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How Did Jacob Riis Impact Society

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The mid-1820s to 1980s was known as the Progressive Era. In this era, many economic and social changes transformed America. Progressives are people who sought for these changes by documenting, taking pictures, or even radically getting their point across. One such person was a man named Jacob Riis. In this essay we will travel through the life of Jacob Riis; from his birth to his death, his works and impact on society then and now. Jacob Riis was born on May 3, 1849 in Ribe, Denmark and died on May 26, 1914 at the age of 65. He was the third of fifteen children in his family. His father, Niels Edward Riis, was a schoolteacher and sometimes wrote for the town newspaper. His mother, Carolina Riis, was a homemaker (stay at home mom). Out of his …show more content…

The ways in which he attempted to aid these immigrants was publishing a book called How the Other Half Lives. This book was read by thousands and released the awful conditions for living and work. This book was an awakening for society on basically how immigrants and the poor live and work. Theodore Roosevelt, who read Riis’ book, called Riis “ the best American I ever knew”. He also gave lectures to raise awareness along with newspapers, and books. Riis wrote many other books such as The Battle with the Slums and Children of the Tenements. Both these books mainly focused on life in tenements, but also on work condition and living in this time as a child. Jacob Riis is classified as a Progressive because he sought to change what he though was wrong. In Riis’s case he thought having more than one family in tenements was wrong. Or the fact that working in extremely unsafe working conditions was wrong. Jacob Riis has left a large imprint on today’s environment. For one he helped start the progressives fight for what they believed in and some had more effects than others. Some of his authentic newspaper articles and photographs are in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. Jacob Riis was and is a prominent figure in our society

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