Jacob Riis Photography

Street Arabs in Sleeping Quarters (1890) Jacob Riis, Photograph

The Slide that Was the Children’s Only Playground (1890) Jacob Riis, Photograph

3-Step Analysis: Jacob Riis Photography Step 1: Write down all the details that you notice in the picture... Step 2: Inferences INSIDE the picture… What  are  the  most  important  details  in  the  picture?   What   do  you  think  the  photographer  wanted  viewers  to  see? What do the title/captions make you notice or think about? What do you think is the message or purpose of the picture? Step 3: Inferences OUTSIDE the picture… When & where was this made? What was going on at this time and place? What does this picture have to do with other events from history? Do you know anything about the author that influences how you interpret the image? What else do you know about the way the picture was made?

Family of eight at home in a one-room tenement (1910) Jacob Riis, Photograph

A Flat in the Pauper’s Barracks With All Its Furniture (1890) Jacob Riis, Photograph

A Growler Gang in Session (Robbing a Lush), 1887, Jacob Riis, Photograph

Ask Your Partner… Are these trustworthy accounts of what life was like in American cities during the Industrial era? These pictures are posed! Given the technology of the late 19th century, subjects had to sit for minutes at a time to be photographed. In addition, Riis photographed the sleeping urchins during the day because he needed the lighting to take the picture. Does the fact that these photographs are posed take away some of their trustworthiness about how poor, urban Americans lived?

Things to Think About What do you think Riis wanted to communicate to his audience? What might these photographs tell you about the middle class Americans who bought Riis’ books and attended his lectures? What must his audience have believe about children? About photographs?

Jacob Riis was a Muckraker! A what?! A muckraker is a type of journalist It’s a type of writer who investigates and publishes truthful reports to be a watchdog for society or the government Today, muckrakers are journalists who write over-the-top articles to advocate for reform and change Guess that Muckraker! Watch the film clip and guess the author (who is also a muckraker)

Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, 1906 Sinclair wrote the novel to show the life of the immigrant in the United States Readers shocked by the section showing the corruption of the meatpacking industry The Jungle is now seen as a journalist’s exposure of poor health conditions in meatpacking industry (muckraking)  Led to the Meat Inspection Act (1906) and the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

Government Response to the Jungle Would these acts solve the problems in the slaughterhouses and meatpacking factories? Meat Inspection Act (1906) All livestock must be inspected before slaughter Meat must be inspected after slaughter Slaughterhouses and meatpacking factories must meet sanitary standards Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) Requires federal inspection of meat products Forbids the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated (unsafe) food products or poisonous medicines

Muckraking & Living Conditions Read the sections from The Jungle related to living conditions (in tenements, where many immigrants lived) As you read, record: What are the main problems? What are the causes of these problems? What solutions or reforms would you propose?