JACOB RIIS PROJECT

BACKGROUND

• When he went to New York he was homeless
• He saw the slum life and wanted everyone to know what it was like
• The tenement houses were dark so they used a camera with flash
• He wanted to publish a book to show everyone the proof

LIFE IN TENEMENTS

• Disease like tuberculosis
• Expensive rooms that were not very nice
• Tiny rooms that were overcrowded
• Sometimes no heat or water or plumbing
• Dirty

Why was Riis important?

He used photographs to show other people how life in the tenements was. He published his book "How the Other Half Lives" which opened people's eyes and made them get involved.

Riis photographs

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After Riis book, Theodore Roosevelt said "I have read your book, and I have come to help."

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