Exposing Hidden Worlds: How Jacob Riis' Photos Became Tools for Social Reform

Captured History

by Michael Burgan

President Theodore Roosevelt called Jacob Riis "the best American I ever knew." The pioneering photojournalist, an immigrant from Denmark, drew attention to the poverty and evils of slum life in the late 1800s. Riis won national acclaim when his photos illustrated his bestselling book How the Other Half Lives. The book focused on the difficult time immigrants faced as thousands of newcomers flooded into the United States each year. Riis called for reform and hoped to prod government officials to help the poor people who were forced to live under horrible conditions. The impact of Riis' photos came from capturing the poor and homeless as they lived and worked, with the subjects' eyes often staring directly into the camera. The great photographer Ansel Adams called them "magnificent achievements in the field of humanistic photography." But the reforms that came from Riis' work have not eliminated urban poverty and homelessness, and important work remains to be done.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Middle Grade, Biography Memoir

64 pages, Library Binding

Published August 1, 2017

Reviews

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the larger Capturing History series this one party details the life of Jacob Riis and showcases his photography that was credited for bringing poverty in NYC to the forefront. It was an advocacy tool but bolstered his writing for various newspapers and his own work. What Burgan also mentions is that Riis saw himself as a writer, not necessarily a photographer but was in essence one of the first photojournalists.

The powerful images all have stories and when photography wasn't as polished as it was today that grit transformed in front of the camera. It was the continual re-emergence of his work from others' too that kept it in the forefront of people's minds and how it intersected with others like Roosevelt who was part of the police in NYC before becoming part of the federal system before assuming the presidency. So Riis rubbed elbows with quite a few people while still keeping his eye on the mission of capturing the immigrant experience (of which he was one from Denmark) and fighting for justice.

[Sheldon King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty horrific to see how immigrants and the poor lived in NYC in the 19th century. These pictures are so dramatic because you can see many of the people had no idea they were being photographed. The children are especially sad.