How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York (ePub)

Jacob August Riis (1849-1914) was a Danish-American social reformer, journalist, and photographer whose work focused on the plight of the urban poor. A pioneer in the use of photography as a means of social reform, Riis immigrated to the United States in 1870 and faced poverty himself before achieving success as a reporter for the New York Tribune. His most renowned work, 'How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York' (1890), exposed the squalid and dangerous living conditions in the slums of New York City through stark photographs and detailed observations, helping to initiate the Progressive Era. Riis's book combined photojournalism with moralistic storytelling, making it a groundbreaking contribution to the muckraking movement in American journalism. By revealing the human suffering behind urban poverty, Riis's advocacy helped to spur housing reform and improvements in living conditions for the underprivileged. His vivid descriptions and haunting imagery elicited an empathetic response from the public and influenced fellow reformers, including his friend, President Theodore Roosevelt. Riis's literary style merged reportage with a passionate call for reform, and his narratives remain a powerful historical window into the lives of the urban poor at the turn of the 20th century.