Summary Of How The Other Half Lives By Jacob Riis

The year was 1887, and the place was New York City. Immigrants flooded into America’s streets in search of a better life, a life that fulfilled the American dream. The city was overcrowded, and the people were poor. The tenement district overflowed with new immigrants and one police reporter discovered light. The turn of the millennium was coming, and with it brought a new form of art. Photography was on the rise. Danish immigrant and New York City police reporter Jacob Riis took advantage of the camera and flashlight powder known as Blitzlichtpulver. Using this substance, Riis found he could create a harsh form of artificial light which would allow him to photograph in places never before seen by the average American. An avid voice for housing reform, Riis took this new …show more content…
Riis spent his time going from building to building in areas heavily populated by immigrants. He would burst into their homes unannounced and take pictures with a camera from the police department where he worked. He later compiled his photographs along with a narrative in his book How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York. Certain chapters consist of different neighborhoods within the tenement districts. Others showcase his opinions on social issues. In its entirety, the book gives an in-depth view into how Riis viewed immigrants in the New York City tenements. While Riis wrote the book to argue social justice and reform, it is in some ways a contradiction onto itself. He more than once talks about the