ipl-logo

How Did Jacob Riis Change During The Gilded Age

666 Words3 Pages

During the “Gilded Age”, numerous people immigrated to New York due to an enormous economic growth in the United States. They strove after a better life for themselves and their families but instead, they encountered poverty and discrimination. Jacob Riis, an activist and journalist, captured the living conditions of those who contributed to this economic growth on photographs and tried to bring greater awareness to this issue in his 1890 publication How the other half lives. In the course of this essay, I want to discuss how – and if so, in how far – Giis’ photographs are in accurate representation of living conditions in this era. I will put the main focus on the influence Riis’ work had considering the perception of the working-class. To do so, I will begin with a general overview of the “Gilded Age” and the immigrants’ situation during this era.
Afterwards, I will examine the characteristics of Riis’ work. Following this, I will show the immediate impact Riis’ publication had. …show more content…

It was coined by Mark Twain and is linked to the term “Golden Age”, thus aiming to show how upon first view, this era was seemingly a prosperous and booming one, but if one was to look deeper into socio-economic issues, they would be quick to realize that there were indeed people who paid for the economic growth. Giis managed to capture the living conditions of those who weren’t on the winning side of this economic upturn: His photographs of flats of the working class show that despite the general economic trend, a lot of people still had to live in extreme

Show More
Related

  • Jacob Riis How The Other Half Lives Summary

    1244 Words  | 5 Pages

    Jacob Riis in “How the Other Half Lives” is about the squalor that characterizes New York City’s working class immigrant neighborhoods. He describes deplorable conditions of these immigrants by providing specific examples, relaying them through quotation and images alike. Riis comments on the injustices that the residents of the tenements faced on a regular basis. So, with his attention to detail, Riis provided the contemporary reader with unsettling images of the poor and marginalized along with a few examples of the benefits of reform and reorganization in the poorer communities, to the benefit of residents. Another observer, Richard T. Ely, in “Pullman: A Social Study” writes about the community of Pullman, Illinois located in the suburbs of Chicago.

    Read More

  • Summary Of How The Other Half Lives By Jacob Riis

    280 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1870, Riis emigrated to the United States and spent the next years wandering the northeastern part of the country. He didn 't have a stable job so when he obtained a job as a police reporter for the New York Tribune his life turned around. He took a position with the Evening Sun, then through his newspaper work he became closely familiar with New York 's poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods. In the 19th century, he started exposing the life of the lower class in New York city. In How the other half lives by Jacob Riis, he discusses how the half that was on top really didn 't care much about other than themselves and how the poor suffer.

    Read More

  • How Did Jacob Riis Changed The World

    132 Words  | 1 Pages

    Article 2 Jacob Riis and how he changed the world. Jacob Riis was influential and life changing to the americans rich and poor of the late 19th century. Jacob Riis’s photos of the slums and tenement shocked thousands. His photography completely changed the minds of the rich and strongly motivated the progressive movement. Round Riis never directly created or change any laws but he laid the groundwork and the mindset need to create these changes.

    Read More

  • The Muckraker By Jacob Riis

    256 Words  | 2 Pages

    The muckrakers were a group of journalists who wrote in depth, investigative stories that exposed the problems in American society and urged the public to identify solutions (Progressivism PowerPoint). They sought to advance the spread of democracy, improve efficiency in government and industry, and promote social justice (U.S. History chapter 21). Jacob Riis a journalist and a photographer used photojournalism to capture the dismal and dangerous living conditions in working-class tenements in New York City in his book how the other half lives. In the book he showed pictures such as children sleeping in the street. This exposed Americans all over the country to the living conditions of the urban poor (U.S. History chapter 21).

    Read More

  • Jacob Riis Social Reforms

    665 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jacob Riis Jacob Riis was a social reformer, photographer, and author during the late 1800s. His photos and book helped improve the lives of many people. He brought the horrible living conditions of the poor to the eyes of the upper class. Most people had no idea how bad it was and it called for the need of man social reforms. Jacob Riis is historically significant and should be remembered for all of the reforms that he helped pass with his pictures of the poor living conditions.

    Read More

  • How Did The Gilded Age Affect People's Changing Culture

    491 Words  | 2 Pages

    A changing culture from the late 1870’s through 1900 became known as the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age was first used by Mark Twain in his book known as “The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today”. The Gilded Age is known as a time where corruption and bad living conditions occurred on the inside of the area, but on the outside everything seemed strong and powerful, especially to other immigrants. A lot of people migrated from other countries to become part of what they thought was a perfect society, but when they arrived they realized how terrible everyone was treated and how bad the government ran.

    Read More

  • Gilded Age Dbq

    941 Words  | 4 Pages

    The end of the reconstruction era gave rise to the gilded age. The gilded age was a time of economic growth. It was the second industrial revolution, urbanization, immigration and political/economic corruption. The congress and the big business were more influential than the presidency. The term ‘Gilded Age’ was termed by Mark Twain who described the wealthy who were covered in a ‘layer of gold’, a superficial layer can be peeled and reveals unpleasant things.

    Read More

  • How Did The Gilded Age Affect The Economy

    201 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Gilded Age was a time of economic growth as well as social changes that took place in the United States. During this time there was a rapid growth in industrialization, urbanization, and a rise of big businesses. However the Progressive Reformers didn't like the way things were going. During the Gilded Age we had several presidents such as Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, and Rutherford B. Hayes that were very well unliked by Americans. A lot of Americans didn't want to come to terms with politicians whom they felt would ruin the peace that was created after the Civil War.

    Read More

  • Politically, Economic And Social Effects Of The Gilded Age

    799 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jessica HillisMr. GillardAP US History5 January 2007Essay 16: Gilded AgeThroughout history, certain periods of time have been given certain names based on thehappenings that occurred. Many have called the period of 1865 to 1901 the “Gilded Age”, be-cause it was “shiny and pretty” on the outside but it was “rough and ugly” underneath. The term“Gilded Age” was actually coined by Mark Twain who satired the Gilded Age with a GoldenAge.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Gilded Age

    861 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Gilded Age lasted from 1870 to World War 1, “1900s.” The Gilded Age was a period of fast economic development, but also much social struggle. Mark Twain in the late nineteenth century founded the “Gilded” Age, which means covered with gold on the outside, but not really golden on the inside, for example, tin. This period of time was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. In other words, the outside looked beautiful, but the inside looked old and trashy.

    Read More

  • The Progressive Era And Social Welfare Reform

    400 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Progressive Era was a time period where people known as Muckrakers exposed the problems of everyday people like the poor living conditions while the progressives tried different ways to fix those problems. During this time, there were also six goals that they focused on protecting social welfare, promoting moral improvement, improving efficiency and labor, creating economic and government reforms. One of the major reforms of this time was the Social Welfare reform which helped to improve some of the problems that people faced such as poor housing, lack of education, and social welfare for women. In 1890, Jacob Riis published a book called How the Other Half Lives which exposed the harsh and poor living conditions of immigrants in tenement

    Read More

  • Importance Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

    870 Words  | 4 Pages

    If we take a non-fiction book that was written in 1922, we might ask ourselves whether the book is relevant in this day and age. One such book was written by the author F. Scott Fitzgerald and it goes by; “The Great Gatsby”. The contents of the novel actually hold pretty valuable and relatable materials regarding materialism in today’s society. It also touches on the idea that people are not what they seem to be even if they say they are. This in and of itself is highly relevant because human behavior stays fairly comprehensible throughout history.

    Read More

  • Visual Analysis Of Migrant Mother By Dorothea Lange

    374 Words  | 2 Pages

    Analysis of “Migrant Mother” The famous photo of the Dorothea Lange known as “Migrant Mother” has become an icon of the great depression. It is an image of mother and her three children. The photo was captured in 1936 in Nipomo, California. To analyze any piece of art is totally depending upon the reader’s perception, what the readers sees in that piece of art they can present their own views about it.

    Read More

  • The Economic Tension In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

    1899 Words  | 8 Pages

    Upton Sinclair portrays the economic tension in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries through his novel “The Jungle”. He used the story of a Lithuanian immigrant, Jurgis Rudkus, to show the harsh situation that immigrants had to face in the United States, the unsanitary and unsafe working conditions in the meatpacking plants, as well as the tension between the capitalism and socialism in the United States during the early 1900s. In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, there were massive immigrants move into the United States, and most of them were from Europe. The protagonist, Jurgis Rudkus, like many other immigrants, have the “America Dream” which they believe America is heaven to them, where they can

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of The Great Gatsby

    864 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man 's needs, but not every man 's greed.” As humans, we work hard in order to have the greatest opportunity to succeed in life, which will fulfill our wants. F Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, utilizes effective language and punctuation in the text, which helps him accomplish his purpose: Illustrate what material goods does to a society. From a rhetorical standpoint, examining logos, ethos, and pathos, this novel serves as a social commentary on how the pursuit of “The American Dream” causes the people in society to transform into greedy and heartless individuals.

    Read More

More about How Did Jacob Riis Change During The Gilded Age

Open Document