Jacob Riis

Shame of the cities by Lincoln Steffens revealed the living problems that the people and children faced in the city. They revealed how the building had the bathrooms outside and overcrowding. The “picture book” named How the other half lives by Jacob Riis also exposed the terrible living conditions of the slums and ghettos. One of the pictures showed two children on a subway vent struggling to keep their feet warm since they had no shoes. The bitter cry of the Children by John Spargo was a great…

● Muckrakers and Writers ○ Jacob Riis-How the other Half Lives-Showed awful conditions of tenements ○ Lincoln Steffens-The Shame of the Cities-Corruption of big city politics ○ Ida Tarbell-History of Standard Oil in McClure’s magazine ○ David Phillips-The Treason of the Senate-Discussed the corrupt Senate ○ Ray Baker-Following the Color LIne-First journalist to examine America's racial divide. ○ John Spargo-The Bitter Cry of the Children-Showed horrific working conditions of children. ● Voter…

The 19th century brought many industrial changes to the United States of America. These changes enticed millions of people to migrate from a variety of places such as Europe, Latin America, and Asia. There was also a lot of movement just within the United States. Thousands of African Americans traveled from the South to the developing northern cities. The amount of people living in these cities was phenomenal. The different temperaments and perceptions that all of these new people brought with…

People lose themselves when they acquire possessions. Family, friends, and even a person’s own life are in jeopardy. This insatiable desire to accumulate, threatens the very sanctity of society. Thankfully, literature fights against this impending doom. Particularly, E.L. Doctorow’s, Ragtime, and China Mieville’s, The Tain. Through characters, relationships, and locations, both authors present searing arguments against the accumulation of cultural property. Furthermore, both authors push for the…

(Huntington “Tenement-House Morality” 1887). Huntington claims that hard-working men and women leading noble and pure lives are just as present in tenement-houses as feeble minded and corrupt people. Jacob A. Riis claims that generations degrade in the slums because of “the influences that prevail there” (Riis “The Problem of the Children” 1892). This environment is not only degrading, but can be the only way of life. “The road to ruin, as we call it, is so fatally easy to them; who shall dare…

Immigrants often came to the United States around 1880 because there were so many opportunities. Their own countries were strongly lacking things that the U.S had such as jobs, democracy, and land. Still, the U.S gave many of the different immigrants a hard time. Immigrants often had to face hardships, but had graspable opportunity which explains the changing patterns in immigration during this time. Immigrants face many difficulties such as terrible living conditions and awful, even dangerous…

another Progressive reformer who specialized in living conditions in the cities. He is the father of architecture for skyscrapers. The Progressive Era was an era where Brooklyn Bridge was built. It is the first suspension bridge in the United States. Jacob Riis, was a very great Progressive reformer who was also a great muckraker who exposed the evil conditions of the cities with the tenement houses. Henry George was also another Progressive Reformer who specialized in living conditions in the…

Documentary and War Photography “Is it in the interest of purity that society should hang its morally stained linens upon its lines to be stared at?” Jacob Riis, a documentary photographer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries asked this very question in an effort to stir the thoughts of documentary photographers around the world, as well as their audiences. Documentary photography can be defined as a type of photography that documents historically relevant events and scenes as well as…

Within the Reconstruction era, Gilded Age, and up to the Roaring Twenties, strong reformation movements have sprung up across the United States. The vast majority of the reformers grew weary of the terrible conditions in housing, jobs, government, and corporations. These reformers changed throughout the decades, most important of such reformers were the Progressives. Utilizing the power of journalism such as the Muckrakers, voting, progressive presidents, protests, and media, the strengthening…

conditions were considered inferior. In the United States, investigative journalists, known as Muckrakers, wrote exposés of business practices, and progressive politicians campaigned for new laws. Notable exposés of sweatshop conditions include Jacob Riis' photo documentary How the Other Half Lives and Upton Sinclair's book, The Jungle about the meat packing industry. In 1911, negative public perceptions of sweatshops were galvanized by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City. The…