Jacob Riis - How the Other Half Lives (1890)

Overview

• Author: Jacob Riis, a Danish immigrant and journalist
• Publication: Published in 1890
• Purpose: To highlight the stark realities of urban poverty in America through photography and journalism
• Focus: The living conditions in New York City’s tenements

Key Themes

Ignorance and Indifference

• The upper classes were largely unaware of the struggles faced by the lower classes due to indifference.
• This ignorance is not accidental but a result of a lack of concern from the more privileged.

Urban Tenements

• New York City is described as having a boundary line between the rich and the poor, marked by the tenements.
• By 1890, three-fourths of the population lived in tenements.
• The tenement system is a product of public neglect and private greed.
• Attempts at rapid transit to suburbs offered no real solution.

Social Implications

• Tenements are associated with negative outcomes:
  • Hotbeds of epidemics impacting both rich and poor.
  • Sources of crime and pauperism affecting societal stability.
  • Disruption of family life due to poor moral conditions.

Economic and Moral Responsibility

• Economic conditions have fostered systemic neglect.
• Calls for a remedy that stems from public conscience, not just legislation or charity.
• The greed of capital must be addressed by building homes for workers and changing the perception of tenements as profitable properties.
• Philanthropy should aim for a balance of economic viability and social responsibility ("philanthropy and five percent").

Religious and Ethical Dimensions

• Religious groups were urged to bring Christian influences to the tenements.
• The importance of demonstrating the love of God in contrast to the prevailing greed in these areas.

Conclusion

• Riis concludes that improving tenement conditions requires a combined effort from both economic and religious communities.
• He stresses the need for societal change and reform in the treatment and understanding of the urban poor.

Source

• Derived from Jacob Riis' "How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York," published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1890.