“The slum is the measure of civilization.” (Riis) Jacob August Riis, a photojournalist, and well-known social reformer was born in 1849 and lived to be sixty-five years old. Riis was born in Ribe, a rural part of Denmark and at the age of twenty-one immigrated to the America in the year of 1870. When Riis came to America he had forty dollars and one gold locket. Coming over with that little is the reason Riis experienced, first-hand, the struggles of poverty, suffrage, and so much more. With his real-life experience, he used his talents to write and photograph things that opened the eyes to many people about the authentic struggles of America. Understanding who Jacob Riis is, involves understanding his life in the tenements, how he contributed
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Without a job and no source of a steady income Riis moved into a tenement. A tenement in 1870 was referred to as “a New York Slum,”(Snapshot) and was a large apartment like building, seven to eight stories high that was overcrowded and full of immigrants, owners of these tenements were not understanding to the resident’s needs. The tenements would have one to two owners and the owner would usually have a store front on the ground level of the tenement and then would charge rent for the rooms above. Many people would become sick for the lack of cleanliness and others would die from the absence of fresh air during the summer months in these tenements. The reason so many people rented rooms in the tenements was the reason they were quick, easy, and cheap. On each level would be four apartments with usually only one source of plumbing that typically didn’t work very well. Living under these conditions, Riis genuinely experienced life in tenements, he saw the active crime, the crippling health, the absolute starvation among the immigrants, and much more that no one else could imagine. After searching high and low and working jobs like farming and bricklaying, Riis stumbled upon a job being a reporter for the New York Tribune. Riis primary focus was on the police activities and the crimes. This topic was something Riis knew very well but felt he could …show more content…
His investigative reporting was reaching the city as a whole and then he wrote the book “Children of the Poor” in a desire to help save more lives his weapon was exposing persuading and convincing with his photographs to help the less fortunate.
To fully understand who Jacob Riis was and the accomplishments he made involves understanding his life in the tenements, how he contributed to fast growing American cities, and how he used photojournalism to change America. Though Riis had a rough upbringing he made the most of his situation, worked hard, and did not give up and because of the he is a well-known photojournalist. He is someone we talk about with admiration, and teach the future generations about. Without Riis incitement, many people would have been overlooked and potentially have died much too
Without a job and no source of a steady income Riis moved into a tenement. A tenement in 1870 was referred to as “a New York Slum,”(Snapshot) and was a large apartment like building, seven to eight stories high that was overcrowded and full of immigrants, owners of these tenements were not understanding to the resident’s needs. The tenements would have one to two owners and the owner would usually have a store front on the ground level of the tenement and then would charge rent for the rooms above. Many people would become sick for the lack of cleanliness and others would die from the absence of fresh air during the summer months in these tenements. The reason so many people rented rooms in the tenements was the reason they were quick, easy, and cheap. On each level would be four apartments with usually only one source of plumbing that typically didn’t work very well. Living under these conditions, Riis genuinely experienced life in tenements, he saw the active crime, the crippling health, the absolute starvation among the immigrants, and much more that no one else could imagine. After searching high and low and working jobs like farming and bricklaying, Riis stumbled upon a job being a reporter for the New York Tribune. Riis primary focus was on the police activities and the crimes. This topic was something Riis knew very well but felt he could …show more content…
His investigative reporting was reaching the city as a whole and then he wrote the book “Children of the Poor” in a desire to help save more lives his weapon was exposing persuading and convincing with his photographs to help the less fortunate.
To fully understand who Jacob Riis was and the accomplishments he made involves understanding his life in the tenements, how he contributed to fast growing American cities, and how he used photojournalism to change America. Though Riis had a rough upbringing he made the most of his situation, worked hard, and did not give up and because of the he is a well-known photojournalist. He is someone we talk about with admiration, and teach the future generations about. Without Riis incitement, many people would have been overlooked and potentially have died much too