy Jews, drunken Irish, and sloppy Italians. Riis also wrote with Christian morality. He blamed the faults of the above mentioned people on the poor living conditions that they were in. Like any other photographer or author, Riis’s motive must be figured out. It was already clear that he wanted change for the slums but in his pictures, the authors of the passage describe some pictures having Riis’s Christian morality in play. Riis highlights the needs for stable, wholesome families. The picture of page 191 is an example of a non-wholesome family. The home is supposed to be a resting place but factory work made its way into the home, making the entire family work. Photos like these were examples of Riis’s motives behind his photos. The photo on page 193 called “Room in a tenement flat” showed a family portrait. The room that they were in was very crammed and Riis again shows a family in poor living conditions. Riis also photographed many children, like the ones in “street arabs” on page 195. The photo is heart wrenching and captivates any viewer because of the pitiful place they had to sleep in.

Living in a poorhouse in the 1800’s was considered normal because poor families couldn’t support themselves. “They are believed to have slept six people to one bed,” (Document 6) which is very disturbing because there aren’t any showers back then or even hospitals. It is a huge negative because of how horrible pollution and illnesses were commonly spread easily and killed off more people. Furthermore children were affected during this time because they had to stay at home in dangerous living situations with no protection. Luckily, this is a positive affect because child labor laws were passed. A huge defect is while they sat home, they weren’t being educated. Another main key point in this writing is children not being able to have an education. Instead of going to school and learning children were forced to work laboriously for a long amount of time. “From six in the morning till seven at night,” (Document 7). I acknowledge the suffering the children had to go through because they didn’t have a regular childhood. They were brought up in the world believing that working just to get by is normal

I have chosen for the week’s discussion the photography of Jacob Riis. Jacob Riis was a photojournalist that told whom shed light on the living conditions of the impoverished citizens in New York.

many of the wealthy families although aware of the reality most ignored it. The new incoming immigrants were not as aware of the actuality of western life. Despite their lack of knowledge, in their native countries their lives apparently were much worse when compared to America. There were many reasons that native Europeans left, the lack of democracy was one. As stated earlier a majority of Europe was a monarchy at the time; the commoners had no free will basically. An insignificant amount of people who left for religious freedom. This book shocked society into facing these problems. The fact that Riis did not paint some pretty story for the reader to read and be happy; he stated the facts. He did this to clarify the need for reform throughout the city. Although Riis showed prejudice against certain members of the slums. Riis’s novel sparked interest in the readers the nation called for reforms. His book was written near the start of the Progressive Era. New reforms for the betterment of society were being made. One that helped tenements was the Tenement House Act of 1867 which clearly defined what a tenement must and must not have. Riis’s friendship with Roosevelt helped him to bring upon changes like the park that is now named after him; he said that crime would drop if only the kids who lived in the slums were able to have fresh air away from temptation. With Roosevelt’s

The lowborn workers toiled away for hours in physically exhausting jobs only to afford apartments that were sterile and cold. “There were some nine cots in the place . . . he was sick of the bareness and privation connected with his venture” (Dreiser, 304). The pay affected the men and woman’s own mode of life. They were forced to share living spaces with other families and more often than naught, had to bunk with complete strangers. The very comforts associated with a home, such as wood and furniture, were often too large of an expense. Even with Governmental/ Charity handouts the citizens had no money in which they could afford better living conditions. The rooms they were given to stay in were cold and sterile, and they were not guaranteed a place to stay every night.